Nails tend to be very expensive when getting them done at a salon. However, some students at VHHS have found a solution to this problem: doing their nails themselves.

Gabriela Dell’ Aquila (10), a student nail artist at VHHS, found that getting her nails done at a salon costs around 50-60 dollars. After realizing this, she stopped getting them done at a salon and began to do her and her friends’ nails on her own.

“I was talking to some friends and they said, ‘You should start doing nails, and we’ll start paying for it.’ I thought, okay, maybe this could turn into a little hobby. It started off as just a hobby, and then I started investing time and money into it,”  Dell’ Aquila said.

Dell’ Aquila still remembers the first nail design she ever did on herself: a classic french tip pattern with bold cheetah prints added to the tips to put a creative spin on the design.

Another one of Dell’ Aquila’s early designs was inspired by the Fourth of July. She incorporated french tips again into her design, except this time she added a couple of stars on top to add some color to the nails.

A second student, Gina Stoeva (9), also has a love for doing nails.

“It kind of motivates you to do something and relax at the same time,” Stoeva said.

Nail artists also have many different techniques and tools for doing nails. Stoeva discovered a good hack for making her nails look like marble.

“You can put different dots of colors and use a liner brush and just throw it around,” Stoeva said.

Stoeva also has another technique to add words and other intricate designs to her nails. By using a UV lamp, she can create nail stickers. Without this technique, the smaller nail designs would be much harder to do.

Leah Kwon (10), another student nail artist, found that chrome powder looks really good on nails. She loves putting the powder on her nail designs and considers it one of her favorite things about doing nails.

Many nail artists started in different ways. Some were inspired by their friends and others were inspired by their own personal interest.

Dell’ Aquila said her nail journey first started as a hobby and then turned into something bigger.

“I always had a fond hobby for painting. I would always just draw on my nails and stuff like that,” Dell’ Aquila said. 

Finding new clients is also important to nail artists, so they usually have a pretty good presence on social media. 

Dell’ Aquila uses both Instagram and TikTok to promote her business on social media.

“I have an Instagram where I post pictures. Some of my friends share it, and I’ve just created a TikTok account,” Dell’ Aquila said.

Dell’ Aquila has also begun to make a Google page to help promote her business. She also uses Pinterest to try to find good inspiration for her nail designs.