Elegant Nail Art

First, no matter how much you decorate or paint or gloss your nails, you have to make sure you keep the actual nails healthy. This means including calcium and minerals in your diet. Drink plenty of milk, eat cheese, yogurt, and lots of fruits and vegetables. This will keep your nails hard, glossy, and pink. Otherwise you will endure brittle nails that easily break and nothing ruins a perfect hand more than unshapely, cracked, witch like nails. Protein and calcium will ensure that your nails stay healthy and beautiful even when left natural.

Then, you want to protect the area around your nails. Your cuticles are the protectors of your nails and you can soften them using various hand creams and even olive oil. Soaking your fingers into a cup of olive oil for 15 minutes or so will help soften all of your skin and make it fresh and young looking. Applying hand creams is also a great way of keeping your cuticles and your hands soft. In fact, keeping your hands smooth and soft adds to the look of lovely nails, so using hand scrubs with beads that have fast micro action will help strip away dead skin cells and keep the skin nearest your nails and all around your hand looking fresh, smooth, and beautiful.

Now that the basics are taken care of, you can begin decorating. Many people enjoy the natural French tipped manicured nails and toes. You can do this yourself at home with white nail polish and gloss top coat. Begin by cutting your nails all down to the same size and then filing them in either a straight across shape or a rounded shape. All your nails should be the same length and filed in the same manner. Jagged edges and uneven nails take away from the beauty. If you prefer long nails, allow them to all grow out and then file them to achieve a consistency. Nothing is more junky than mismatching length of nails.

Now, paint the tips of your nails white in the shape of your choice and then color the entire thing with a shiny top coat. All it to dry and then enjoy your fabulously French-tipped nails.

If you want colors, there are so many to choose from, you will be amazed and giddy. Bright red nails never go out of vogue, and painting your nails red is a good way to have ready nails that match with nearly every outfit.

Maintaining False Nail Art

Most women want long, beautiful nails, but the rigors of everyday life, like taking care of the kids and household chores, prevent them having them for long. If you are a very busy woman, who wants long and well-shaped ones, then consider getting artificial nails. There are numerous types to suit every woman's taste and style. They come in a variety of colors and shapes. Not only do artificial nails look very good, they are well groomed every day, you also do not have to wait so long before they grow.

Most career women do not have the time to sit while manicurists file away their for a pedicure on a manicure table. Going to the salon can be a long process. After cleaning them, a woman has to search through the nail polish rack to choose her preferred color. Little kids who want to imitate grown women just put stickers on their nails.

Types of Artificial Nails

· Acrylic. Acrylic false nails are the most used. These can be glued on to the natural nail plate. These are made of monomer, which is a liquid acrylic product, and polymer that is a powdered acrylic product. Most women prefer this because of their durability. Applying and removing this type of fake nail art takes a lot of practice. It is better to go to a professional manicurist for this. These require a lot of maintenance; the nails should be filled in every two to three weeks as the nails grow.

· Wrap. These usually include pieces of silk, fiberglass, linen or paper that are cut and glued to a woman's natural nails. These look very natural because they are thin and smooth. Fiberglass is used by most salons because of its durability. The fact remains, however, that all types of wrap nails as not as durable as the other types. This is also inappropriate for women who have active lifestyles. 

· Solar. These are very similar to acrylic nails but they use a different product. Solar nails often look like French manicure false nails.

· Gel. These are usually made of gel acrylic. This is suitable for women who want to achieve a natural look. The manicurist applies acrylic gel over the natural nail plate and cures the gel with ultraviolet light. There are two types of gel nails; one using light and another that does not. Both types can be shaped and styled to suit a customer's needs. These nails are also quite difficult to remove. They must be grown out and filled down for removal.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Fake Nails

Advantages

· Customizable to suit the taste of every women
· Prevents nail biting
· Last long and durable
· Able to cover up short and brittle natural nails
· Come in a variety of colors
· Has a polish which lasts much longer

Disadvantages

· May have chemicals which can cause allergic reactions
· May damage natural nails if not applied properly
· May cause fungal or bacterial infection
· Can be very expensive to maintain
· Cannot be removed by chemicals

Pirate Girl Nail Art

If you are looking for a cute rock n' roll design or a cute pirate girl easy nail design, search no further. The pirate girl theme is becoming very popular. Focusing on mostly pink and black with silver accents, the pirate girl theme welcomes your inner girly mixed with a bit of edge.

Colors needed for this easy nail design: bubblegum pink, poppin' purple, razor black and a fierce white. These colors are based on the photo, but any combination of colors can be used. It all depends on what look you are going for. This is a fun look.

2 Colors

Your first step is to lay the foundation colors of the design. For this look, the colors used are pink and purple. Notice that you paint all of your nails pink and then go back and paint the tips with purple polish.

Black and white lines

Next, create black and white stripes on each nail. The stripes should be straight. They should be slightly bent or rounded. Start with black and then add the white. The first stripe set should be drawn along the tip of the nail. The second stripe set should start at the tip of the nail and work its way down towards the nail base.

Digital Nail Art

After the nails are given a basic manicure, which involves cleaning the nail, removing the cuticle and any dead skin around the edge of the nail.

The nails can then be given a base coat (usually a strong white) to enhance a coloured design.

Or if the client wishes to have a natural look in the back ground of the design, then no base coat is required.

Then the activation coat is applied - this ensures that the design dries quickly.

The client chooses their design either from preset designs or from their own picture - which can be scanned into the computer.

After placing the hand into the machine the design can then be printed.
How long does it take?

The printing itself takes approximately 10 seconds per nail, and depends on the design - sometimes even quicker. The whole process including nail preperation and drying of coats in between can take 15 minutes.
How long do the designs last?
They last as long as a normal nail varnish treatment. With the application of two thin coats of clear nail varnish - paying special attention to the tips, then if you are carefull with your nails, the designs can last up two weeks or longer.
Are the inks and varnishes dangerous?

All the inks and varnishes have been tested to comply with all safety standards and are perfectly safe.
Are your hands safe in the machine?
Your hands are placed insde a special cradle which holds the nails at a safe distance from the printer head. The Printer actually sprays the design onto your nails, so you don't feel a thing. If by any chance, you happened to move your fingers whilst in the machine, the sensitivity of the safety cut out will stop the printing immediately.
Can it print a French Manicure?

Certainly can, just use the white base coat and the machine can print the french manicure with more flair and design than you could ever do with air brushing.
Can it print toe nails?
Yes, fashion now goes a step further, and the world of design and art is now available for your toes.
Where can I get digital nail art?
At any reputable nail salon, if there isn't a machine in a salon near you, then tell them to get a machine so that you can try it out.