The Ultimate Guide to Nail Art: From Trends to Techniques, a Must-Read Before Your Next Manicure

Fashion, broadly defined, refers to various popular social trends, and more narrowly to the fashion industry dominated by ready-to-wear, haute couture, accessories, etc. Regardless of the broad or narrow definition, it initially spread from the elite class in a top-down manner. With the democratization of fashion, the aesthetic preferences of the general public have gradually permeated this chain. From the rise of the ready-to-wear industry to the growth of street fashion, even haute couture, which represents the aesthetics of the elite class, has gradually become democratized and street-oriented.

The dialogue between fashion aesthetics and the public has been continuously opened up and expanded, but there are still some minor details where the fashion industry and the public's preferences still have some differences and have not had too much dialogue, such as the nail art we are going to talk about today.

The main reason for the significant difference in nail art aesthetics between the fashion industry and the public is its nature. In the fashion industry, nails serve as an accessory to the overall look, and to avoid overshadowing the main focus, ads or photoshoots usually feature simple solid colors or clear nail polish. In a full outfit, the nail area is too small to require much detail, so it's just a color accent.

Many big brands also release nail polish, but to highlight the color and texture, the ads are also in solid color.

As an accessory to the overall look, nail art doesn't hold a high position in the fashion industry; the design of nail art is even more marginalized. However, the public is more willing to treat nail art as an independent section, using it to express their personality and aesthetics. With the rise in the domestic nail industry in recent years, a large number of people have joined, and with so many nail artists and products, the technology is constantly updating and iterating, creating endless variations on the nails?

Due to its wide application, nail art as a whole has a very high heat. However, because of its nature and size, brands, celebrities, and the public pay less attention to the materials and designs of nail art, so it is difficult to go viral on a large scale.

Although it is not easy to go viral, there will be some popular styles from time to time, such as the checkerboard in last year's autumn and winter, Sister Yun's sponge paddle fun, Green Mist's diamond spliced style, this spring's tulip, Teacher Mabao's butterfly (one of the top nail artists in China), and the same style as Little Monkey...

Most of the public nail art aesthetic trends are also top-down, and most of the trends are led by industry insiders, with styles that differ greatly from those in the fashion industry.

As a half-baked nail art enthusiast, I want to chat with you about those things in nail art. Starting from the origin, as early as the Babylonian and ancient Egyptian periods, humans began to decorate and beautify their nails. The earliest was the use of natural materials such as plant and animal juices for nail dyeing, and colors were used to distinguish between nobles and commoners.

In ancient China, the nobility regarded long nails as beautiful. The risk of long nails breaking or lifting increased significantly, so nail protection came into being. The earliest nail protectors appeared in the Zhou Dynasty and were the earliest artificial nail extensions.

The earliest records of nail dyeing in China appeared in the Tang Dynasty, using Phoenix Flower, supplemented by alum for dyeing, with a bright red color that could last for several months without fading. Online statistics, how many sisters have ever dyed their nails this way.

With the passage of time, the materials for nail dyeing and decoration have changed, but there has been no breakthrough development until 1878 when the first professional nail salon opened in Manhattan, New York, and nail art officially rose as an industry.

In 1920, nail polish was invented, and the nail industry ushered in a new change, and nail products gradually moved from salons to retail.

The 1950s was another important milestone. During this period, Fred Slack invented nail tips, and the current wearable nails and tip extensions all require nail tips as their carrier.

In the early 1980s, the product that has the greatest influence on the current nail industry—photocurable gel began to appear, but it disappeared from the market due to immature technology. With technological improvements, this material returned to the nail market at the end of the 1990s and achieved great success. Most of the current nail products are also improved from it.

I'll stop here with the history of nail art. Next, I'll enter my favorite style and production process. First, let's talk about the style. Nail art styles are roughly divided into European and American and Asian styles.

The European and American style, represented by North America and Russia, mainly focuses on various sharp, hot, avant-garde, and gorgeous nail art styles. When making, it is more important to consider the completeness of the style and the expression of personality.

The Asian side, represented by Japan, is gentle, transparent, exquisite, and temperamental, and there is also some cuteness. When selecting and making styles, the first consideration is whether the hand is white and the compatibility with the hand. It is more important to pursue the harmony between the nail art and the overall hand.

In terms of schools, the current influential ones are mainly European, Russian, and Japanese. A while ago, Chinese nail art became popular abroad, but this Chinese style is not Chinese style, mainly referring to the nail art styles popular in China. However, many Chinese-style nail arts are still very beautiful in the past two years.


In fact, in nail art, one can also explore the traces of national character. Because of the oceanic civilization, Europe and America are good at innovation and exploration, which is also reflected in nail art.

European and American nail art, in addition to style, plays a leading role in the industry, continuously exploring new materials, nail shapes, and technologies... Just like those incomprehensible avant-garde fashions on the runway, when they were first introduced, the public could not accept them. However, as attempts to break boundaries, they have expanded the richness of clothing. With the passage of time and widespread application, these once misunderstood "strange shapes" have gradually been accepted and even loved by the public.

Asian nail art, especially Japanese, perfectly reflects the reserved but rich inner character of Asians. Japanese nail art explores less in terms of nail shape and other large shapes, focusing more on pre-treatment, nail correction, blending, and painting in details. The overall color saturation of Japanese nail art is low, clear and clean, and some three-dimensional decorations are not exaggerated. It is natural and exquisite in daily life. Influenced by the Japanese culture of things, it also has a sense of wabi-sabi.


Russia is also a force to be reckoned with. Due to geographical and cultural factors, Russian nail art has both the avant-garde and innovation of Europe and America, and the exquisiteness and delicacy of Asia. It is also continuously improving and exploring. Russian nail art is a somewhat contradictory combination. Influenced by Europe and America, it has unparalleled avant-garde and boldness in design creativity; influenced by its own culture, some aspects are extremely meticulous, even a bit pedantic.


The same flowers, Russian-style are more regular and lifelike, while Japanese-style is more relaxed and lively. It has amazing creativity and extremely strict technology. It is no exaggeration to say that the average level of Russian nail artists is the strongest.


At this stage, domestic nail art is deeply influenced by Japanese nail art, with a large number of Japanese nail shops, nail training, and nail products... It is not difficult to understand. Although Europe and America are leading in materials and nail shapes, there is a big difference in aesthetics, and most people cannot accept it. Compared with Europe and America, Japanese nail art is more in line with the aesthetics of the Chinese, so they learn more.

However, Europe and America have an absolute technological advantage, and it is necessary to learn from each other to improve. Therefore, some excellent European and American technologies are also integrated in China, and they have gradually formed their own style and techniques. After so many years of development, many great gods have emerged, and the future is promising.

After introducing the style and school, let's officially enter the production process. Each link has its points, so I will briefly talk about it.

**The first step is to remove the nails (skip if there is no residual nail art).** With the popularization of nail care knowledge, most nail shops will leave a layer of residue when removing nails to protect the original nails. A layer of residue, in simple terms, means that a layer of glue is not removed when removing nails, which effectively protects the original nails from being over-polished, causing the original nails to be thin, soft, and brittle. The main reason for the nails becoming thinner and thinner is due to violent nail removal and improper nail removal. If done well, nail art can nourish the nails and improve some problems of the original nails to a certain extent.


Then comes the shaping and pre-treatment,** the nails only need to be shaped to the required length and shape, and the extension needs to cut the original nails short. The length of the nail end from the free edge (the line where the nail bed and the nail separate) is generally not more than 1 millimeter. Domestic nail pre-treatment is mainly divided into Chinese, Japanese, and Russian styles. With the popularization of nail knowledge and the improvement of technical requirements, the latter two are gradually replacing the Chinese pre-treatment, and there is a trend of combining Russian and Japanese pre-treatment. The Japanese method is mainly wet treatment, which requires soaking hands to soften the cuticle before trimming, and is more gentle overall; the Russian method is more dry treatment, using grinding heads to deal with the cuticle, with more extreme effects but it can be painful.


The term "pocket digging" often heard in nail art comes from the Russian pre-treatment process. By deeply separating the original nail and the cuticle (similar to opening and closing a pocket), the cuticle is trimmed more cleanly, achieving a therapeutic effect that is extreme to the point of curing obsessive-compulsive disorder. It should be explained that no matter which treatment method is used, the essence is to cut the cuticle. The cuticle is a stratum corneum without nerve endings, and it will not hurt if handled properly. Different people have different situations, whether to dig pockets or to what extent depends on the individual.

**After the pre-treatment is done, it's time for construction and extension (optional).** The extension is divided into two types: tip extension and paper tip extension. The tip extension is relatively convenient, and the paper tip extension has a good plastic correction effect.


Tip extension is mainly divided into three types: full粘贴, semi-paste, and shallow paste, which are respectively pasted on the rear edge, middle, and front free edge of the nail bed. The more beautiful the effect, the higher the difficulty, and of course, the higher the cost.


The full tip covers the entire nail surface, so it can be used to make a style after pasting. Semi-paste and shallow paste do not completely cover the nail surface, resulting in unevenness, so it is necessary to construct a smooth and round arc by piling up glue.

If the surface of the original nail is uneven or the arc is not ideal (upward or downward hook), sometimes internal construction (there is a corresponding external construction, internal construction before making a style, external construction after making a style) is used to create a beautiful arc.


If the tip extension has a nail tip as a "foundation" under it, building a house on the foundation, then the paper tip extension needs to "build the foundation" by itself (it is not hard to imagine that the difficulty is much greater, and the cost is also the highest), and the paper tip is its auxiliary tool.


First, place the paper tip at the free edge, wrap the AB points (the points where the sides of the nail and the nail bed separate), adjust the direction of the paper tip according to the nail, press the upward nail down, lift the downward hook nail up, correct the crooked nail, and after placing the paper tip, construct the ideal arc on the nail and paper tip.


After spreading the glue, start the front shaping, use the shaping clip to hold the AB points on both sides and adjust the nail shape. After that, remove the paper tip and polish.

The mainstream extension materials on the market are currently crystal and gel, crystal has appeared earlier, and its shaping effect and hardness are the best, but because of the irritating smell (the main reason), high operation difficulty, and high material cost, there are not many nail shops that can do crystal paper tip extensions. Nail artists who can do crystal paper tip extensions generally have guaranteed technology, of course, the price will not be cheap.

Gel extension is more widely used because it has no irritating smell, relatively simple operation, but its hardness and plastic effect are slightly worse than crystal, but it is enough, but some crystal-limited styles (crystal French, crystal blending, etc.) cannot be done.

After polishing, start shaping the nails. There are currently about 15 popular nail shapes in China

Here, I mainly talk about ballet (ballerina shape) and coffin shape (coffin shape). From the names, it is not difficult to see their origins. Because they have a certain similarity, many people cannot distinguish between ballet and coffin. The most direct one is that the ballet has a slightly bulging arc on both sides when viewed from the front, while the coffin is a sharp straight line (which is the essence of the coffin).


The coffin has appeared in Europe and America many years ago, and in the past two years, it has become very popular in China due to its high adaptability. European and American nail art is really leading, and now they are making more long and sharp nails, and square nails.


There are also some relatively niche nail shapes, such as Ferrari nail shape (because the triangle of the nail front is similar to the front of  the Ferrari sports car, it is called the Ferrari nail shape), which is super cool!


A while ago, because of a netizen's post, a wave of spatial French style emerged on a certain book, and the gods of all roads started to roll up, which also led to the Renaissance of the Ferrari, which is hard to find in China. Here, I put down the original picture of the spatial French style (from the Russian god) and the picture that I think is the best in China (the domestic ceiling-level teacher Wang Xinyu).


Finally, it's time for the style section**, the style is mainly divided into several parts: extreme solid color, French style, gradient, painting, watercolor, blending, carving, and diamond pasting. If the end of nail art is solid color, then the end of solid color is extreme solid color. Extreme solid color is not just a simple color, it requires extreme pre-treatment, beautiful and neat nail shape, uniform color on the inside of the small pocket, and a perfect arc of construction. Only when every step is perfect can it be considered an extreme solid color. The standard extreme solid color is very durable, as natural as growing out of the flesh, and there will be a smooth circle or light bar under the light.


One of the most classic nail art styles, French style, was born in Paris in 1976. From the temple to the rivers and lakes, you can find the figure of French nail art. How many people love French style, there are many nail artists who draw French style until they go bald. French style seems simple, but it is still difficult to operate, whether the edge line is smooth, whether the two sides are symmetrical, and whether the position is aesthetically pleasing and appropriate... French style is not just a random line. Of course, I know that some fairies with beautiful free-edge lines have French style when their nails grow out. Shh, please don't talk for now.


The main methods of gradient production are divided into three types: brushing with a brush (which is more challenging for nail artists), sponge shooting (Sister Yun's sponge shooting is really amazing), and spray gun spraying (the effect is the most natural and delicate, but the disadvantage is high cost, and taming the spray gun is difficult, many nail training will open a special spray painting course).


Next is the painting and watercolor that art students are happy with. Many art students have turned to nail artists, and they have an innate advantage in painting control pen. There is nothing to say about this, it belongs to the type that you can know the technical level at a glance, just appreciate the works of the gods.


Blending is also a style that looks okay but is very difficult to do well, especially crystal blending. How to distribute the stone lines, how to match the colors, and how to reflect the levels... It is quite labor-intensive. The most difficult thing is how to maintain a rich sense of hierarchy and still achieve a clear and transparent color, and the overall lightness is not thick. Crystal blending is better in Asia, and the first in China is Alice teacher and Mabao teacher. There is also crystal blending, just look at the crystal French above.



Finally, there is the three-dimensional part, carving is made by carving glue to create three-dimensional decorations such as flowers and characters that you want. The gods generally hand-carve, refer to Teacher Mabao, and those who are a bit lacking use molds. Plant flowers are different, and in terms of characters, Teacher Mabao's Baroque cherubs are unique in China.



Diamond pasting is also exquisite. Which girl doesn't like shiny things, but how to match different diamonds, how to arrange and combine them, and how to stack the diamond ball to be more aesthetically pleasing and not tacky, it is a job that tests the aesthetic of the nail artist. At first, I was not interested in diamonds, until I saw a very beautiful stacked diamond style and met Swarovski diamonds (referred to as Hua Zi for short). Swarovski diamonds used for nail art are the strongest, with various beautiful colors and shapes, shining and bright, and they do not fall off the bottom (they can be reused after falling off the bottom). Domestic diamonds have improved in recent years, and high-quality K9 also looks good, but compared with Hua Zi, there is still a gap. After doing Hua Zi, other diamonds are all somewhat like a relative.


After the style is finished, if the nail surface is not flat, you can choose post-construction. A good construction has a smooth arc on the side of the nail, the correct high point, does not affect the width of the front, and has an oval circle or light bar under the light.

Finally, apply the top coat, and after hardening under the lamp, it's over.

The nail art on the hand is finally finished. Because doing nail art is time-consuming, the wind of wearable nails has been very strong in the past two years. Wearable nails are made on the nail plate, and they can be pasted on the nails with jelly glue when needed, and can be removed when not needed, which can be worn and taken off like clothes, and can be reused, hence the name wearable nails.

The advantages are obvious, convenient and time-saving, easy to carry, and the price is relatively cheap. There are also disadvantages. Apart from customization, most wearable nails may not fit the size and arc, and the effect is not natural, especially at the rear edge of the nail. If it is not pasted well, it is easy to fall off, and it is uncomfortable to find one or two missing halfway through.


Wearable nails are the latest trend for those who love the press on nails experience. They offer the convenience of a quick application and removal, making them perfect for those always on the go. Plus, they're affordable and come in a variety of styles to suit any occasion.

When it comes to choosing the right nail artist, it's crucial to look at their portfolio. If you're not particular about the technique, college附近的 nail shops are a great option where you can find good quality at reasonable prices. For those seeking exceptional skills, look for artists who specialize in press on nails and offer a range of services from basic manicures to intricate designs.**

Remember, the key to a great nail art experience is finding an artist whose style matches your vision and whose skills are up to par with your expectations. With the right nail artist, you can achieve the perfect press on nails look that's both stylish and long-lasting.