How to Paint Your Toes or Fingers, Tips for Guys

Hey guys, thinking about painting your nails, but the last time you tried, it looked more like a massacre, or lipstick on a pig?  Fear not, I've got some tips for you.

And I applogize for not posting in a long time.  My life has been hectic.  My wife had knee surgery, we moved, I suffered from severe vertigo from a viral infection.  Then that did 40% damage to the nerves in one inner ear giving me permanent vertigo for 9 months.  I've lost 60% of my income, and so I've been rebuilding my life, and focusing on making money on my youtube channel where I teach home improvement projects like drywall repairs.  And if you click on links in this article, that can help a little too, so thanks.  If you want to see me do my barefoot youtube videos there at http://www.youtube.com/c/ThatKiltedGuyHowToVideos

First tip, if you can afford it, go get a professional pedicure.  And watch, and learn.  You don't have to do all the tiny things they do, but you can get some pointers.  AND, they will do a much better job than you can ever do without a lot of experience.  If you get the deluxe pedi, or mani, you'll love it.  Your feet will feel so soft as they'll buff away the calouses, and trim off the little bits of skin, soften your skin, file and trim your nails to a good shape, push back the cuticles, and give you a nice 5-10 minute calf and foot massage.  If you want color, just be brave.  It was nerve racking for me the first time, but I found out no one really cared.  Salons are now used to men coming in and many advertise for men.  Just take your own color, (or you can pick one of theirs out, but that can be more nerve wracking), then hand it to them when they seat you so they know you want color.  When you see them reach for the polish, make sure they gave you a clear basecoat first, as some won't and the polish will chip faster.  Then after they're done, take time to let it dry for 5 minutes before trying to walk, or use the foot nail dryer.  

Here's some pics of me getting a pedicure in a salong with about 10 other women, AND 2 men I never met, one of which was getting a sparkly purple color.

 

See how nice they look, even without color?

Waiting on the polish to dry

If you want to do your own, here's my advice.  

I'll list some supplies below.

1. Start with a long shower or bath to soften the skin and get lots of moisture in your skin.  
2. Get out and buff off the callouses, (start with the buffer below, it works Wonders, even on tough dry skin). Then use a sanding type buffer like the next one below as that will smooth out the skin more than the aggressive buffer above.  
3. Next trim your nails to length.  They often say to cut straight across, but I've cut in a curve all my life with no problems.  But if you have ingrown nails often, more straight is supposed to be better for that.
4. Then file your nails to shape and to smooth out the rough edges.  Start with a medium to coarse file, then finish with a finer grit.  It's best to go in one direction as it leaves the nails smoother with less rough edges. 
5. Push back your cuticles with an orange stick or cuticle pusher like the one below.
6. Clean under your nails
7. Buff your nails with a buffing pad (shown below) to smooth out some of the ridges, and give the polish something to hold onto as super smooth nails will peel and flake quickly.
8.  Moisturize well with a good lotion.
9. clean your nails with some alcohol or nail polish remover to remove the lotion.
10. Apply a solid coat of clear basecoat.  Don't go too heavy or too light.  It should be medium thick, but not trying to drip.  Get it on as quickly as you can in as few strokes as you can.  Usually, it can take 15-30 seconds per nail.  
11. After that dries a few minutes, apply the first coat of color.  Same as in the step above. Try to keep it off your skin.  If you get it on your skin, you can use your finger nail to scrape it off by running it around the edges tightly.  Then clean your fingers later.  Or use the cuticle pusher dipped in nail polish remover.  Also, don't keep working it and working it.  Dip the brush in, tap it lightly inside the bottle to remove the big drip, then apply quickly as you can.  If you overwork it, it won't flow out smooth and will look bad.
12. Let that dry a bit, then apply a 2nd coat.  The first coat may look a bit unever, and this is normal. The 2nd coat should even it all out.
13. I like to wait awhile before this step as my nails take forever to dry and I'll mess up the polish, but you can put your clear coat on now, or anything you want to later, including the next day.

 Ok, as you can see, it's a bit of work to do this, but it sure looks good.  You'll want to keep checking out the color all the time for days, lol.

Here's the supply list-

 Aggressive foot rasp for rough callous removal-

 

Final buffer for your skin, to use after the rasp above-

Nail clippers.  There's many to choose from.  Click the image for one example, or browse for more.

Cuticle Pusher & trimmer.  Use the trimmer for the tiny loose skin bits, or torn cuticles sticking up.  For healthy looking nails, you need this-

 


Nail buffer.  Here's an example, but click the image and choose one to fit you.

There's many more items you can use, so if you click the image below, you'll see a bunch more items that may interest you.

 

And don't forget the nail polish and basecoat-

 
I hope that helped you out.  Feel free to ask questions below.  I may be slow in answering, but someone else might help you out first.  

Also, I plan on putting out a video showing how I do it, but you can search youtube for videos that will help you with this for now.

Thanks, and good luck.

Guy

If you found this article useful, you can consider making a one time donation in any amount by clicking this link below.  Note, it will say 'That Kilted Guy' which is my main youtube channel I mentioned above, but that's me.

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