Are stick on nails as hardy as acrylics/gels?

• It depends how gentle you are and the glue you use to attach them. The nails themselves are not as hard a acrylics but they are more flexible so you are less likely to chip a nail.

How do I remove stick ons?

• If you used nail tape/double sided tape then soak the nails in warm water, after 10 min gently peel the nails off. If you have used nail glue you will need to to soak your nails in nail polish remover and melt the nails off. Do not peel the nails off or you could damage your natural nails.

Can I re-use stick on nails?

• Yes… but it depends how gentle you are at removing them. If you attach them with stickers or tape you can reuse them. If you remove them with nail polish remover you will most likely melt the nails and they will be unusable.

Does all the stuff like the diamantes and 3d parts really stay on? How long do they last?

• Yes. One or two might occasionally fall off and need re-gluing but if you stick them on well to begin with and make sure to top coat a couple of times with clear polish any damage should me minimal. To stick them on you can either use clear nail polish or epoxy glue. DO NOT USE EPOXY ON YOUR NATURAL NAILS.

What is the process of sticking the nails on with glue?

• First clean your nails and remove any old nail polish.
• Then lightly file the flat part of your natural nail. This is to give it some grip so the glue with stick to it. Do not file too much.
• Place glue all over the nail in a thin layer.
• Place the nail over the top an position it how you like
• Press down firmly on the nail. If you have a transparent fake nail you should make sure that all air bubbles in the glue are pressed out.
• Apply pressure evenly for around 1min. Do not take the pressure off until you are sure it’s stuck.
• When you remove the pressure your nail should be stuck on. Do the rest of the hand then leave it to dry for around 10 min.
• If you feel they need more glue you can always add a little more at the cuticle edge or underneath the nail for extra hold.
• Special tip: If you’re going to get long nails you should do the 4 fingers on your left hand first, then 4 fingers on your right hand and do the thumbs last so you have as much mobility as possible until the end. Obviously if you’re left handed you should start with your right hand 🙂

What is the easiest way to make french tips?

• You can buy special french tips stickers to guide but I’ve never really liked them. I’ve seen people use painters masking tape as guide lines too but I haven’t tried it.The easiest way that I’ve found so far is to use a very long thin nail art brush with a slight curve in it. Use that to make the line you want the curve to follow and then fill in the rest of the tips quickly with a larger brush. You really need to have something to lean your hand on to keep it steady for this though. If I find an easier way I’ll let you all know!

How can I reuse ceramic flowers and charms?

• This only works for ceramic parts not acrylic parts… If you don’t mind wrecking the false nail they were previously attached to, the easiest way is to dissolve the nail in polish remover. If you can pull the flowers off your nails then just soak them in some polish remover until you remove any polish or dirt, rinse them in water then they will be as good as new.

How do you paint all the small details?

• With a very small paint brush and a lot of patience.

Does having acrylics/stick ons damage your natural nails?

• To a point they will damage your nails but it really depends on how you wear them. If you wear false nails all the time for several months straight it can make your nails soft and yucky. This is because nails need air to breathe so when you cover them for ages you deprive them of air. It’s like when you have a bandaid on for a really long time and then take it off and the new skin is all white and smooshy. This is why most nail artists will recommend you take a 1 week break from nails every 3 months. Also you should never peel your false nails off! Only ever remove them following the instructions provided, peeling with damage your nails!BUT!!!That’s not to say that you can’t wear them without damaging your nails. If you properly remove them, take care of them and take appropriate breaks in between you can safely wear nails with no problems. My naturals nails are still the same as they have always been.
  What you need to remember when you wear false nails is hygiene! You can’t see when the underneath is dirty because they are opaque so please remember to wash your hands and use an orange stick to clean out any gunk. If you ever see any mold or it starts to smell weird that is a good sign you aren’t cleaning them well enough and you should change your nails. Having a good anti bacterial wash is very useful.Also there are many repairing nail treatments that you can buy to solve any damage problems.Follow those tips and you shouldn’t have any problems ^_^

What do you hold the nails on when you paint them?

• I’ve tried quite a few things for this but what I’ve settled on is a block of wood with several hooks screwed in. I then blue tac the nails to the hooks. Like this:

Do you have tips on how to do Konads stamps?

• I have a billion tips for Konads, they are so awesome but it really takes time to work on the best technique! I think I will dedicate a separate post just to Konad tips as well as posting some of the most useful ones here…
• Have everything set out and within arms reach *before* you start. This will save you so much time if something goes wrong!
• Have an orange stick with a tiny little bit of cotton wool on the end dipped in nail polish remover handy. You can use it to gently wipe away any Konad mistakes without damaging any of the polishes underneath. This way you don’t have to re-do the entire nail if you make a little mistake.

How can I stop my Konad stamps from running and bleeding?

• Running is all about technique. Firstly it might be the polish you’re using, if you’re not using a Konad brand polish then the polish you’re stamping on might not be thick enough. Thicker is better for Konad. Secondly it might be the topcoat. The way you brush a top coat on can mess up the stamp. Again in this area of Konad more is more, rather than using a tiny bit of polish I have found that loading up the brush with a huge amount and very gently pushing it around the nail in around 3 strokes works well. The less you touch the nail the better and the top coat will dry in the same way no matter how thick the coat is.

Why don’t my nails look as good/shiny/awesome as the nails I see in Japanese magazine?

• Most of those nails tend to have gel overlays. This makes them suuuuper shiny and bright, you can’t get that effect without gel overlays.

What do I do if one of the charms falls off my nail?

• If you have kept the charm you can easily re-attach it with clear nail polish or nail polish glue. Once it is dry you should be able to do a top coat which will protect it.

About *My* Nails Specifically…

Are your nails natural?

• No. I have very short natural nails because I’m terrible and I bite them.

How on earth do you do *insert menial household task like dishwashing/cooking/scrubbing the toilet*?!

• The same way the rest of you do… with my hands.
  

You must sit around doing nothing all day to keep nails like that? Clearly you never do any work/are a horrible girlfriend who makes James do all the housework.

• Nope. I type all day long for work, then I do just as much cleaning as anyone else in my home life. Nails do not make you an invalid.

What’s the hardest thing to do with nails on?

• Picking up small change from a table top.

What kind of glue do you use for stick ons?

• I use pretty much whatever glue I happen to have. I don’t buy a specific brand.

Do you wear decorated nails all the time?

• No. Between work and everything else I don’t always have time to make myself nails. If I had time to make them I would probably wear them all the time though. When I don’t have time to do fake nails I do try to paint my natural ones but life does tend to get in the way ^_^

Can you make me a set of nails for *insert special reason here* I can’t pay you for your time or materials but could you do it anyway for free?

• No. I am more than happy to take commissions but due to my current work load and because it would probably send me broke… I don’t work for free!

That’s it for this time so let me know if you have any other questions! I’m going to be doing a big old Decoden FAQ in a while, let me know if you have any other nail art questions 🙂