Fingernail Designs

There are countless options for painting nails. Nail art, as it is called in the fashion industry, is only limited by the designer’s imagination. Your nails can be painted to match any and every kind of color or combination of colors that you can think. To match your shoes. To match your purse. Almost anything you can imagine can be put into a nail design.

The Basic Manicure

The basic manicure is the perfect way to pamper yourself and get you on your way to healthy, beautiful nails and hands. It is also quite simple to do it yourself in the comfort of your own home. You only need a few essential, and inexpensive tools to perform the perfect manicure. First of all you will need nail clippers, a nail file or emery board, a cuticle pusher or orange wood stick, and a nail brush. Be sure to have a warm bowl of water to soak your hands. Once you have your essential tools you first clip and file your nails. Once you have done that soak your hands in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes to soften your nails and cuticles. When you are done pat your hands and nails dry. While nails and cuticles are still soft use the cuticle pusher to push back your cuticles and clip off the dry dead skin or any hangnails and rough edges. Then apply a small amount of lotion to keep hands and nails soft. Afterwards if you choose the leave them natural apply a coat of clear polish and/or nail strengthener to your nails and you’re done! Now you have given yourself perfectly manicured healthy looking nails.You can add whatever type of nail polish you choose.

The Variations of Artificial Nails

There are various types of artificial nails to choose from. That would be dependent on your personal preferences and activities. There are acrylics; which is a mixture of polymer powder and liquid monomer that is applied on top of glued tips or forms and hardens within 15 minutes and can be removed with a solvent called "acetone". There are also gel nails, which are almost the same as acrylics but includes another ingredient to make them more flexible, like real nails. Last but not least there are silk wrap nails. This type of nail is not recommended for the active person because they are more like real nails and easy to break or shatter. They must be removed at the salon by filing and replaced. Again this all depends on your preference but they can all be decorated with nail designs. Almost any type of artifical nail can be enhanced with nail polish.

The Cost

The costs for each of these types of nails differs depending on the length, nail design and type of artificial nails you choose. While the gel and silk wrap nails are usually more expensive than the the acrylic, it may be a healthier, better choice for your nails. There are extra costs to consider. Only you can make that decision.

Style and Fashion Today

There is no limit to the creative ideas of nail design today. The current fashion is really whatever you desire, although the most popular style today is freehand nail art which can be anything you can come up with so be creative and go wild! Your style, your way!