The thin bristles of a brush coated in gel polish are wiped along the edge of a palette. Brush held steadily in their hand, the student’s mind is full of concentration and silence as they carefully paint a French tip on their clients nails.

Sophomore Bella Prieto began teaching herself how to do nails during the summer of 2024, after getting frustrated with the results of going to salons. Learning the basics from social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, she now does nails for her friends and family.

“I was always good at the designs because of my interest in art,” Prieto said. “But I really just taught myself the other stuff and figured it out on my own.”

In addition to Prieto, senior Navika Amar is another student nail artist at Bowie. She began learning how to do nails her sophomore year, now primarily doing the nails of her close friends and family.

“It’s fun getting to have something on your hands that you can show off,” Amar said. “I like getting to try different designs that would cost $100 at the salon.”

First learning dip nails, a method where a layer of a special polish is brushed onto the nail, which is then dipped into a container of powder, Prieto later switched to acrylic, practicing her newly learned skills on herself and close friends. Prieto began to take clients after spending five months perfecting her craft, starting off with a few friends, and now doing other’s nails almost every day of the week.

“Nails are what I love to do, and if people leave happy after I do their nails, then that makes me happy,” Prieto said. “When people come to me and tell me how much they love their nails, it makes me glad that I can provide that for them.”

Having a love for art since she was young, Prieto likes that she was able to find a medium that suits her creativity. Unlike going to the salon, Prieto enjoys having creative freedom with her own nails, and doing cool and intricate designs on her clients.

“I’ve always really liked art,” Prieto said. “Nails are my form of art, that I get to create, and I think it’s cool I’m able to do nails how I want them instead of going to a salon.”

Beginning with regular nail lacquer, Amar later tried out gel polish and nail extensions. Over the years she has practiced her technique and designs, continuing to learn new things when doing sets for others.

“I began doing nails mainly for fun and to save money,” Amar said. “Not relying on the salon means I can do more fun designs that I want.”

Every client of Prieto’s gets a different and unique design, leaving her with experience in a variety of nail styles. Depending on the level of detail each set contains, Prieto spends around two to three hours on each set, allowing her to talk and make new friends with her clients while they spend hours sitting across from one another.

“At first, it was just for me, because I wanted to do my own nails for fun,” Prieto said. “Now doing nails makes me meet new people.”

Using acrylic as her main nail medium, Prieto dips a brush in monomer before picking up a bead of acrylic powder. After using the acrylic to create the shape and structure of the nails, she goes over them with gel, using thin brushes to meticulously paint her designs.

“Her designs are extraordinary,” Bella’s mom Hillary said. “A lot of the designs are so tiny and detailed which takes an extra level of patience and a steady hand.”

Being a nail technician is a large part of Bella’s life, and she dedicates her time after school and on weekends to taking appointments. Bella’s friend, Zoe Dunton, noticed  her friend’s interest in nails when interacting with her everyday.

“Nails are her life,” Dunton said. “She talks about it all the time, and she’s always taking appointments every single day after school.”

Depending on the season, Amar posts on her Instagram page, Navs_Nails, where she shares her recent nail sets she created to show potential clients what she is capable of. She takes several clients a week, the amount varying based on the time of the year.

“Some weeks I can be doing one or two sets,” Amar said. “Other weeks I could be doing four people’s sets, so there are definitely busy seasons.”

Interested in being a nail tech on the side, Bella is building business experience. Hillary believes this experience will be useful no matter what field Bella chooses to pursue.

“She’s building a strong foundation of experience that will support her in whatever path she chooses in the future,” Hillary said. “Nail art is just one of the many ways her artistic talents shine, and she has a great future ahead of her.”

Instead of looking to get a more common job, Bella’s entrepreneurial spirit has led her to make money by doing nails. Finding success in her endeavour, Bella has gained support from Hillary.

“I love that Bella has developed an interest in doing nails,” Hillary said. “It’s wonderful she can express her creativity while making some money, and I think it’s a great combination of passion and entrepreneurship.”

A majority of Bella’s nails designs are inspired by photos she found on social media platforms, such as Pinterest. In order to promote her skills to others she will occasionally post photos of her nail sets on her Instagram.

“It’s unbelievable the stuff she can do, she’s really talented,” Dunton said. “She has a natural talent for nails.”

Bella’s workspace is located in her family’s guest bedroom, and was designed by her. Her area consists of cabinets and shelves built into the wall, with a fold-down table, and chairs on either side.

“She envisioned a special and inviting work space and I helped make that happen,” Hillary said. “Now I get to celebrate her talent and hard working efforts.”