How to Make a Dotting Tool for Your Nails: 8 Steps (with Pictures) (2024)

1. 1

   Use a bobby pin. These can be found at almost any store and come in many differently sized tops. Pull bobby pin open, then dip one end in the nail polish. Apply as required.^[1]

   • If the small plastic coating falls off, use another bobby pin. It's this part that forms the neat dot shape.
2. 2

   Use a straight pin from your sewing kit. Hold carefully to avoid shake and apply as required.^[2]

   • Grab a small piece of paper and nail polish to test-drive the dotter. Before you apply polish to the nail, you’ll want to make sure you achieve a clean dot. After you dip the straight pinhead into the polish, press it onto the paper first to remove excess polish and to ensure you're going to get the look you want.
   • Consider using straight pins that have a variety of heads. Make different sized dots using tiny heads to larger straight pinheads.

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3. 3

   Upgrade the simple pin. While you could just use the head of the straight pin to make small dots on your nails, joining the pin to a pencil with an eraser end will provide you with better leverage and balance. Insert straight pin into the pencil eraser head. You may need to put a little bit of muscle into this action in the event that the pin doesn’t easily penetrate the eraser.^[3]

   • Hold the pin on a flat surface, sharp side upward. Hold the pin at the bottom to so you can join the pencil eraser with the pin.
   • Grasp the pencil in your other hand (while holding the pin on the flat surface), eraser side downward, and press the eraser into the sharp side of the pin.
   • Drive the eraser into the pin until at least half of the pin has punctured the eraser.
4. 4

   See Also

   How to Dot Paint: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Beautiful ArtworksMastering Dotting Art: Tips and Techniques for BeginnersNail Art with Dotting Tool: Step-by-Step Tutorial - LadyLifeHow Do you Use The Dotting Tool?

   Dip the pin end into a bottle of nail polish. Once you're ready to use the dotter, dip the end into your favorite bottle of polish.

   • Apply the painted nail polish pin tip to your piece of paper and then to your nail. Repeat this process on the paper until you have painted on enough nail polish and have achieved look you want to achieve.
5. 5

   Make a dotting tool out of a paintbrush or makeup brush. Just flip the brush over and use the end of it. Easy!

6. 6

   Use a ballpoint pen. It would be a good idea to find one that is out of ink, but it will still work fine if you don't. Simply dip the end into the polish and apply as needed.^[4]

7. 7

   Use toothpicks. You're thinking that the dot will be small, and that's correct. But if you hold down the toothpick long enough and use enough nail polish, the size of the dot will grow.^[5]

8. 8

   Use a Band-Aide after base coat is dry. This creates tidy little polka dots.

   • Put the Band-Aide on your nail and paint over it with the colour you want the polka dots to be! Once it dries, remove the band-aide.^[6]

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Community Q&A

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• Maintain your manicure for a longer amount of time by applying one or two coats of clear polish once your nail polish design has dried.

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  Helpful28Not Helpful8

• Keep several dotter tools on hand that contain various straight pin sizes.

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  Helpful23Not Helpful7

• Remove polish from straight pin tip after each polishing session or if you want to change polish colors using nail polish remover.

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Show More Tips

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• Bobby pin
• Pins (and pencil with eraser head)
• Toothpicks
• Brush ends
• Blotting paper
• Nail polish
• Band-Aide

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Co-authors: 17

Updated: April 13, 2023

Views:160,144