Things You'll Need:
- Cotton ball
- Polish remover
- Emery board
- Warm water
- Epsom salt
- Liquid soap
- Rubber cuticle pusher
- Nail buffer
- Base coat nail polish
- White nail polish
- Sheer French manicure overcoating
- Quick-dry spray (optional)
- French manicure guides (optional)
-
Step 1
Remove your old toenail polish. Soak a cotton ball in acetone or acetone-free polish remover and press it against your nail while you count to 10. Wipe it firmly off toward the tips of your toes. Wiping this way will keep you from pressing the color into the sides of your toenails and staining the skin.
-
Step 2
Use an emery board to reshape the tip of each toenail. Toenails that are too rounded at the corners lend themselves to ingrown toenails that are painful and susceptible to infection. Keep the tips of your toenails somewhat squared and level with the tip of the toes.
-
Step 3
Soak your feet in a tub of warm epsom salt and soapy water for 5 to 10 minutes. Scrub off the dead skin with a foot file or foot exfoliator. You might need to use a pumice stone to remove difficult calluses. There are products made specifically for treating highly callused feet. It is wise to remove calluses so they don't crack and cause a subdermal infection.
-
Step 4
Push back the cuticles of each toe gently. Buff each toenail to remove any unsightly ridges or nail-bed irregularities on your toes.
-
Step 5
Dry each toenail bed thoroughly. Wet or oily toenails will be resistant to nail polish, and the polish will have a tendency to chip away or peel off in a short time.
-
Step 6
Apply a base coat to each toenail and let it dry thoroughly. The base coat often has a different chemical composition than regular nail polish and is designed to bond with the nail polish, preventing chipping, cracking or peeling.
-
Step 7
Apply adhesive French manicure design sticker forms to your nails, and make sure each one is perfectly adjusted. If you're not using adhesive forms, you can skip this step.
-
Step 8
Paint the tips of the toenails white. Use only one stroke, from one side of the nail to the other. When the first coat is dry, paint the second coat in the same manner. Try not to paint over the line too much, and try not to do a very thick coat of paint. Allow the white paint to dry completely before attempting to remove the adhesive guides.
-
Step 9
Remove the adhesive guides very carefully. Move slowly, because if the paint has been applied in a thick layer, it might not be dry all the way. If your adhesive forms come off easily without stretching or smearing the white paint, go ahead and apply the final overcoat. Contrary to popular belief, this is made to go over the entire nail, even the white part. This is a sheer coating that often has a bluish or pinkish tinge to it. Use a teeny bit of this polish. You do not want a thick layer, just enough to seal off the white layer and form a smooth bridge between the natural nail bed and the elevated white part.
-
Step 10
Allow your nails to dry completely. Use a second coat of the over-coat if desired. Spray an optional nail-drying aerosol spray over the nails to complete the French manicure on your toes.
