The Art of Nail Design

Laura Santamaria has loved making art for as long as she can remember. As a young  adult, she started working at a nail salon in a suburb of Miami, Florida. After learning the basics, she wondered if she could apply her artistic skills to create elaborate nail designs. “If I can paint something on canvas, I can try to paint it on nails,” she recalls thinking. “It’s a little bit smaller, but it can’t be too different.” 

So Santamaria tried her hand at nail art. “I started small, making little flowers,” she says. With time and practice, her skills advanced. Today, Santamaria is known for her ability to create intricate designs—from 3D bows and cherries to cartoon characters—on her clients’ fingernails. Here, Santamaria shares some advice for nailing it in her line of work. 

Become a lifelong learner. Santamaria got her first job at a nail salon when she was 19. The owner of the salon taught her how to care for and polish clients’ nails. He also showed her techniques for lengthening nails using artificial extensions called acrylics. But for Santamaria, that was just the beginning. 

She signed up for courses and watched countless videos of nail artists at work. Eight years later, she has her own business. But she says she still has plenty to learn. “With nails, there are always new trends,” she told Your Hot Job. “I feel like I will always remain a student.”

Embrace challenges. Painting detailed designs on clients’ nails has brought some challenging requests. A client who was going to a concert asked Santamaria to adorn her nails with images from one of the musician’s albums. “A lot of the time, I wing it,” Santamaria says. “But this I had to practice.” 

She worked on a plan, practicing on artificial nails. She compared her colors with those on the album, making adjustments along the way. By the time the client sat down across from her, she was ready. “I knew the colors that I had to grab,” she says, “and I knew how to avoid the mistakes I had made the first time.”

Find ways to bring in new business. Santamaria’s strategy for bringing in new clients has changed over time. She used to hand out business cards and distribute flyers offering discounts for a client’s first appointment. But now, she says, many clients learn about her on social media, where she posts reels and pictures of her work. 

She tags her content with trending terms that she knows potential clients may be looking for. Recently, she has used the tags “90snails” and “y2knails,” which refer to nail designs inspired by fashion from the 1990s and early 2000s. “A lot of fashion for clothing, people will [apply] to nail art,” Santamaria explains. 

Connect with clients. Santamaria has clients who’ve been with her for years. She attributes their loyalty not only to the service she provides, but also to the relationships she has built. “I try to connect with everybody and make them feel comfortable,” she says. 

One way to do that is by listening. “My clients love that I'll remember little details they told me at their last appointment, and that I ask about [these] at the next appointment,” Santamaria says. “I always try to be a listening ear.”