Nail stamping is a simple method for effective nail designs that you can do yourself at home without wasting a lot of money and time in the nail salon. With a nail stamp you can transfer numerous motifs to your fingernails and even make homemade nail foils. How this works, a few nail designs as inspiration, and helpful tips and tricks for successful nail stamping can be found in the article!
What is nail stamping?
With the nail stamping technique, you take a motif from a milled stencil and apply it to your fingernails with a stamp. This is how you can do itbeautiful nail designsCreate in just a few minutes what would otherwise take more than an hour. With a little practice, you can even achieve professional results at home with the nail stamp.
The necessary utensils
In order to make effective nail designs with patterns or decorations yourself, you need nail polishes and a few utensils that can be found in a set. It usually includes a scraper, often called a puller or scraper, a milled stencil with designs and of course the stamp.
The selection of motifs is relatively large and you can choose between motifs for the entire or just part of the fingernail. Whether it's a geometric, floral or animal motif - everything can be quickly transferred to your fingernails.
Step-by-step instructions for nail stamping
Preparation of fingernails
Before you start stamping, you should prepare your fingernails, paint them with a base coat and any nail polish and let them dry thoroughly. Then apply a different color of nail polish to the chosen motif from the stencil until it is well covered.
Application of the stencil and stamp
Next, take the scraper and drag it over the design on the stencil in one go to remove the excess paint. All fields of the motif should be filled with nail polish. Now the stamp is used by pressing it firmly onto the motif. If the motif is not completely transferred to the stamp, you should repeat the steps. When you are happy with the design, you should stamp it on your fingernail, clean the cuticles and seal the nail design with top coat.
Important tips for perfect results
In order to do your own nail design as well as possible and to use the utensils correctly, you should follow a few important steps.
- You should always have cotton pads with nail polish remover with you and clean the scraper immediately after use. The easiest way to remove paint residue from the stamp is with a lint roller. The motif plate should also be cleaned as quickly as possible so that it is ready for the next fingernail.
- To remove excess nail polish from the cuticles, you can use a nail correction pen or simply a cotton swab soaked in nail polish remover.
Choosing the right nail polish
The right oneNail polishfor the desired motif is of great importance. It shouldn't be too thin or dry too quickly. The best nail polishes and stamp polishes are those that provide good coverage and contrast with the color of the base coat. If you are a beginner at nail stamping, it would be recommended to start with simpler nail designs such as small stars, hearts or similar figures.
Inspiration for nail designs
Offer a good idea for simple yet effective nail designthe animal motifs. They can be quickly transferred to the fingernails and combine beautifully with different nail polishes.
Who thefloral motifsIf you particularly like it, you can create your own nail design with flowers using the stamp. There are numerous stencils with such motifs on the market and they are perfect for an accent nail design.
The correct selection of nail polish colors for the base and the motif is of great importance when stamping. The colors should contrast with each other and fit well together. Light motifs look good on dark nail polishes, whereas black patterns are better suited to light or nude nail polishes.
With the set you can even make your own nail foils or decals and use them to create beautiful nail designs. This is the so-called reverse stamping method, in which the desired motif is printed on the nail stamp, colored in as desired and then transferred to the fingernail.
Also read:Make your own French nails with a stamp
You should first select a motif for the entire fingernail from the stencil, press it onto the ink pad using the known method and wait 3-4 minutes until it dries well. Then the motif is painted with any nail polish or acrylic paint. The easiest way to do this is with a fine brush.
When the painted nail design is completely dry, you should coat it with a transparent and quick-drying varnish and wait another 10-15 minutes. The nail foil can then be carefully removed from the stamp pad and stuck onto a fingernail that has been painted with clear varnish. The foil should only be pressed lightly against the nail plate so as not to break it. Finally, apply a layer of top coat and trim off the excess edges of the film with nail scissors.
Make your own nail foils and decals
You can also make smaller nail foils and stickers yourself in a similar way. Instead of directly on the stamp pad, you can stamp the motif on a silicone mat or wax paper and color it as you wish.
When the desired design is ready, you should apply a layer of clear varnish and let it dry. After 10 to 15 minutes, the film can be removed from the mat or paper using tweezers. You can cut out the finished nail foils as you like and make several smaller nail stickers.
With the homemade stickers you can spice up your boring manicure and transform it into a special nail design. You can either use the foils straight away or make several and use them for other nail designs.
Geometric motifs have been really popular lately. Here you will find instructions for nail design with a geometric pattern that you can recreate at home with the nail stamp set. The video below summarizes the three variants for homemade nail foils.
