Different Procedures

Different Procedures

1. Paint yourself without guides

This takes a very steady hand and significant experience to get right and make your nails look good. Even if you can do a perfect manicure with regular polish, freehand painting to perfection is extremely difficult on 10 nails. Some technicians have it down to a fine art.

2. Paint yourself with guides

This method is probably the most popular. It can take a while, however, to comfortably peel off and perfectly position the French Manicure guide stickers. But those stickers are very cheap (a few dollars or less).

3. DIY glue-on acrylics

Another popular cheap manicure is a set of thin acrylic nails that you can glue on. The synthetic nail doesn't cover the entire nail bed. Even though the tips are bright white and have well-defined smile lines, this kind often yellow fairly quickly (not the white, the rest).

4. Salon acrylics

The manicurist affixes full-length curved white tips (the size they come in); then she cuts them down to the length you want.

5. Sculptured gel

A special gel is used with nail guides. The gel comes in different shades of white and pink. It cures under UV light in 30 seconds to 3 minutes. It is a tough material and it can be further protected with very shiny clear sealant.

Besides durability, the sculptured advantage is more tapered and more rounded tips. The factory-manufactured acrylics are much flatter than personally custom-made gels because they are designed to fit more women's nails. High arched nails to about 50% are one of the unique and definitive characteristics of sculptured French manicures.

The disadvantage of gels is limited to the skill of the nail technician. Gels can be too thick--several times thicker than natural nails and acrylics. The above picture is an example. Some women prefer the extra thickness, but make sure you get it by choice.

Touch Ups

The advantage of French manicures, as we have already noted, is they make your nails look clean. The disadvantage is they are not forgiving when they aren't clean.

French manicure pencils are a clever idea for touch-ups, but so far they get mixed reviews. Some of the critics say the white pencil color washes off too easily. They can work as a quick fix when you are going out. Since the pencils are pretty cheap they are worth testing.

Nail experts agree that manicures are well preserved with a good top coat and a new layer of clear top coat every few days. This is definitely true for the continued protection of French perfection.

Full Salon Services

Do you want to leave your favorite beauty salon this year looking perfect from the top of your head to the tips of your nails? Planning a day at a spa in 2010 to get your hair and nails done? Besides the new nail style ideas here you can also see hair styles 2010 pictures online.

2010 Beauty Trends

The manicure trends this year are expected to include the continuation of what fashion magazine editors noted got started in 2009: colored gel nails.

Originally gel was used only in French manicures (pink and white) and nail art; then colored French tips became popular. Now the same colored gel is being used to paint the entire nail. It seems like a natural progression, doesn't it?

Because cured gel is so durable, you can now get a manicure that lasts for three weeks instead of one--or even longer with the special gel top coats--like the IBD Intense Seal Top Coat.

Caution

What is the condition of your natural nails? Are they strong and healthy enough to handle the stresses of filing and chemicals used for manicures? Or are you prepared to wait for your nails to recover after acrylics are removed?

You don't have to look online in public forums very long to read accounts of women whose nails looked damaged after they removed their enhancements. Sometimes the damage was done in application; and sometimes it happened by the incorrect removal.

The thinner and more brittle your nails, the more careful you should be and the more research you should do before taking matters into your own hands. Consult your salon or read the great nail care advice online.