Metroholica

Fashion is always evolving and the latest happening thing is nail art. India's latest fashion stopover- it is not enough to have just well manicured hands! Beautiful nails enhance the beauty of hands. Getting nails stenciled; painted, even pierced has become a rage in the various metros. Gone are the days of painting your nails with only one color.

Nail art has become very popular the world over in the last decade or so. Be it on the toes of one's hands or one's feet, nail art has emerged as a fashion statement. Simple nail art can be made at one's home. There are several nail art studios that have come up all over the world, which one can visit for more elaborate and professional designs. A hard protein known as keratin is required for the formation of nails which provide a protective gear to toes and fingers. They act as tools for man and animal to perform their normal tasks. Nail care for beauty and decoration has become very popular in the last few decades.

Any person specializing in general and specific nail care techniques - is called a nailist. A nailist's work consists of cutting, decorating and caring for nails. The term nail art is particularly applied to the field of designing and creating artificial nails. A nailist normally operates from nail shops or nail salons.

Nail art is a very specialized cosmetic field. Nail lacquering, nail painting, nail decoration and nail piercing are some different nail art ideas, which are popular all over the world. Nail art was popular in ancient India in the form of henna painting and application of fragrances. Ancient Indian tribes were also very adept at spectacular nail decorations

Commonly, nail art is understood to be painting the nails. However, in fact, nail art encompasses a wide range of alternatives, as under:

1) Painting on the nails:

The process of painting the nails is an elaborate one, and gives the best results when performed by a skilled nail artist. First of all, the nails are cleaned and the dead skin and cuticles around the nails are removed. Thereafter, a base coat of paint is applied on them, usually of white color, so as to ensure that the design shows up prettily. In some cases, if a natural look is desired, no base coat is applied. A coat of activation polish is applied on top of this, which ensures that the design dries quickly. Finally, the required design is painted on the nail. Bright colors like silver, gold, red, blue, green, and black are preferred over lighter colors.

Digital nail painting is the latest innovation in the area of nail art.. Under this process, the design is scanned into a computer. After the activation coat is applied on the nails, the client is required to put his or her hands into the machine, the design gets printed on the client's nails in the exact reproduction of the original.

2) Applying embellishments:

Some people have been known to decorate their nails using different kinds of embellishments. These decorations can be anything from glitter, beads, feathers, stones or flowers, and are glued on the surface of the nail. Precious or semi-precious embellishments can be made use of.

3) Piercing:

Nail piercing is another form of nail art that is very popular in today's times. It refers to the act of piercing the nail, in a fashion similar to the piercing of any other body part, and wearing a piece of jewellery in it.

Usually, small rings and other miniscule pieces of jewellery are preferred for use in a nail piercing. Wearing ghungroos is a popular fad in India in today's times.

4) Acrylic nails:

Acrylic nails art is a craze with modern Indian women. Acrylic nails have become so popular because of their vast and vibrant color palette and wonderful designer patterns. Nail designers are also making custom designs to suit the taste of individual clients. Acrylic nails are also very convenient for every day use. Acrylic nails can also be used to hide ordinary brittle nails for special occasions. Popular models and society women are now patronizing particular nail designs to make individual design statements. Technically acrylic nails are made with a polymer. A polymer is a powdered product whereas a monomer is a liquid product of the acrylic family. For acrylic nail painting work, these two are mixed and applied on the nail. Acrylic paint dries very fast and creates very durable, strong and thick artificial nails.

Accessories for the Nails:

Nail Stripes:

Nail stripes of various shapes, designs can be bought and used while decorating your nails. You should peel off desired stripe carefully and try using tweezers for clean effect. Starting at the cuticle, you should gently lay stripe across nail in desired position. Then, trim off the excess. Lastly, gently apply pressure with fingertip to secure it in place.

Gold & silver nail Charms:

Gold and silver charms are also a very good nail art accessory which gives a very good nail design and is easy to use. Choose the desired charm and peel off paper backing. Place it on nail in the preferred location. Gently press down with fingertip to secure.

The Cloth Effect:

Give your nails two coats of paint and then while they are still slightly wet, press a patterned (lint free) piece of cloth or chamois leather lightly on them. As the cloth is lifted, it leaves a pattern similar to the texture of the cloth on the nails.

Assorted stars & Dots:

You can either use stars and dots to paint your nail or use nail polish with stars and glitter floating in them. For nail art with assorted stars and dots, pour out a small amount of stars or dots onto a paper plate. Moisten end of manicure stick. Pick up individually by touching moistened end of stick to star or dot. Place on nail in desired location, pressing gently to secure. If the star or dot is not securing to nail, you can apply a small amount of Nail Art Sealer to nail first.

Nail Stickers:

Nail stickers also give the desired effect and you can choose various designs. Remove selected sticker from sheet using tweezers. Place onto nail in desired location. Gently apply pressure with finger to secure.

Your Own Design:

Instead of using ready-made designs, you can let your imagination go wild and have your own nail art design. Paint a base color of any shade you like and let your nails dry. Then by freehand painting or by using an artist's airbrush create designs on your nails instead of a canvas

The parlor artistically paints the nails turning them into a mini canvas, decoratively arranging gems and foils and by piercing them with rings and chains. The cost of a nail job can range from a few hundred rupees for a single glittered dot glued to one pinky nail to a few thousand rupees for a set of five-cms "sculptured" nails attached to each finger. Nail art or creative-painting designs on nails is a rage in the West and now India too seems not to be far behind where earlier only face, hair and body were taken utmost care of. So with this Nail art, let your nails highlight your hands, fire up your fingers that point to the real you.!!