27 Cute Back to School Nail Ideas!
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Back to School Nail Ideas
It’s August, which means HOT days, lots of sunshine, and…back to school (or heading to college for the first time!).
When you have to study a lot, take notes in class, and write papers, you might as well have some fun back to school nails to look at…right?
Many women go to salons to get their nails done, but gel nail polish can damage your nails and it can get expensive to get your nails done professionally. Instead, why not have fun back to school nails that you can do at home?
With the right fall nail polish color and fun back to school nail decals or stickers, you can get colorful, eye-catching back to school nails for the first day or school.
This post is all about back to school nail ideas. Let’s jump right in!
Here are my favorite back to school nail ideas and designs for summer/fall.
To make things easy, I included links to buy each of the back to school nail decals/stickers on Amazon with the recommended nail polish to use.
1. Crayons, Apples, and Rulers
These back to school nails incorporate everything you would normally think of for school: Crayola crayons, apples, math equations, lined paper, and a ruler!
2. Disney’s Winnie the Pooh
What You Need for These Disney Themed Back to School Nails
3. Maple Leaf Nails
These back to school nails are perfect for getting you in the fall spirit!
Maple Leaf Nail Decals and Base Coat Nail Colors
4. White Graffiti Art
How to Get This Graffiti Art Look for Back to School Nails
5. Back to School Inspo!
These long back to school nails are fun with French Tips! You can incorporate lined paper with math equations and a pencil!
6. Red Apples
Get These Apple Smart Back to School Nail Decals/Stickers and Nail Polish
7. Yellow Maple Leaf
Get these Fall 2023 Nails for Back to School
8. Green Maple Leaf
Get These Green Base Coat and Maple Leaf Nails for Back to School
9. Nude Brown
10. White, Pink, Red, and Brown Cow Print
Get These Fun Back to School Nails
11. Fun Blue and Silver Stripes
These blue and silver nails are so, so pretty!
12. Fresh Lemon Nails and Polka Dots
These lemon nail wraps are perfect for fun back to school nails.
13. Summer Fruit
One super easy back-to-school nail idea is to paint your nails red, and then add fun nail stickers!
14. Bright Pink Nails with Popsicles
Who says summer ends when you go back to school? Keep the summer spirit going with these hot pink back to school nails.
15. Teacher Inspired with Apples
These red nail wraps with apples are just perfect for teachers and back to school!
16. Hearts and Clouds
These nail wraps aren’t necessarily back to school themed, but they are so, so cute!!
17. DIY Crayola Crayons
These Crayola nails for back to school are PERFECT for teachers. See the tutorial here.
18. Crayola Nail Wraps
Or, you can get these rayon nail wraps from Etsy for easy back-to-school nails!
19. Pencils and Paper
If you are good with fancy nail designs, these back to school nails are so cute!
20. Popping Pink
These nail wraps are so cute for back to school nails!
21. Energetic and Warm Pink
If you want fun and bright back to school nails, just go with a colorful nail polish for the month of August! I love Big Bloom Energy for an August nail color.
22. Rainbow Checkerboards
If you want fun nails for back to school, you will love these oval shaped acrylic nails on Amazon! These rainbow checkerboard nails bring back fun 80s vibes and are perfect for a fun back to school nail design!
23. Flower French Tips
These flower French nail tips are perfect for back to school nails! They are classy and fun at the same time! Flower power all the way!
24. Blue Swirls
Back to school nails don't have to scream "back to school!" Blue nails with darker blue swirls are a cute nail design to rock at school.
25. Fun and Sparkly
Get These Fun and Sparkly Back to School Nails
26. Owls
Get These Cute DIY Back to School Nails with Owls
27. Sparkly Crayolas
These back to school nails are so cute!!
Base Coat and Top Coat Nail Polish for Back to School DIY Nails
Before using ANY of the nail polish above, it’s helpful to use a base coat of nail polish and a top coat of nail polish.
Base Coat Nail Polishes for Back to School Nails
A base coat of nail polish makes your nail polish last longer, protects your nails, and prevents staining.
You don’t need to use an expensive base coat. I personally stick to the base coats by OPI.
Top Coat Nail Polishes for Back to School Nails
A top coat makes your nails look shiny and helps to prevent chipping of the nail polish.
It is especially important to use a top coat of nail polish when using nail decals or stickers, as it helps prevent the nail art from peeling off.
I personally use the OPI or the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel top coat nail polish.
Health Note: Don’t get the Seche Vite top coat nail polish. It gets AMAZING reviews and women absolutely LOVE how it looks. My hair dresser who knows all things beauty said that all of her clients wear by it. BUT…Seche Vite nail polish has a toxic ingredient in it (toluene), which is really bad for you.
How to Apply Back to School Nail Decals
If you are new to using nail decals, have no fear. It is SUPER easy. Basically, you just need to apply your base coat and let it try completely, apply the nail decals or stickers, and then apply a top coat.
This short 2 minute YouTube video shows you how to apply nail decals for easy and fun looking nails.
Summary
In summary, you have so many options when it comes to back to school nails! You can either go with school-themed nails (like apples, school buses, and crayons), or you can stick with cute summer nail colors, or embrace the fall with some autumn leaves for back to school nail designs! For more back to school nail ideas, check out this Pinterest board with back to school nail ideas or this Pinterest board with cute nail ideas!
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