What is a French Manicure?

Series Summary

The French manicure is a very natural looking nail treatment used to enhance the beauty and appearance of continuity of the nails. French manicures are a standard procedure at any nail salon worldwide. This look is usually achieved by the means of a neutral colored polish on the whole nail and white polish on the tips of the nails. Do-it-yourself kits may also include white stickers to help guide you and keep the lines of the white tips straight. With acrylic nails, there is tinted acrylic powder that can be applied for the same result. Preparing the nails before applying this look requires removing polish that may be on the nail and filing the nails to the appropriate length and shape. To protect the nail polish, a clear coat or top coat is applied to the entire length of the nail.

In this series of educational do-it-yourself videos, you can get tips for creating the perfect French manicure! Our nail painting expert guides you through a step-by-step presentation of a French manicure kit. You will also get a brief history and guide to this style of manicure. Get tips on kits and work space etiquette as well as information on nail care such as cuticle softening, pushing and clipping. See how an expert would file and clean your nails during a traditional manicure. Our expert demonstrates techniques for buffing the nail and shaping the nails perfectly. You will also see a demonstration for applying the base coat, white tips, and top coats of nail polish. Get extra tips on caring for your new manicure to make the look last longer!

Video Transcript

" Hi, my name is Lillian with Salon de Scottsdale and on behalf of expertvillage.com I’m here to talk about and to demonstrate how to give yourself a French manicure. A French manicure first of all is a manicure that instead of covering the whole nail with a certain color you just cover the tips, usually it’s a white color. They’ve become so popular these days that even different colors are applied on the tip but the normal more popular is just covering the tip of your nail with a white coloring. I’m going to show you some supplies that you’re going to need. It’s really inexpensive, most people go have it done professionally and it runs into a lot of money so if you just buy some of the supplies it’ll cover that usually pay for one manicure, you can buy supplies and it could last you for months."