UCLA’s nail artists are blending creativity, community and convenience.

Students are producing salon-level designs for accessible prices in apartments, dorms and lounges. Lavanya Lakhmani, a rising third-year cognitive science and economics student said she uses her nail art to build friendships and connections rather than simply focusing on business.

“Everything I do in my (Instagram) account is set up around me meeting new people and creating nails for friends and family,” Lakhmani said.

Lakhmani said she uses press-on nails and Gel-X to create artistic designs, with her business evolving from her freshman dorm lounge to her new apartment. She added that her nail art creations started as a high school assignment focused on learning a new life skill and have become something she has continued throughout college. With no previous visual art experience and a simple nail kit, Lakhmani said she picked up the basics in just a few months and has been increasing the complexity of her designs over time.

Lakhmani added that approaching nail art as a hobby allows her to set clear boundaries for prioritizing her schoolwork while also viewing her sessions as an opportunity to have conversations and make connections. The number of new people students meet usually decreases after freshman year, Lakhmani said, but she wanted to continue to make friends.

“This was my way to get my foot through the door in the sense that I could have real conversations with people and learn more about them,” Lakhmani said.

[Related: From hobby to handmade business: Donna Wu builds Critter Trinkets]

Lakhmani said speaking with clients during sessions shows her how much students have in common. She added that in a high-achieving school, it’s easy to experience a sense of imposter syndrome, but nail art has helped her overcome that feeling.

“When you talk to people, it does make it feel like everyone has their own story, everyone has their own background, everyone has their motivations,” Lakhmani said. “It makes me feel a lot closer to the general UCLA students and see how connected we are.”

Juliet Geraci, a rising second-year psychobiology student, who also runs a nail art business on campus, said creating a social media account to show her designs offered her a positive creative outlet. Geraci began learning nail art as a sophomore in high school through TikTok and YouTube, she said. After her friends encouraged her to share her designs online, Geraci said she was initially nervous yet ultimately decided to create the account. Geraci said she has built a lasting business at UCLA with many recurring clients and provides Gel-X sets and gel manicures.

Beyond artistic fulfillment, Geraci said learning how to do her own nails saved her a lot of time and money, which she sees as part of the appeal for students who choose a student nail artist over a spa or salon. She added that she bases her pricing off an attempt to cut professional salon prices in half. Additionally, Geraci said the convenience of walking to a peer’s dorm rather than traveling to another location makes student nail artists an appealing option for UCLA students.

Clara Crawford, a rising second-year psychobiology student, said she gets her nails done once every month or two and appreciates the relaxed, social atmosphere and the convenience of having Geraci, her roommate, do her nails.

Compared to a professional nail salon, Crawford said the atmosphere is more personable, with Geraci playing music from Crawford’s request and treating the session as a space to hang out. She said it is easier to ask another student to try a new design and be more collaborative in creating the looks together and added that she and Geraci collaborated when coming up with her nails for Christmas.

“I didn’t know exactly what I wanted,” Crawford said. “We both brainstormed together what she could do, and she just played around and tried out different things. … It ended up super cool.”

Geraci advises other creative students who want to start something on campus to take that chance. She said creative expression not only helped her cultivate community but also become who she is today.

“I can say because of Gel-X nails, I met some of my closest friends today,” Lakhmani said.