Hi! 
(I’m not transfem. I’m a male exploring something I think feels like non-binarity maybe? Basically I long to convey more femininity in my appearance because it feels like shit keeping it bottled up, although I do feel in harmony with my body. I’d like some advice so much. If this is the wrong community please let me know I’ll remove this thread.)
I’ve been craving to try nail polish but the more I watch “beginner” tutorials about it the more I feel intimidated. I would really appreciate some info about what is the actual bare minimum to dip my toes into it (my fingers actually although toes sound like fun now that I think about).
- Wiping excess oil from nails with alcohol. Is this a big deal?
- Base coat sounds pretty useful. Is this something you do personally?
- Nail polish. How much of a difference does it make to pick a reputable product? Can I drop at the local pharmacy and pick whichever color strikes my fancy, or will ordering from a good place online substantially improve my experience? Also do I put one or two layers?
- Acetone, how different are different brands? Should I get a little brush for corrections? Which sort?
- Top coat. How much of a difference does it make to the finish and durability? I’m not expecting a masterpiece at first try so is it fine to skip for now?
- Is nail polish something you can wear pretty much all the time, or do you need to let your nails breathe once in a while?
(I have already decided I will not fuck with my cuticles.)
Thank you so much for reading, and for any of your precious insights ^_^’
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Having a separate base and top coat will help your nails last longer. What brand of Acetone you use doesn’t matter. If you make a mistake, you can wipe your nails using Acetone on a cotton ball or paper towel. Wear nail polish all the time if you feel comfortable!
only tip I have is to wipe the brush on the neck of the bottle so you aren’t applying a ton at once, you wanna avoid putting a blob of polish on each nail similar to how you dont want a blob of paint on your paint brush.
past that just keep your hand steady and dont touch them to see if they’re dry! you’ll get it down over time :)
Yes yes good point thanks nikki! I’ve seen videos where they say to wipe the brush on one side and keep a mini blob on the other side. I’ll definitely pay attention/experiment with how much varnish I’m carrying.
I’m far from an expert as I only paint my nails occasionally, but I’d recommend getting a color you like as well as a clear polish. I generally do two coats of color and then a top coat of the clear polish to add a bit of protection. I’ve never bothered using alcohol to wipe away oil, but it may help prevent peeling afterward, idk
Can’t speak on any preferable brands, I just grab whatever, but I will say to avoid gel polish as this requires UV treatment to properly harden. Found that out the hard way after I woke up with fuzz from my blanket stuck to my nails :(
It’s simple enough even as a beginner but do expect some mess, specifically paint on your fingers around the nail. Still haven’t figured out how to paint them without doing that but the excess generally peels off in a day or so, especially during/after a shower
Side note - if you can’t decide on a color, just go with black. Goes with anything and looks good on any skin tone
Sorry I don’t have more advice but I hope I could be of some help! Best of luck <3
I had gathered gel polish was some off limits advanced stuff, now I understand why!
It’s good to know some mess up on the finger peels off fairly rapidly. I’m in love with green and I’ve been told this color looks good on me so hopefully I can find a hue that speaks to me. If not, black is definitely a neat fallback.
Thank you for the pointers!!
One advantage to gel is you don’t have a time limit to grt it on smooth. So long as you’re putting it on indoors away from sunlight, you can take as long as you need. I pay my esthetician sister to do my nails because she uses hard gel to build them up and she can actually do nail art, unlike me. The few times I tried myself, I used regular polish and I took too long getting it on and it started drying, so it ended up lumpy instead of laying down flat. With gel, you can take your time getting it perfect, and then cure it when you’re done. The downside to gel is that it doesn’t dissolve like regular polish when you want to take it off. You need to wrap it in foil with a bit of cotton or something to hold acetone, and then you can scrape most of it off after a while, then you have to file the rest.
I’m going to leave 2 wonderful videos that I think will be very useful for you. The first is the one that taught me how to actually apply nail polish (on long nails): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUUoOKZcd90 The second is a video on how to apply nail polish to short nails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU1dmGFHqdM
I love these tutorials, as she gives you discrete steps, techniques, and tips for how to do things (and how to avoid pitfalls).
As for what you need as a beginner:
- Nail laquer (I’d recommend OPI; I’ve liked their stuff)
- 100% pure Acetone (skip nail polish remover that is diluted with oils and stuff and just use this)
- A nail art brush suitable for touch up work (because you will get nail polish on ur cuticles, and that’s not a good thing; I use a Beetles nail art brush that you can find on Amazon)
- Paper towels (to wipe the touch up brush with)
- Something to hold acetone in so you can dip your touch up brush in it (in a pinch, the cap of the acetone would probably work, but isn’t ideal bc it will be really small and easy to overfill or spill)
- Patience
Optional (but highly recommended):
- Base coat
- Top coat (Again OPI has some good offerings)
Base coat and top coat dramatically improve the adhesion and durability of the nail laquer, as well as improving the surface finish. I would never skip either, personally.
Short nails vid YES! I’m keeping my nails short for sure. Too tics prone, and I prefer my fingertips feeling touchy bouncy.
I’m now convinced to go for base+top coat. Thank you so much for the tips about how to use the acetone as well. I think I get my hands on some OPI products around here (Canada)!
I’m so glad I asked, y’all are wonderful.
Easy to get opi here in Canada. If you use them for base and top, you can get colours on the cheap with QUO at shoppers and just have fun.
Nail hardener or strengthener can help it last longer and protect nails a bit. HRT can leave some less than ideal nails compared to what you may have been used to growing.
Thanks tama for the tips! My local pharmacy carries OPI, and I’m seriously eyeing BKIND products as well at the moment.
Great! I still recommend watching the first video, because like 90% of it transfers. The second video is more just focused on the challenges of short nails iirc? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, tbh. Wish you the best, and have fun with your nails!
You can usually buy a base and top coat as a bundle to save a little extra money, so get a base and top coat made for laquer (not gel). You don’t have to get it from OPI, but I do recommend their stuff. For a little more money tho, they have their “Infinite Shine” polish (with its own base and top coat) that gives gel-like durability with the convenience of a lacquer. Colors are a little more limited, but I love the ones I bought! (Pictures below, and yes those are natural nails and not extensions):
Will watch both! Also wow you’re good
I promise you, it’s 90% due to my touch up brush. I have really shaky hands, and I’m not very practiced, so I can’t get perfect nails at all without a lot of touch up lol
Good reputable polish as well as clear is crucial. Acetone is at least 10 times more effective which makes it a better tool and a better value. I recommend:
- OPI polish
- 2 coats of color, one of clear
- acetone to remove
- cotton rounds to apply acetone
The only way to get good is to keep doing it. You’ll make mistakes and it will take forever for a while but you’ll get quicker and neater with time. Allow as much drying time as you can tolerate between coats.
I’m not an expert but I have some experience now, from learning as a total beginner for about a year.
Nail polish that comes with a good brush helps a decent amount, I really like the ones from ILNP.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and start over, you can use a fine tipped dry brush or just paper towel+acetone to fix mistakes. A toothpick or a small wooden dowel can be used to cleanup the edges. Practice practice practice.
And yeah like others have said, it’s better to apply to 2 coats of color, and then maybe a top clear coat.
wait for each layer to dry before doing the next one. overall they will take less time to dry that way. keep layers as thin as possible.
How do I know when it’s dry?
Generally wait for like 15 minutes after painting the layer. If not tacky to touch it’s generally dry afaik. if it is tacky you might leave an imprint which the next coat generally fixes.
If you decide to do your nails often, try to hydrate your hands and nails between two sessions.
You will paint your fingers a little, it’s okay, wash it next day it’ll be easy af.
I always go with a base coat, 1 or 2 colour layers and a top coat to finish it off. The number of colour layers depends on how good the colour is covering the nail.
I find that a good brand of nail polish is worth it as it usually smells better, the colours look better and it’s easier to remove afterwards. My favourite brand is Herzlack, they have a great selection of colours.
As for how often you can wear nail polish: just look at your nails, if they look a bit unhealthy or brittle, take a break with nail polish. I think it’s mostly nail polish remover that can be damaging to the nails but I’m not 100% sure.
Do not skin top or base coat. The latter prevents discoloration of your nails, the former prevents damage. And make sure to paint to the tip of the nail such that the nail polish does not have a weak spot where it stops.
Coatings don’t like to stick to oils, so use a cleaner.
depending on where you want to go, consideration of oil on the nails and different coatings are important. there are also noticeable differences between fabricators, but i you just want pretty nails, i’d say just start!
first thing you’d learn is applying consistently, that will take some time no matter what polish you use. my routine is this:
- decide on color
- decide on a movie
- prepare everything for the night (pj, brushed teeth, glass of water? …)
- start the movie (90+ min.)
- start painting your nails (i use some magazine to protect my sheets)
- watch the movie. dont’t do anything else, that requires your hands too much.
- turn off the device and sleep.
- in the morning wash your hands thorougly. if there is a little nailpolish on your skin here and there, it’ll break and wash off quite easily.
a transparent top coat might be nice if you work with books/paper a lot. else you’ll leave colourfull stripes.
