In order to get a high-quality and beautiful manicure, you don’t have to be an adult woman. It is perfect for both very young children and school-age girls. This is the so-called children's manicure.
Many people know that little girls often love to play at being beautiful adult women. This is often reflected in their nails. They want to give them the same look as their mother, older sister or aunt. All this served as an impetus for many beauty salons to begin providing children's manicure services.
But many mothers prefer to carry out this ritual on their own at home, as they love to care for their little child. Therefore, for everything to go smoothly, it is necessary to take into account many nuances, especially when it comes to home procedures.
Careful preparation should be carried out, and special attention should be paid to the selection of all the necessary tools for the job.
How to properly do children's manicure at home. Necessary tools and care products
Do not forget that having a manicure for a child is quite specific, and many details need to be taken into account.
In order to get the right manicure, you should study popular techniques, as well as choose the appropriate design so that the procedure comes without injury or trouble.
Creating a classic version is not recommended for children under 15 years of age. This is due to the fact that when processing the nail plate, the cuticle is affected, which can be dangerous for a younger child.
For girls under ten years old, a European manicure is good. In this case, there is no need to mechanically act on the cuticle, as infection may occur, which can lead to diseases.
It is acceptable to use soft products and balms to gently dissolve the interfering cuticle. After this, it is better to treat your hands with cream or a special balm for the care of hands and nails.
After 14 years, you can carry out more complex manipulations with nails. This is due to the fact that the formation of the body is almost complete, the vessels and tissues are no longer as thin as they were before.
But do not forget that at home you should carry out the procedure very carefully, without using harmful substances to treat the nail plate.
Children's manicure on short nails: popular ideas
Summer children's manicure for girls under 10 years old can be bright and noticeable. During the holidays there is no need to adhere to strict school regulations. The photo shows the most interesting nail design options for children:
- cartoon characters;
- funny little animals;
- fruits and vegetables;
- large or small flowers;
- popular prints: polka dots, leopard skin.
A manicure for school should not be too bright and noticeable. The rules of the educational institution do not allow you to appear in class with long painted nails. It is better to use natural colors. But a manicure for short nails will look no worse. You just have to study some simple rules for combining colors and evaluate whether the chosen type of design is suitable for nails of this length.
For teenage girls on holidays, you can diversify the design even more:
- neon manicure;
- French manicure;
- glitter manicure;
- manicure with drawings;
- floral print;
- themed manicure (for New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, Halloween)
A children's manicure can turn into a fun procedure that will improve the health of your nails and improve their appearance. In any case, it is necessary to take into account the child’s feelings.
It is recommended to carry out a manicure for children 2 times a month.
Indications and contraindications
Children's manicure is a special procedure. In this case, the rules for safe processing of the nail plate must be observed. It is recommended to use a clear varnish. Sometimes options with colored coating and even some types of nail art are allowed.
This manipulation is useful for both boys and girls, since children from an early age learn to take care of themselves and observe the rules of hand hygiene. It is recommended to start visiting a salon no earlier than the age of five. It is then that the child will be able to withstand the procedure calmly and without whims.
Carrying out a manicure for a child involves the use of soft and gentle products that will not harm his health. You should not use substances that can cause deformation of the nail plate or cause its separation, as well as other unpleasant symptoms.
The surface should not be sanded. Thus, you can damage your child not only the nail, but the entire finger.
With a high-quality children's manicure, you can give your child's nails a well-groomed look, as well as protect the surface of the nail plate from destruction. Therefore, visiting a salon is a necessary procedure that will teach a child to be clean and tidy from an early age. This tradition will continue into adulthood.
Is there any benefit to this?
Yes, the procedure is considered not only necessary, but also beneficial:
- Firstly, the child will be simply happy and he will probably enjoy the manipulation.
- And secondly, we teach the baby to take care of herself from a young age.
There is one more significant nuance - many girls between the ages of six and ten years begin to actively bite their nails.
According to statistics, twenty-five percent of girls have this bad habit, and in adolescence the number of children with this habit increases. Parents do not know how to stop their child from biting their nails. There are times when they scream and even hit his fingers.
But the problem does not go away, and aggression is added to it, and the habit becomes stronger.
The procedure for children's manicure will make it easy to get rid of onychophagia. After all, no one wants to “eat” beauty. Girls will try to maintain their “nail art” in order to show off their beautiful manicure to their friends.
See also: Flower designs on nails. Fashionable or last century?
Stages of unedged children's manicure
Before proceeding to the main stage, it is necessary to disinfect the working surface. This is necessary in order to disinfect the nails, since the baby’s immune system is still weak and not strong enough. Therefore, it is always better to play it safe once again.
Next, you need to process the edges of the nail. It is recommended to use special nail files intended for children. Be sure to leave at least 1 mm of nail length.
After this, you can begin processing the cuticle. To do this, you need to apply a softening agent to your nails. Next, you can push back the cuticle with an orange stick and carefully trim it with small nail scissors.
The coating also needs to be selected wisely. It can stop your child from biting their nails. Such varnishes contain substances that discourage children from biting their nails. When developing most of these products, technologies are used that extend the life of the varnish. Thus, manicures can be done less often.
The final and important touch is the application of a protective agent on the nails, which gently cares for delicate young skin. Do not forget that caring for the hands of a little fashionista must be carried out constantly and accustom her to this from an early age.
Children's manicure: tips and steps
Children's hands, and especially children's nails, require special attention because they can become a source of various diseases and infections. Caring for them is primarily a matter of hygiene, especially from the age when the child begins to crawl and touch everything that surrounds him with his hands. Therefore, already in the first years of life the following procedures will be useful:
- Baby cream, which should be rubbed into the nail plates, will help against dryness and brittleness of delicate nails.
- Removing hangnails. Nails often develop hangnails that children can tear off. Infection will result in the appearance of pustules. Therefore, hangnails should be removed promptly and correctly. Specialist Tessa Sawyers warns that hangnails should not be picked, only trimmed with clean scissors, and an antibiotic ointment applied to prevent infection.
- Correctly shortening nails. You cannot cut them very short, because the length of the nail itself will be lost forever. Leave an edge of at least 1 mm, it should follow the outline of the fingertip.
Manicures for children at an early age are done for both girls and boys. This service in salons is becoming popular. There may only be age restrictions for young clients: in some places they are accepted from 6 years old, and in others from 11 years old. In salons, specialists only give children unedged manicures, so the procedure has its own peculiarities and is as follows:
- First, soften the skin with a special cream or take a warm bath with herbs.
- Nails must be disinfected before further procedures. Dr. Debra Jaliman emphasizes how important this is to avoid infection.
- Burrs are cut off with scissors with rounded ends or sharp tweezers.
- The cuticle is only pushed back with a soft orange stick. If the skin is thick, it is permissible to slightly reduce the cuticle with a special dissolving agent.
- Nails are shortened only with a file with soft abrasives of at least 180 grit, more often 240 grit and higher.
If you do a child’s manicure at home, you should purchase the appropriate tools and follow the same sequence of procedures as in a salon.
Children's manicure: Gettyimages
After these basic procedures, girls can apply decorative coating to their nails.
Children's manicures are done only with special materials. The most popular are:
- Water stickers. Entire thematic collections of stickers have been created that a little fashionista can choose to suit her taste. For durability, the stickers are fixed with a finishing coating.
- Water-based children's varnish. It is used in manicure for girls over six years old. This coating is easily washed off with soap or foam. There are special bitter varnishes (with cactus extract) that help rid a child of the habit of biting his nails.
- Varnishes for adults. They can be used from the age of 14–16, when the formation of nails has already completed.
A special issue is the design for children's nails. Girls are given simple drawings and patterns, which are applied with a brush or toothpick. Designers for the coming summer even offer ideas for such children's manicure to adults.
Children's manicure for school should be discreet and discreet. Make it with light or translucent varnish, choose smoky and pastel colors. A teenager’s manicure for a special occasion can be themed and colorful.
Children's manicure: Gettyimages
Is it possible to use the manicure machine for children?
It is not recommended to use a special device on a child’s nails. The principle of its action involves the removal of dead cells from the cuticle, which will be harmful to the baby. In this case, damage may occur. Also, the cuticle will have an unaesthetic thickened appearance.
With hardware exposure, deformation of the nail plate or more serious problems is possible. Therefore, it is better to save such methods of nail treatment for an older period. There are special devices designed for girls over 14 years old.
What tools are needed?
Since everyone's nails grow, children's manicures are given to both boys and girls. They must be cared for from a very young age. Because if children's marigolds are abandoned, the child may be injured by them in the future.
From the age of ten, children can already be taught to independently care for their own nails. They must be able to cut their own nails.
To avoid damaging children's nail plates, purchase special nail clippers for your child. This tool is easy to use and safer than nail scissors. For a ten-year-old girl, in addition to clippers, you should also buy a set of files for caring for nails.
It is not advisable to use polishing in children, since the nail plates of children have a thin and soft structure.
Children's manicure with varnish
Many young mothers often wonder if it is possible to coat their child’s nails with varnish? Or is it better to do without it? In salons, masters use special manicure varnishes. Therefore, it is not prohibited to cover your nails with them.
It is recommended to purchase varnish only in a special store. Preferably from a reputable manufacturer. In this way, you can protect yourself from fakes, which can adversely affect the health of your child’s nails.
It is important that the baby also takes part in the process of choosing a varnish. Let her choose the option she likes. This way she can brag to everyone that her nails were painted with a polish that she chose herself.
Is it possible to paint a child’s nails with varnish?
It is highly undesirable to paint your child’s nails with varnish. The fact is that the cosmetic product contains substances that:
- dry out and weaken the nail plate
- slow down its growth
- may cause allergies if in contact with skin or inhalation of vapors
- prevent sufficient breathing of the nail plate
Children's nail polishes.
Therefore, decorative manicures for girls from 5 to 15 years old should be done infrequently, leave the coating on the nails for no more than three days, remove it with products without acetone, and after removing the coating, carry out restorative therapy with vitamins.
IMPORTANT: For children's manicure, it is better to use special children's varnishes with a lightweight composition.
Simple and spectacular designs
How to create a manicure for short nails and choose the optimal length? Now there are many different designs and options that have a pleasant aesthetic appearance and are perfect for little ones.
Manicure for very young ladies
The simplest and most obvious option would be to use transfer stickers. They can depict plants, animals, birds, stars. Designers offer other solutions. You can choose options with famous comic or cartoon characters. And you can decorate just one nail or all of them.
One of the simple and attractive ideas is drawing with a toothpick. This way you can create a unique and inimitable design with your own hands.
You can use a sponge and apply an unusual gradient in a space style. These simple and uncomplicated options will help diversify the life of a young fashionista and make you feel like an adult.
Nail design for teenage girl
Starting from the age of 13, you can already select more adult options that are not devoid of childish fervor. Bright pictures should reflect the character and personality of the girl.
It is better to use transparent coatings or pastel-colored varnishes as a base. For school, it is recommended to choose natural shades that will not stand out too much from the work atmosphere.
For school, a classic jacket that can be decorated with floral patterns will be beautiful and effective. Various stickers in the form of blots or paintings will look good.
You can make seasonal pictures in the form of snowflakes, the sun, falling leaves. You don't have to be a master to do this. A similar manicure can be done at home, giving your child bright emotions.
It will be very beautiful if the manicure is combined with the school uniform. Scottish designs in the form of a cage or a chessboard have become very popular. But this option is more suitable as a holiday one.
What should a children's manicure with drawings look like?
Of course, you can limit yourself to a single-color coating, but even the simplest designs on children's nails will become a real object of admiration. If you use regular decorative varnish for painting, do not forget to apply a special medicinal coating to your children’s nails before doing so. This will protect the child's delicate and sensitive nail plates from harmful chemicals and coloring pigments.
Use your imagination to please your daughter with fresh and creative ideas. To make your task easier, you can use special transfer or self-adhesive nail stickers with images of a wide variety of pictures. There are even stickers with cartoon characters on sale, which will undoubtedly delight any child. There are plenty of options, so the choice is yours. Just don’t forget to consult with your daughter before making designs on your nails; this is a very important and responsible moment for her.
Happy emoticons
To give your daughter a boost of positive emotions, paint a smile on her nails. Funny emoticons will be an excellent decoration for a children's manicure. Such drawings are made very easily with the help of a simple toothpick or dots. First, choose the appropriate colors for your nail art. Pastel shades are perfect as a base, but emoticons can be painted with bright and thick varnish in blue, black, green or crimson.
Multi-colored dots and stripes
Simple designs in the form of dots, randomly applied using colored varnishes, look very interesting on children's nails. Bright splashes on a plain base are the fastest and no less attractive way to decorate your nails. Various horizontal, vertical or diagonal stripes, if skillfully executed and harmoniously selected colors, will also look very beautiful.
Images of animals on children's nails
Almost all kids really like various animals. So why not transfer similar designs to children's nail plates. Cute and funny animal faces look great on a child’s nails. These can be images of a panda, bunny, kitten, zebra and other animals. Instead of funny faces, leopard spots and tiger stripes, which are very simple to do, would be very useful. This bright nail art for children is suitable for any festive event, masquerade or matinee.
Fruit nail art
Any mother can easily draw a pineapple, banana, apple, watermelon or strawberry. You don't need any special artistic skills for this. But a child will simply be delighted with the fruit design. True, such bright designs on nails attract too much attention, so this juicy nail art is not suitable for visits to kindergarten or school. But as an additional accent at some festive event, such marigolds will come in handy.
For mothers who love experimenting, there are ample opportunities to show their creativity by choosing different nail design options together with their daughter . If you think that all kinds of hearts, stars, as well as animal paws and faces are too simple, then you can proceed to more complex designs. We invite you to familiarize yourself with another version of children's nail art, presented in a short educational video. Master the art of nail painting with your child. Not only will this be a great nail art experience for you, but it will also serve as a bonding experience for you and your daughter.
Themed children's nail art
It would be original to cover your nails with gel polish and decorate them with a themed picture. On the first of September it can be a bow, a book, a letter or any other image associated with school.
For a birthday, you can afford a more extravagant option - place prints with cakes, fireworks, and various ribbons.
In winter, drawings with snowflakes, Christmas trees, New Year's themes, stars or the moon will be relevant.
There are also interesting ideas for holidays such as Halloween, Valentine's Day and others. This will give your baby unusualness, romance and individuality. You can use various simple techniques to create lace images using foil. Here everything is limited only by your imagination and capabilities.
It is very rare to use special false nails for children. But for this you need to carefully treat the nail. On the positive side, the child will definitely wean himself from the bad habit of biting his nails. But if you carry out such a procedure too often, then damage to the nail plate is possible.
Therefore, experiment, choose different looks, but do not abuse harmful substances that can harm the health of your child’s nails.
Selecting Tools
Rule 1.
In order not to harm children's nails and the skin around the fingers, it is necessary not only to use the tools correctly, but also to select them.
To perform a children's manicure you will need the following tools:
- Manicure scissors for trimming nails with safety attachments on the ends or small nippers.
- Files for shaping nails are preferably fine-grained.
- Files for polishing nails.
Additionally, it is necessary to have an antiseptic to disinfect instruments and the skin of the fingers in the area of the nail plates, a nourishing or moisturizing cream.
Depending on the girl’s age and resolution, you can choose a safe baby polish. At the same time, such a remedy sometimes helps to eradicate such a bad habit as nail biting. It can be bought at any pharmacy, and it tastes bitter.
The safety of such a product lies in its special composition - it does not contain harmful chemicals, and even more so it does not contain acetone. The varnish is washed off with water and soap solution.
Top
False nails for children
To prepare for a big holiday celebration, you can use children's false nails. There are various sets with a wide variety of designs. This way you can create an extraordinary style for the girl.
It is not recommended to use false nails very often as this can make the nail structure brittle and brittle.
It is forbidden
When caring for your nails, it is worth remembering that you do not need to cut them immediately after swimming. The steamed nail plate is too tender and prone to delamination.
There is also a chance that you will cut your child’s nail to look like meat, since the edges of the nails are blurred and the area that needs to be cut is difficult to see. It is worth trimming your nails carefully, respecting the anatomical shape.
Use only special tools that are purchased from appropriate stores. It is better to choose a file special for the child.
Treat nails with special tenderness and caution so as not to delaminate the surface. The main thing is to accustom your child to caring for nails from an early age.
Treat cuticles carefully. Under 15 years of age, it is not recommended to carry out complex manipulations with the cuticle, since it acts as a protective layer at the base of the nail. But here everything depends on the individual characteristics of the child’s structure.
A special approach is sought for each child. If the skin is very thin, then special products are used to have a gentle effect on the cuticle. If it’s thicker, you can use an orange stick and carefully push it away.
After this, it can be trimmed with nail scissors. It is always recommended to have such tools at home to perform basic nail care yourself.
The process of performing a European manicure
For a child, the most correct and safe manicure is European. It’s not difficult to do and quite simple, the main steps after the child’s nails have been well softened:
- Wash, disinfect and sanitize your hands and all instruments for the procedure well.
- Using a nail file, carefully give your nails a beautiful, neat shape, leaving 1-2 mm of free edge.
- If there are hangnails, cut them off with special pliers or scissors with rounded ends.
- If you need to treat the cuticle, you should apply a special softening agent to it.
- Use an orange stick to carefully push back the cuticle, without pressing on the nail itself.
- Wash your hands well and apply cuticle oil, followed by moisturizer on your hands.
If the manicure will be done with varnish, then you must first paint your nails, and only then, after drying, apply cuticle oil and hand cream.
What is possible?
It's always a good idea to use cuticle emollients. They have a gentle effect on this area and also prevent rapid further growth of the cuticle.
Before taking a bath, be sure to take care of your child's nails. Using an orange stick, gently push back cuticles and scrape away any remaining skin on your nails using gentle, circular motions. Apply polish to your nails, but be sure to use a gentle one. The use of pastel-colored coatings is not prohibited. If your child wants a more permanent manicure, you can try options with gel polish. But this option is not recommended for children under 16 years old. This coating will help develop aesthetic senses in a girl, as well as wean her from the habit of biting her nails.
General recommendations
Manicure and pedicure are a set of cosmetic procedures for the care of nails, skin of hands and feet. It includes massage, baths, polishing, decoration, nail plate extension.
Until the age of 9–10 years, pediatricians and manicurists advise limiting yourself to regular hygienic treatment: shortening the length of the nail plate, cleaning from dirt, removing burrs. This will be enough for boys. But girls have a different opinion. At the age of 4–5 years, they already come to their mothers and demand to paint their nails. And at 11-12 years old, children want gel polish on their nails for a long-lasting manicure. What should parents do?
Teach your child to regularly care for their nails and treat them with care and precision. Until the age of 14–16 years, the nail plate is still developing. It is thinner and softer than that of adults. Any aggressive impact can cause its deformation, disruption of structure, delamination, and fragility.
When getting a children's manicure, you cannot:
- cut the cuticle;
- use adult varnishes;
- apply a decorative coating without preliminary hygienic treatment, a safe choice for children up to 14–15 years old is a dry European manicure;
- grind, polish the surface of the nail plate;
- leave a large length (no more than 3 mm of free edge is allowed), babies are very active and careless. Long nails will get in the way when playing or changing clothes, clinging, bending, breaking off;
- make a pointed shape. Only round or square with rounded corners are suitable.