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We all definitely love to flaunt our nails and give them a good makeover. One of the most popular nail art has been the French manicure which gives you that amazing Parisian flair on your nails. But as you can guess, these manicures cost a lot when you are doing it from a renowned salon. So if you really want to have a French manicure but don’t want to pay big money then you are at the right place. This manicure is very simple to carry out at home and you can do it easily without any stylist or professional help. Here we have created the perfect home guide for you to create a divvy French manicure. There are alternate methods that will help you perfectly captured this method and recreate it easily at home.
Things you should have an idea of before jumping into the process, there are a few things that you should know and keep in mind
- you should start by preparing your nails. You must clean and trim your nails and shape it with a file. If you want some extra shine on your nails then go for a buff and push back your cuticles.
- The first step to this manicure is applying a base coat. After that follow it up with a pink coat and finish it off with a top coat afterwards.
- If you find free handling the tips to be difficult then you can use French tip guides. There are also manicure pins available that you can try. If you don’t find them handy you can also go for a nail art stripper our clean up lines with nail Polish remover.
Get your nails ready
The first step here it’s to wash your hands with soap and get rid of your old Polish remaining on your nails. After you have washed your hand if there is all the nail Polish still remaining on your nails then you should clean it. To do that deep a cotton swab into some nail Polish remover and gently rub it on your nails. Generally the edges of the nails tend to have a bit Polish left so give extra attention to that part this is important as you will be able to see the other colours through the pale French manicure Polish.
From here sometimes you will have trouble to reach the edges of your nails where there is still some Polish remaining. To do that part, dip and orange wood stick and covered its end with cotton into your Polish remover. And use it to reach the parts that are generally difficult to reach. This way you can easily remove all the nail Polish that stuck around the edges of your fingernails.
The common nail Polish remover available in the market Sir the ones that contain acetone. However the acetone present in nail Polish remover can damage your nails and leave them dry. That is why it is recommending for you to choose an air Polish remover that does not contain any acetone. While choosing the nail Polish remover make sure that you choose a product which does not contain any acetone to keep your nails in perfect condition for longer times.
Give your nails a proper trim with a nail file to get it to an even length and shape.
While doing this keep in mind that you should avoid trimming your nails all the way down to your fingertips. Keep it a bit long and cut them to get an uniform length. Then take your nail file and smoothen the edges to form a Crescent sharp edge. Over here you have complete freedom over the shape of your nails and you can definitely consider your preference and file your nails into a square or a rounded shape.
- While doing this you should drag the nail file along your nail. keep in mind that you do not need to push them down as it can damage your nails and cause injury.
- The trick here is to draw a thinner white line along the free edge of your nail without using Wide tips. This is doing before painting on the French tips.
Now it’s time to push your cuticles back to give a longer appearance to your nails
before proceeding in the process make sure to soak your hands in a warm bowl of water and mix the water with cuticle oil or you can use olive oil. The mixture of warm water and olive oil should keep and touched for at least 10 minutes. This will make your cuticles softer when soaked. It will also make it easier for you to push your cuticles back without causing any kind of pain. After soaking, dry your hands and use a cuticle pusher to push the cuticle back. You can use this method easily at home. After it’s, use a bit of cuticle oil to massage around your cuticle.
- At the same time you should keep your hands hydrated. After you have completed pushing your cuticles back do not forget to put some hand cream. This will keep your hands moist and hydrated and prevent any injuries due to dryness.
- I will not recommend you to trim your cuticles because it can cause infections. You may wonder how infections can cause of this so here’s the explanation. When you trim your cuticles the nail matrix get expose to the outside and that can even calls deformities on your nails like discoloration and raises. This is because the matrix is the place from where your nails grow.
Before polishing your nails do not forget to buff it
You can use a high grade nail buffer to bathe surface of your nails. I recommend you to do this process gently. I like touch during this process will help you prevent that stripping away of layers of your nails. You should focus on the cuticle region of every nail while you are doing this. Buffing the nails gently can help the Polish to stay on for a much longer period of time.
- Avoid using a low grit buffer because that can put a lot of pressure on your nails which is not recommending. it can also strip away the layers of your nails and pulse permanent damage and injuries to your nails.
Applying the nail polish
Make sure to apply a clear base coat on your fingernails
The technique of the strokes should be smooth as it is where the final outcome is based on. this is one of the most important part of any kind of manicure as it makes sure that the nail Polish remains for a longer period of time. Before you move to the next step wait for a minute or two so that the Polish is completely dry.
You can easily buy a French manicure kit online or from an offline store which has a classic base colour, a tip color, and other equipment that are necessary to create the perfect French manicure easily at home. And while keeping your hands steady you can paint a wide strip across the tips of your nails
Paint the French tips with bright white nail Polish
while doing a manicure we all struggle to keep our hands steady. So here’s a tip for you so that you do not struggle to do so. you can rest your hand on a flat surface so that it does not be unsteady and while keeping your hands steady you can paint a white strip across the tips of your nails. You should always start from one side of each nail and gently and steadily turn your finger as you paint. This helps you create a curve with your natural nail which creates a Crescent shaped line from one side of the nail to the other. After this wait for a couple of minutes so that the Polish dry completely.
Sometimes people think that it is easier to move the brush instead of turning your fingers. this is a common misconception and turning the finger is always a better choice to make to get a steady stroke. This is because it helps you to keep a steadier hand while keeping it stationary. This is especially helpful when you are painting your dominant hand with your not dominant hand.
Another great tip to prevent your hands from getting shaky is by placing the pinky finger under the finger you are painting to provide some extra balance to that finger.
A striper brush can use to paint the tips onto your nails.
Provide a layer of shared pink Polish over the base coat
A classic French manicure look can be achieved in this step. Start by applying the sheer pink nail Polish evenly across your nails surface. This provides a soft pink shade on your nails that looks very natural and hides most of the discoloration that can be present on your nails. Generally French manicures are created with soft and pastel pink color. However you can also use a sheer cream color Polish during this coat if you prefer. Like all the other coat you should wait for at least two minutes before moving to the next step.
If you want to have some freedom and use some different shades which are not in the classic French manicure you can definitely choose different colors. Other colors that you can include while doing this can be red purple blue green and any other color that you may like. however you can use white nail Polish or another contrasting colour to paint the tips.
Seal the manicure with a top coat and let it set
After you are done following all the steps mentioned earlier you can now proceed with sealing the manicure. Apply a thin layer of top coat Polish over your beautiful nail . this will preserve the fresh look of your painted nails and will protect the manicure for a longer time helping it to stay on for longer periods of time. After you have finished putting on the top coat you can wait for your nails to completely dry out and then your manicure is done and you can enjoy your new look.
With so many layers of nail Polish in this process while including the base and top coats used It can easily take a long time for the manicure to completely dry out on your nails. However you can fasten this process and bring it down to a few minutes by using a UV nail lamp. This way the process can be trimmed down to just a few minutes which is very convenient for you.
Before you apply the top coat for the final time you should clean up any stray Polish that has gotten to the sides of your nails with a Q-tip. Soak the Q-tip in nail Polish remover to make this process a lot easier. It will provide you with the perfect look and it is also harder to remove all the stray pants if you apply the top coat.
Tips to get the perfect French tips
If you’re wondering what is a French tip guide, it is a small sticker that is designed to fit the curve of your fingernail. It acts as a stencil to help you paint your fingertips. Put a French tip guide just below the line from where the white of your natural nail meets with the pink. Now you can apply the white Polish to the tip of your nail and you don’t have to worry about anything else and you can put it over the sticker also. Before the Polish dries you can peel off the sticker to get the perfect French tip.
When you peel away the sticker you will have the most perfect and flawless French tip. after the paint has dried you can then move on to the sheared coat and top coat of the nail Polish as usual and it has been mentioned earlier in this article.
French tip guides helps you get smooth and even tip edges
If you do not want to buy French tip guides then you can easily use a Scotch tip or a painters tape
You may not always have French tip guides lying around your home but you will definitely have a Scotch step somewhere in your home laying around uselessly. So this is the perfect time to make use of it. When the base coat on your nails has dried completely you can put a small piece of Scotch tape on your nail like a stencil. Then you can line up the edge of the space with the place where the white and pink meets in your nail.
After applying the Scotch step the next step is same as using the french tip guides. You can then follow the same steps that you had followed in the previous point. After the polish has dried you can peel off the scotch tape and proceed with the manicure normally.
If you want precise detailing on your nails then apply the tips with a white nail art striper
A white nail add stripper can be a new concept to you but it is a thin brush that is designed to create precise and straight lines to help complex nail add to become easier. You can use this just like you use a standard nail Polish brush. Start with one side of your nail and rotate your finger as mentioned earlier. This will help you create a straighter line with a steady stroke.
If you want it to become easier then you can consider using a nail art stamper to apply the white tips. You can easily do it with a French tip nail stamper which is a simple device. All you need to do is gently press the tips of your nail into it to get a perfectly even manicure on your fingers.
Draw on your nail tips with the French manicured pen
To apply this and the order may get interrupted by a little. For this you need to paint the shared pink coat after your base coat dries. After that you can add the white tips with the manicure pen. Doing this with a French manicure pen can be the easiest method of them all and you can easily do it at home without any professional assistance. It is a lot easier to control than a regular nail Polish brush which helps you to do it at home without facing any hard times.
If you prefer the whites of your nail to be a little softer and natural looking then you can choose this method and its provides you with a very natural finish and a softer shade of white then regular nail Polish.
Paint the tips of your nail free hand and later remove the uneven edges with nail Polish remover.
This is a completely domestic method and you can use it at home if you do not want to buy any extra supplies for doing the French manicure. In this process you can easily paint the tips of your nail with a brush and then remove the extra white Polish with nail Polish remover and create perfectly smooth tape lines that you have been looking for.
Keep in mind to lightly wipe the brush on the side of the nail Polish remover bottle before you use it on your nails. this will prevent any nail Polish dripping on your nails to provide you with a smooth finish.
After the tips have been painted and dried completely you can add the sheared pink or beige layer and the top coat as mentioned earlier. After everything has dried you can enjoy the new look on your fingernails and flaunt the new French manicure look that you have just nailed at home.
FAQ
- Can you get a French manicure turn with short nails?
Yes you can definitely do it. It can get a little bit tricky and difficult but you can stay assured that it will provide a stunning finish and your nails will look gorgeous after you have done the makeover.
- How to get hit turn easily with your weaker hand?
This is a very common question asked by a lot of people. Here’s a common trick used by a lot of people to get it done right. although it has been mentioned in the article still here you go, put a small piece of tape on your nail and put it on the parts where you don’t want to have any whites. After painting the tip then you can remove the tip to get the perfect dessert that you have been looking for.
