Once you’ve transferred the image onto the stamper, take the time to check for any ‘odd’ bits of polish. Use a cotton bud soaked in acetone to gently wipe off any excess polish before you stamp the design onto the nail.
Also, the same trick can be used to turn a ‘full nail’ design into a French tip. Just remove the lower half of the image using a cotton bud and acetone. Then stamp the remainder of the design onto the nail.
Stamping the Image Onto the Nail
This is where the fun starts, and the most important thing I can say about this is to ensure that you ‘roll’ the stamp. Rolling the image onto the nail will ensure that the whole nail gets covered, and you won’t be left with half a design on the highest part of the nail.
Stamping Tips and Tricks
Try to work quickly, because if the image dries too much, it sticks to the stamper and not the nail. Also, try to not lift or move the stamper while you’re rolling it over the nail. If you do, you may end up with tears or bubbles in the image itself and you’ll have to redo the nail.
Common Issues with Nail Art Stamp Designs
A partial design on the stamper: This could be because the polish dried while it was on the plate, or the stamper may need to be cleaned. Clean both the stamper and the plate and try again. Also, put enough polish onto the plate to fill the engraved image properly. Scraping the plate twice could also cause this.
A partial design on the nail: The polish most likely dried on the stamp before it was transferred, or the image was a partial one to begin with. If you notice a partial design on the stamper, remove it and start again. If you did not roll the stamper, you could also be left with a partial design.
Streaky or messy designs:
If this happens, there is most likely too much polish on the plate. Try scraping a little harder to remove any excess polish before transferring the design.
Torn images or bubbles:
This usually happens when you move the stamper or lift it while transferring the design onto the nail. The stamper should ‘roll’ across the nail with one smooth movement.
Barely visible images:
This is usually the polish and not the scraper, nail art stamp or technique. If the design you’re using doesn’t show up properly, use a lighter base color, or use a thicker polish, or a darker color to stamp the image on top. I’ve found that darker colors work best for stamping and that it’s harder to get the images to show up properly when using really dark base colors. If you want to do things ‘right’, then you might want to invest in stamping polish. There are a number of ‘faux ad’ brands available that are more affordable than actual Konad products.
Mess or Excess Polish on the Cuticles:
This is bound to happen. If you’re trying to avoid getting the polish on your cuticles, it may mess up the design. Don’t worry about the messy cuticles afterward. A corrector pen or a cotton bud soaked in acetone is all you need to clean up the excess.
I’m going to insert some ‘nail art stamp’ YouTube videos I’ve found to be helpful as well. If you’re still struggling, please take a few moments to watch these tutorials and you should get a good idea of what else you might be doing wrong. These videos were lifesavers for me when I first tried to stamp nail art! Enjoy.
Embedding has been disabled on the first video, but it is the most comprehensive video I’ve seen so far, so I’ll link to it.