6 Tips for a Manicure with Stickers

Putting stickers on a manicure is a practical, simple, and beautiful method. We'll tell you how to do it here.

Manicure stickers are a practical and quick way to decorate your nails. The good thing about this resource is that you get all the same attributes of nail art, but you don’t need to go to a beauty salon or have a lot of knowledge in the technique.

All you need is to find stickers you like to stick them on your nails and look as if a professional manicurist had worked on them. In this article, we´re going to tell you all about how to take advantage of these easy-to-use manicure stickers.

What are manicure stickers and what are their advantages?

The use of stickers is one of the most popular trends when it comes to manicures; this is because they´re very easy to use, since all you have to do is stick the sticker to your nail or a part of it.

This procedure promises a top-notch finish without spending hours in a salon or exposing your nails to infections from contaminated instruments or the application of chemicals.

A publication in Actas Dermo-Sifilográficas warns that fixing nails with substances that include acrylates is related to allergic contact dermatitis.

On the other hand, naiol sticker manicures are remarkable thanks to many advantages. One of them is the possibility of achieving any design, from the most discreet to the most elaborate.

In fact, the Korean Society of Beauty and Art reviews that it´s possible to reproduce any artwork or pattern almost identically with these stickers. Nail stickers can even be found in stores that sell nail products in colors, patterns, glitter or embossed. There is everything!

Types of manicure nail stickers

There are two basic types of nail stickers: adhesive and water-based stickers. While the former involve peeling off the drawing from a foil and sticking it on the nail, the latter involve soaking the adhesive to loosen it and transferring it to the nail by pressing.

In turn, the stickers can be complete or partial and go at the end of the polish, either just a color or a transparent gloss. In both scenarios, it is the decal that elevates the appearance of the grooming. To this end, it´s possible to find decals whose models are as follows:

• Glitter
• Embossed
• Geometric
• Mirror effect
• Abstract figures
• French manicure
• Letters, symbols, and logos
• Caricatures and artistic works
• Silver or golden sparkles
• Animal print, flowers, or stripes
• Plain or common enamel, unicolor or multicolor

Sticker manicure tips

There are two fundamental tips for a successful sticker manicure. The first one is to read the manufacturer’s instructions, because some decals will require certain steps for proper adhesion – for example, those that are water-based.

The second essential tip is to clean the nails, because leaving traces of the previous paint or having grease stains means the decal won´t stick properly. At this stage, don´t forget to push back the cuticle, as it helps the nail art to look neat. Other suggestions are mentioned below.

1. Choose your stickers according to the size of your nails

It´s a good idea to consider the size and shape of your nails before placing the stickers. If you have short nails, opt for stickers with small details, because it´s very likely that you will have to trim the decal to fit your nail dimension. And if you remove part of the pattern, the sticker is likely to lose its charm.

2. File off the excess adhesive

If the decals will cover the entire nail but you notice a minimal margin sticking out, file off the remainder after you’ve glued on the design. Although you can cut them, filing will ensure that the sticker is flush with the edge of the nail.

3. Use them as a complement to polish

Nail stickers are versatile, so they can work as a complete paint or as a complement to nail polish.

What does this mean? Well, in addition to simulating a traditional manicure, the prints can go on top of the polish as a complementary resource. For example, white nails highlighted with pattern stickers.

4. Make sure that there are no wrinkles

When you place the stickers, start from the inside of the nail and, little by little, extend towards the tip, taking care not to leave air bubbles or wrinkles in the display. Unless it´s an embossed design, you don’t want the adhesive to look bulky.

5. If they´re water-based decals, respect the application steps

When the stickers are water-based, there´s a different step when peeling and pasting. You need to dip the paper in water and wait a minute for the sticker to peel off the foil.

Once separated from the foil, use a manicure tweezers to better handle and adhere the sticker. As in the traditional procedure, glue the design and seal with a top coat.

6. Make your nails shine

Once the painting, gluing and trimming of the excess has been completed, the last step is to apply a gloss coat to give your nails a varnished look. In addition, this variation of polish is necessary to fix the stickers and shield them from any friction or damage that could spoil the manicure.

How to remove nail stickers

When you want to change the manicure model or simply replace the decal pattern, it isn´t necessary to file and thus wear or mistreat the nail. Nail polish remover is a convenient substance to take them off. Just moisten a piece of cotton with the product, put it on top of your nails, and rub gently. That’s all!

What to remember about manicures with nail stickers

Applying stickers to nails has become an alternative to beautify the hands in less time than with traditional manicure. In addition, as far as decorations are concerned, the possibilities are quite extensive. Therefore, nail stickers are also used as a complement to other nail design techniques.