How to paint your nails with regular polish: step-by-step instructions and 30 fashionable manicure ideas

A neat manicure is a decoration for women's hands. Unfortunately, due to the frantic pace of life, many girls cannot find time to visit a salon. What to do in this case? Everything is very simple! You need to learn how to do simple procedures yourself, at home. To do this, it is absolutely not necessary to attend expensive courses, because thanks to video lessons posted on the Internet, you can learn not only how to properly design your nails, but also how to make beautiful designs using various tools.

Working with the cuticle

A DIY manicure at home starts with the cuticle. Where to start processing it? In order for dry skin to become more pliable and be removed painlessly, it should be softened, and a bath with warm water will help with this.

SIMPLE HOME MANICURE

To do this, pour water into a small bowl and add sea salt if desired. In this case, you can get a comprehensive procedure that will help soften the cuticle as much as possible and at the same time strengthen the nail plate, soften the skin on your hands, and eliminate irritation. The time for taking such a bath is 10 minutes.

Use a terry cloth to blot your hands and use an orange stick to push back the cuticles.

Remove it using special pliers.

Then rub in cuticle oil or regular rich hand cream.

Today, a lot of different products are sold to make cuticle removal easier. For example, salons actively use a special product to soften the cuticle. It allows you to get rid of the skin without the use of cutting tools, but when working with it you need to be very careful, since if you leave the composition on your nails too long, you can get a burn or cause excessive dryness of the nail plate.

CUTICLE SOFTENERS

Hardware manicure for beginners

Probably everyone has already heard about hardware manicure. More and more fans of this technology are appearing. Its trick is that it allows you to free it from dead cells without damaging the cuticle. Of course, here you will have to master a special apparatus, which is equipped with various cutters. It will help you forget about wire cutters and other devices. Hardware manicure is performed quickly and painlessly.

HOW TO DO A HARDWARE MANICURE CORRECTLY STEP BY STAGE

It is performed on dry skin. At home, it is better for beginners to work at low speed to prevent accidental damage.

Stages of work:

• If there is old coating, it must be removed. How to do this correctly, see the section: How to remove gel polish.

• Treat the skin with an antiseptic liquid.

• Use a stick to push back the cuticle. Using a cone-shaped nozzle, remove the skin. Hardware manicure for beginners should be performed at medium speeds. Movements should be neat and smooth. The cutter should not be pressed too hard against the skin. To remove the cuticle you need to move from left to right.

• Give your nails the desired shape. The disk attachment is designed for this purpose.

Video tutorial on hardware manicure

European manicure at home

A trim manicure is not the only way to get your hands in order. European manicure, which has a lot of advantageous characteristics, is considered its worthy competitor. Its essence is that the cuticle is treated with a special softening compound, and then pushed back with a stick. After applying the decorative coating, a special oil is applied to the cuticle, which slows down its growth. The beginning of a manicure for beginners is giving the nails the correct and suitable shape. To do this, use a file of medium hardness. After that, the nails are covered with regular varnish and the coating is secured with a special product.

The advantages of European manicure are obvious:

• The risk of infection is reduced.
• Does not cause pain.
• It will be an excellent choice for people with thin, sensitive skin.

EUROPEAN HOME MANICURE

• The first step is to remove the old coating from your nails. Detailed instructions in the section: How to remove gel polish.

• In the second stage, you need to shape your nails using a natural nail file and lightly sand them.

• Apply remover (a special cosmetic product for softening and subsequent removal of the cuticle). The exposure time is different for everyone, from 30 seconds to 10 minutes (on average 3-5 minutes). Read the instructions carefully, because... the recommended time cannot be exceeded. Then you need to remove the remover with a cotton pad or wash it off.

• We push back the cuticle and clean the edges if necessary.

• At the final stage, we roughen the nails using a buff and degrease them using a special de-sticking agent.

It is better to degrease your nails with special lint-free cotton pads for manicure to avoid getting small fluff on the nail, which can subsequently ruin the appearance of the coating.

Nails are prepared for applying gel polish. You will learn about the sequence of stages of a gel polish manicure below in the step-by-step photos.

Video tutorial on how to perform a home European manicure

How to do edged manicure at home?

Despite the popularity of European manicure, many girls still prefer the edged version, thanks to which a manicure with gel polish or other coating looks very impressive.

Performing a trim manicure for beginners in stages is as follows:

If there is an old varnish coating, it must be removed.

• File your nails and give them the desired shape.

• Prepare a bath to soften the cuticle (you can additionally apply remover).

• Then push back the softened cuticle with a stick or metal pusher. You can also clean out the pterygia with a spatula.

• Using nail scissors or nippers, carefully trim the cuticle along the edge and clean the area of ​​the side ridges. After this procedure, the cuticle can be wetted again and pushed back again.

• Apply nourishing oil or cream with massage movements until completely absorbed.

Video tutorial on trimming your own manicure

Precautionary measures

Even if you consider manicure a harmless process, taking precautions won't hurt. For this activity you need to choose a convenient place. All items needed for work, including a bottle of nail polish, should be placed on the surface so that they cannot be touched, turned over or shaken off the table.

It is recommended to leave windows open, especially if the strong smell of acetone is too irritating to the respiratory system.

It is best to ensure that children are not nearby during the manicure. There is no reason for them to come into contact with nail art equipment.

If the nail polish itself gets into the eyes of a curious child, which happens from time to time, you should quickly wash it off with water or tea, although it is possible that after such an adventure you will still need to see a doctor.

Manicure with gel polish for beginners: step-by-step lessons

Manicure with gel polish is a common occurrence, because ordinary varnishes are already fading into the background due to their impracticality. Gel polishes allow you to get a high-quality coating that can please the eye for 2-3 weeks. Of course, there were some downsides. After 2.5 weeks, the overgrown part of the nail catches the eye, which spoils the impression of the manicure done. It’s okay if you have the opportunity to visit a specialist, but there are situations when going to the salon is impossible for certain reasons. In this case, a manicure with gel polish under the cuticle will help.

This technique increases the wear time of gel polish. Within 2 weeks, your nails will look as if you just recently had a manicure. Of course, making it at home will be problematic. To get a good result you need to have certain skills.

The secret of applying gel polish under the cuticle

First, using a standard brush, apply the gel polish to the nail as close to the cuticle as possible. Then the side ridges and cuticle are pushed back with a light finger pressure and gel polish is carefully applied to the unpainted area of ​​the nail with a linear brush. The result is recorded in the lamp.

If you still want to try it, it is recommended that you first watch video tutorials that are dedicated to learning how to do a classic manicure with gel polish.

Video tutorial: How to carefully apply gel polish under the cuticle?

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS WITH PHOTO FOR APPLYING GEL POLISH

• The first stage is preparing the nail plate.

Roughen the surface of the nail using a buff.

We remove dust and degrease the nail using a special product for degreasing and removing stickiness from nails. We carry out all manipulations using lint-free manicure napkins.

Apply primer.

• Second stage - coating.

The first layer consists of the base (base coat). Dry in UV (2-3 minutes) or LED lamp (30-40 sec).

Next, a color coating is applied (gel polish in 1-3 layers depending on the consistency). Each layer is also polymerized in the lamp (the exposure time is similar).

At the end of the manicure, a finishing coat (top) is applied. Also dried in a lamp. If necessary, remove the sticky layer using a special product that was used to degrease nails during the preparation stage.

Thus, the minimum kit for a beginning manicurist looks like this:

To remove gel polish:

• Gel polish remover;
• Foil or special finger pads;
• Cotton pads;
• An orange stick, or a pusher, or a special cutter.

For a manicure:

• Manicure set with scissors, clippers, pusher, spatulas, etc.
• Orange sticks;
• Remover (cuticle softener);
• Cuticle oil;
• Files;
• Manicure machine (if you want to do hardware manicure at home).

To prepare nails for applying gel polish:

• Buff;
• Lint-free wipes;
• Means for degreasing and removing stickiness;
• Primer.

For applying gel polish:

• UV or LED lamp;
• Standard set base top;
• Colored gel polish;
• A linear brush (for manicure under the cuticle) and a set of brushes for artistic manicure (if desired);
• Nail decor (if desired): foil, rhinestones, microbeads, acrylic powder, stickers, stamping kit and much more.

Advantages and disadvantages

Using regular nail polish has its advantages and disadvantages compared to its more recent counterparts. The benefits are as follows.

• The cost of this varnish is relatively inexpensive.
• No special equipment is required to dry regular nail polish.
• You can even create a new design as you wish by doing a new manicure every second day.
• The nail plate is not affected as the polish does not stick to it, which means no thinning of the nails.

They all have their drawbacks.

• Compared to more “advanced” analogues, this varnish lasts for several days.
• Many regular polishes have an unpleasant odor due to the ingredients they contain.

How to remove gel polish correctly

Gel polish is a very durable material, which is not so easy to remove. It is possible to perform the procedure at home. This will require time, a certain tool and a special composition for removing gel polish from nails.

For use at home, people most often buy inexpensive gel polish remover from the Severina brand. There are two types on sale: “Severina Professional” liquid for more expensive gel polishes, which are easily removed from nails, and “Super-effective gel”, which dissolves almost any gel polish (even from an inexpensive price category). For professional use it is better to use more expensive products. Also, almost any brand that produces gel polishes in the line has its own recommended compositions for removing coatings.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REMOVING GEL POLISH FROM NAILS BY YOURSELF AT HOME

• First, cut off the finish layer (top) with a rough file;

• Next, take cotton pads, soak them in gel polish remover, place each pad on the nail and tightly wrap each finger with foil.

The exposure time for each product is different, as a rule, it is 20-30 minutes.

• After the product has taken effect, remove the foil and carefully clean off the gel polish with an orange stick. If there are small irregularities left, you can clean them up using a buff.

Preparation of tools and materials

To do a manicure with your own hands, you cannot do without a certain set of tools and materials.

Get ready.

• Regular nail polish (or several different colors).
• The product for clear base coats is primer.
• Means for fixing colored coatings.
• Paint remover.
• Hand cream.
• Cotton pads and tampons.
• Brushes.
• Antiseptic, for example, an alcohol solution for disinfection.

Simple designs for the beginner manicurist

Step-by-step photos of fashionable manicures and video tutorials on manicure at home will allow you to quickly master popular techniques. You just have to stock up on free time and patience. Enjoy watching!

• Simple drawings

• Flowers and patterns

• Rhinestones

• Kamifubuki

• Rubbing

• Broken glass

Using a fine brush

This technique is preferred by those for whom jewelry painting of nails in the most inaccessible areas is important.

1. Apply a drop of gel polish to the palette (you can use any smooth surface).
2. Use a thin brush to pick up some varnish.
3. Carefully paint the area near the cuticle and side ridges.
4. Paint the rest of the nail surface with a regular brush and dry under a lamp.
5. Gradually apply another layer of colored varnish and top coat, drying each layer under a lamp.

Using a thin manicure brush