{"id":184,"date":"2026-07-15T05:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/julianahensdev.wpenginepowered.com\/why-colombian-manicures-take-more-time\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T19:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:10:44","slug":"why-colombian-manicures-take-more-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/why-colombian-manicures-take-more-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Colombian Manicures Take More Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.jh-art{font-size:17px;line-height:1.75}\n.jh-art .jh-lead{font-size:20px;line-height:1.65;color:#43362D}\n.jh-art h2{margin:1.5em 0 .5em}\n.jh-dgrid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(170px,1fr));gap:18px 22px;background:#FAF5EC;border:1px solid #EFE6D8;border-radius:4px;padding:24px;margin:1.6em 0}\n.jh-dgrid dt{font-size:11px;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:2px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#B03052;margin:0 0 4px}\n.jh-dgrid dd{margin:0;font-weight:500;color:#2B1D16}\n.jh-steps{list-style:none;counter-reset:st;margin:1.2em 0;padding:0}\n.jh-steps li{counter-increment:st;position:relative;padding:2px 0 20px 54px}\n.jh-steps li::before{content:counter(st);position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:36px;height:36px;border-radius:50%;background:linear-gradient(135deg,#D6246E,#F2A324);color:#fff;font-weight:600;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}\n.jh-ings{columns:2;column-gap:32px;margin:1em 0;padding-left:20px}\n.jh-ings li{margin:0 0 8px;break-inside:avoid}\n.jh-card{background:#EFE6D8;border-radius:4px;padding:20px 24px;margin:1.4em 0}\n.jh-note{border-left:3px solid #D6246E;background:#FAF5EC;padding:12px 18px;margin:1.4em 0}\n.jh-artph{background:linear-gradient(140deg,#F7DCE7,#F6E3C8);border-radius:4px;min-height:280px;display:flex;align-items:flex-end;justify-content:center;padding:14px;margin:1.6em 0}\n.jh-artph span{font-size:10px;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:2px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#B03052}\n.jh-avid{background:linear-gradient(140deg,#2B1D16,#43362D);border-radius:4px;aspect-ratio:16\/9;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;margin:1.6em 0}\n.jh-avid span{font-size:11px;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:2px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#F6E3C8}\n.jh-share{display:flex;gap:10px;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;margin:2.2em 0 0;padding-top:18px;border-top:1px solid #EFE6D8}\n.jh-share b{font-size:11px;letter-spacing:2px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#43362D}\n.jh-share a{display:inline-block;padding:8px 16px;border:1.5px solid #2B1D16;border-radius:2px;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#2B1D16;text-decoration:none}\n.jh-share a:hover{background:#D6246E;border-color:#D6246E;color:#fff}\n.jh-print{display:inline-block;padding:10px 20px;background:#2B1D16;color:#fff;border-radius:2px;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:1px;cursor:pointer;border:0}\n@media(max-width:640px){.jh-ings{columns:1}}\n@media print{.jh-share,.jh-avid,.et-l--header,.et-l--footer{display:none!important}}\n.et-l--body .et_pb_row:has(.not-found-title){display:none}\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"jh-art\">\n<p class=\"jh-lead\">The first time I got my nails done in the United States, I was in and out of the salon in forty minutes. I sat in the car afterwards looking at my hands and thinking: <em>that&#8217;s it?<\/em> In Colombia, a manicure is never just a manicure \u2014 and it is never just forty minutes.<\/p>\n<h2>It starts with care, not color<\/h2>\n<p>In Colombia, the polish is the last thing that happens. A manicure begins with a soak, then careful, unhurried cuticle work \u2014 softened, pushed back, trimmed with real attention. Then comes shaping: not &#8220;square or round?&#8221; but a conversation about your hands, your fingers, what will actually look good on you. Nobody photographs this part, and that&#8217;s exactly why it matters. It&#8217;s the difference between nails that look nice for three days and nails that look intentional for three weeks.<\/p>\n<h2>Everything is painted by hand<\/h2>\n<p>The designs you see on Colombian nails \u2014 the fine lines, the tiny flowers, the little strokes of gold \u2014 are painted with a brush, one nail at a time. Not stickers. Not stamps. Ten tiny paintings, done freehand, by someone whose hands do not shake. That level of detail takes time because it is actual craft. When someone spends twenty minutes painting micro-flowers on your ring finger, you understand you&#8217;re not paying for polish. You&#8217;re paying for skill.<\/p>\n<h2>The salon is a social place<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the part that surprises my American friends the most: in Colombia, going to the salon is a plan. You know your manicurist by name. She knows about your job, your family, your last vacation. There&#8217;s conversation, there&#8217;s coffee, sometimes there&#8217;s neighborhood gossip that&#8217;s better than television. Nobody is trying to turn the chair over in half an hour \u2014 and honestly, nobody wants them to.<\/p>\n<h2>So how long does it take?<\/h2>\n<p>A proper Colombian manicure with hand-painted art usually takes two to three hours. Here&#8217;s the design I&#8217;m wearing right now, as an example:<\/p>\n<dl class=\"jh-dgrid\">\n<div>\n<dt>Inspiration<\/dt>\n<dd>The bougainvillea in my mom&#8217;s garden<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<dt>Technique<\/dt>\n<dd>Hand-painted line work and micro-florals<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<dt>Colors used<\/dt>\n<dd>Soft rose, ivory, a touch of mango gold<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<dt>Shape &amp; length<\/dt>\n<dd>Almond, medium<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<dt>Time required<\/dt>\n<dd>About 2\u00bd hours<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<dt>Artist<\/dt>\n<dd>Done at home, Colombian style<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<\/dl>\n<div class=\"jh-artph\"><span>Photo \u2014 close-up gallery coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Is it worth it?<\/h2>\n<p>I think the question is backwards. Once you understand what goes into those hours \u2014 the prep, the brushwork, the care \u2014 you stop asking why a Colombian manicure takes so long, and you start asking why everywhere else it takes so little.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll be sharing designs, techniques, and salon stories here and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/juliana._henson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@juliana.henson1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok<\/a>. This is just the first coat.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jh-card\"><strong>Products used:<\/strong> I&#8217;m putting together the exact brushes and polishes I use, with links \u2014 coming soon to the <a href=\"\/en\/shop\/\">Shop<\/a> section.<\/div>\n<div class=\"jh-share\"><b>Share<\/b><br \/>\n<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(location.href),'_blank','noopener');return false\">Facebook<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&#038;text='+encodeURIComponent(document.title),'_blank','noopener');return false\">X<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href),'_blank','noopener');return false\">Pinterest<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text='+encodeURIComponent(document.title+' '+location.href),'_blank','noopener');return false\">WhatsApp<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first time I got my nails done in the United States, I was in and out of the salon in forty minutes. I sat in the car afterwards looking at my hands and thinking: that&#8217;s it? In Colombia, a manicure is never just a manicure \u2014 and it is never just forty minutes. It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beauty-nails"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208,"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions\/208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/julianahenson.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}