Thursday 9 December 2010

The Magic of Nail Art

Nearly every beauty salon in the UK is now offering nail art as part of a manicure or pedicure. This is because of the overwhelming demand nowadays for this service. Why has nail art become so popular?
Many celebrities and models have adorned their nails with diamantes and nail art for many years so it’s no wonder it has become so popular within society. As you can see from the picture of Beyonce, nail art is now like any other accessory to celebrities.



Women of all ages are now having nail art done as a regular service. But there are many types of nail art available out there. Some of these include diamantes like Beyonce is wearing in picture. Some nail art is painted on freehand, airbrushed on or nail stickers or decals might be used.




Freehand nail art is the act of painting an image onto a fingernail or toenail, using a nail polish brush or nail polish pen. Freehand nail art might only make use of one colour. The nail technician might use a base coat and then paint a heart or star on the nail using one colour only. Other freehand images might be more complex. In the picture above the technician has used a black base coat and then painted a white flower. To give the flower a more life like look the technician has used a grey colour to define the petals.


Nail art has become so popular technicians are constantly making new designs to try to keep up with the competition out there. Some freehand nail art is so complex that only a very experienced nail technician could do it. Experienced technicians can even copy biscuit wrappers, crisp packets or even soft drink designs onto the nails.


These types of designs would take hours to do and would be an example of a competition entry that a nail technician could use. Not everyone would want to have nails like these but it shows that the ranges of designs available are vast and each person’s own unique style can be incorporated into their nail design. Some of the basic freehand nail art images that are popular include flowers, birds, polka dots and stripes.




Airbrushing is another technique used by nail technicians. It’s faster and easier for technicians to add images to nails and many different colours can be used. The technician can use stencils when airbrushing and they can be reused but the work done isn’t as unique as some of the styles created by freehand. The picture below shows airbrushed designs and hand painted designs.


Picture taken from Gina Wallace.com


Sometimes people don’t want nail art on all their nails. Sometimes one flower on one nail on their left and right finger nail or toenail is all they require. Nail stickers or decals can be used for simpler designs as they don’t require much skill and can be used when the client requires only one nail to have a design applied to. Its so much fun to practice different designs and great to help stand out from the crowd!



Beyonce picture taken from www.nowmagazine.co.uk

Black & White Nail Art picture taken from www.funkytrend.com
Soft Drink Nails picture taken from www.consumerist.com
Gina Wallace picture taken from www.ginawallace.com
Pink Polker Dot nails picture taken from www.funkytrends.com
Tiger Nails picture taken from www.ilsnails.com

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