*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase any products through them I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Nail stamping is a great way to create beautifully detailed nail art designs in a short amount of time without needing to be a nail artist.
It is also great for professional nail technicians and nail artists because it can save lots of time on complicated designs, and time is money.
You can charge extra for the service and free up time to see more clients.
You will need:
- a stamping plate
- stamping nail polish
- scraper
- stamper
Paint over the design you chose with stamping nail polish. Swipe the scraper over the design to remove excess nail polish from the nail stamping plate, place the stamper onto it, and stamp the nails.
There are so many different things you can do with stamping. The nail design potential is unlimited when you stamp your nails. You can even use a technique called reverse stamping. The results are sick!
How to Stamp Your Nails
- Pick out the design you want to wear.
- Paint the stamping plate over the design with special stamping polish.
- Quickly grab the plastic stamping card and scrape it over the nail polish. This will remove the excess nail polish and leave nail polish in the design only.
- Once you find the design you would like, paint it with the nail polish. Then quickly grab the plastic stamping card and scrape it over the nail polish.
- Now quickly place the stamper over it and stamp the nail.
- Finish with a smudge-free top coat, which you can find at maniology.com. Scroll down for coupon code.
How to Reverse Stamp
Reverse stamping is when you color in a stamp design while it’s on the stamp, and it really takes your nail art game to the next level.
Swipe the stamping nail polish onto the nail stamping plate as you regularly would. Swipe and pick up the design on your stamper.
Then color in the design with a tiny nail art detail brush using any colors you like. For this part you do not necessarily have to use stamping nail polish. Regular nail polish seems to work just fine with this technique.
However, you will need a special base coat to do this because at that point the design is dry and will not transfer onto your nails. Maniology has a special reverse stamping base coat that works really well for this.
You can polish your nails any color first and then put the stamping base coat over the color. It stays sticky so the stamping design will transfer nicely onto your nails.
If you do not have a stamping base coat, you can try doing it over nail polish that is not all the way dry yet. As long as it is still slightly tacky but not tacky enough to smudge when you stamp it, it should work.
Ombre Nail Stamping
Another really beautiful nail stamping technique is ombre nail stamping. This technique comes out so pretty, and it looks harder to achieve than it actually is.
To achieve this look, instead of painting just one color over the stamp design, paint 2 or more colors next to each other, depending how much you can fit or what your desired end result is.
Repeat the nail stamping process as usual. Your results will be stupefyingly beautiful.
It looks extra cute if you paint 2 middle fingers white and the rest the colors you plan to use in your ombre stamp design. It gives it a nice contrast and makes your nail stamping designs stand out.
Another design idea is to start off with ombre nails and stamp a solid color over that.
To give your nails that beautiful ombre look, get a makeup sponge and paint 2-3 of your favorite nail polish colors onto it in straight lines.
Be sure that it will cover the length of your nail. Carefully dab the sponge onto the nail until the nail is covered.
Repeat this on all other fingers and then do it a second time. Top coat and wait for it to dry before stamping your design over it..
Once you’ve finished your nail stamping, clean around the sides of your nails to remove the excess polish.
Tips and Tricks
Brands matter. Not all brands have stamping plates that work well, so don’t get discouraged thinking you’re doing something wrong. It could just be that the stamping kit you got isn’t quite great.
Also, some stampers from certain companies do not work well. I have tried so many different ones and I have been disappointed in so many. Make sure your stamper is clear so you can see exactly where you are placing the design.
I became a brand ambassador for Maniology because I love their products. Their stampers actually pick up the entire design. If you want to try it, you can save 10% by using my code ZOETIC at checkout.
Speed is very important. The amount of nail polish that goes into each design is so small, so it dries very quickly. Have all of your tools very close by. I don’t even close the nail polish bottle until the design is stamped because sometimes that extra few seconds to do that will make the design dry out.
Don’t clean the stamper with acetone, it can possibly ruin it by clouding it up and making it harder to see though clearly. Instead, use a piece of tape to remove the nail polish. It also makes much less of a mess that way.
You have to use the right amount of pressure when stamping. Don’t press too hard when you pick up the design with the stamper or place it onto the nail. If you do, it can skew the design because it sort of presses the nail polish out of the lines and it winds up looking sloppy.
Either buy a smudge-free top coat or be careful when you put the top coat on. If you don’t have a smudge-free top coat, just try not to polish over the same spot and make sure there is a good amount of top coat on the brush so it can glide over the nail easily without pulling the polish down the nail.
Be sure to use a stamping nail polish. It is more pigmented and it sticks to the stamper the best. Regular nail polish will not do that. You might lose half of the design if you try or it may just come out a bit faint.
Be sure to clean your stamping plates thoroughly or nail polish will build up inside the designs and it won’t be able to hold as much nail polish as it needs in order to stamp your nails.
And that about wraps it up! You can get really creative using all of these techniques to make nail designs that are truly your own. I hope these instructions, tips, and ideas have helped you. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions.
Have fun!