Water Transfer

Water transfers are a simple way to take any mani to the next level! Perfect for beginners.

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You will need: 
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Water transfers 
​Tweezers
​small tray filled with water

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To do this specific design I started with black gel polish and cured in a UV/LED lamp (30 sec. LED/2 min. UV) You can use whatever colour polish or gel you like.

 I'm a little extra and have trouble keeping my nail art simple. You can just use one colour on the nails and add the transfer. 

If this were a natural nail I would start by prepping the nail and adding a base coat. But since it's not, I started by painting two nails black, two outlined in black, and one black french tip as pictured above. I did two coats of polish on each nail. If you're using gel polish, cure in between each layer. If using regular polish, make sure it's completely dry before moving on to the next coat.

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Use scissors and cut the water transfer to your desired length and shape. 

Use your tweezers to remove the protective sheet off of the transfer. Do not skip this step! The transfer will just stick to the plastic and it'll be ruined.

Put the transfer into the water with the paper side facing down. 

 After about 30 seconds the transfer should be ready. Slowly slide the design off of the paper a litle bit. If you take it completely off of the paper, the water transfer will fold and be difficult to apply. I leave some of the back on and put it where I want it to go, and then slide the rest of the paper off so the transfer applies smoothly. If it does not slide off easily, put it back in the water for another 30 seconds. 

Once you have the transfer on your nail, press down gently to remove any extra moisture that may be underneath the transfer. Let it dry. Apply a top coat. You could stop there, but I gotta add some studs!

To add the studs you can use nail glue if you're using regular polish. If gel, add a top coat layer, place the gems and cure. Add another layer of gel top coat around the studs to secure them and cure again. Wipe off the tacky layer with a lint free wipe and isopropyl alcohol.  

 Transfers are an easy to use, flawless, diy mani product even beginners can apply! 

The design possibilities are endless. Here's a few more designs made possible by water transfers: 

Is there any nail art tutorial that you would like to see? Comment below!