The 1994 NAILS Fact Book reveals that the average price for nail art, per nail, is $3.63. But that cold, hard fact leaves much still unknown. For instance, what is the range of prices per nail? What if you do all 10 nails? Is airbrushing priced differently from other techniques? To get answers to these questions, we went straight to the source — our readers. This is what you had to say about pricing your work:

Donna Drake, Hard As Nails (Lancaster, Calif.): Pricing depends on the difficulty of the design. I might charge $l-$2 per nail for an easy design, and up to $5 for a more intricate design. I charge $10-$15 per hand for difficult designs.

Karen Adams, Reyarpsdrol’s Hair Care (Shaker Heights, Ohio): If the client is getting a fill, I charge an additional $1 per nail for nail art if she’s getting all 10 nails done; otherwise my price is $2-$3 per nail. If a first-time customer gets a full set, I’ll do nail art for free.

Karen Potesta, World Omni Salon (Deerfield Beach, Fla.): I charge $2-$5 for freehand nail art. If the design uses a lot of rhinestones, the price range would be $3-$7. A simple, basic design might cost $10-$15 for all 10 nails.

Kathy Culbertson, Hair Plus (Belle Mead, N.J.): I charge $l-$5 per nail, depending on the intricacy of the design. For a special design, like a company logo, I might charge up to $20, especially if I have to practice the design on a fake nail first.

Lisa Tanner, Le Motive (Salem, Ore.): Generally, I charge $3-$6 per nail. I charge a little more for difficult designs like cartoon characters. I may give clients a price break if they get a fill.

Traci Suggs, Great Lengths (Columbus, Ohio): I charge roughly $6 per quarter-hour. You also need to factor in the cost of supplies. I usually double the cost. For instance, rhinestones cost me 50, so I charge the client 100 each.

Diane Harris, ImageMaker (Bakersfield, Calif.): Idetermine each price case by case. Generally, I want to earn $20-$30 per hour. I add $5 to the price of afill for airbrushing.

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