Manicure Tips: How to do a Manicure At Home
There are few things that can make you feel as good as a first-class manicure. There’s something about beautifully polished and trimmed nails that can make one feel a little more elegant and feminine. This is one of our favorite beauty tips for women, as it is simple and easy to do. But, you don’t have to go to a nail salon to achieve this. Below are some helpful tricks and a step-by-step guide, which will help you to achieve this at home, and also how to keep it looking great afterwards.
Begin with clean nails
Remove any polish from the nails and then wash your hands with soap and a nail brush to remove any extra dirt or polish.
Check out this product: Tweezerman Dual Surface Nail Brush
Carefully push cuticles
After having washed your hands, your cuticles will be nice and soft, if they are not then use a cuticle cream to soften them. Using a cuticle stick, carefully and gently push the cuticles back off the nails. This is not a necessary step. This step is only needed if the cuticles will interfere with the application of the nail polish later. Be cautious when pushing the cuticles back because the area between the skin and cuticle can become infected easily.
Two good products to look at: Satin Edge Rubber Grip Cuticle Pusher and Body Toolz Cuticle Pusher
Shaping your nails
Now, at this point, determine which shape you would like your nails to be. The most flattering shape and also the one which tends to make nails look their longest is a mixture of square and oval, one that mimics the shape of the base of the nail. If your nails are very short, then try to just even and soften the edges, trying to keep them all about the same length.
Filing Your Nails
Be careful when filing your nails because this can damage or tear them. Make sure to file only in one direction, otherwise damage can be done to the nail, making them more likely to break. Also, never file your nails after showering because at that time nails are softer and more prone to breakage. Just this alone can help keep your nails in better condition and also stronger.
Items with good reviews: Ecotools Bamboo Nail Files and Crystal Glass Nail file
Prepping Your Nails
Before applying polish, use a cotton ball to swipe nail polish remover over your clean nails. Why? Because nail polish remover with acetone will temporarily dehydrate the nails, which will actually help the polish to stick better.
Base Coat
Begin with a base coat. This will not only strengthen weak nails but polish adheres best to a base coat too. If you want to ensure that your manicure will last long, make time for this extra step. And before moving on to the next step, make sure that the layer of base coat is allowed to dry completely.
Painting your nails
The best way to paint the nails is to begin at the base and move to brush towards the tip. Also begin in the center of the nail (not on the sides) and make one stripe down the middle and then a stripe on each side. This way the nail fills up evenly and smoothly with color. Make sure to use thin strips of color and to always let the first coat of polish dry completely before applying the next one.
Pretty Nail Polish colors to try out
The Magic of Topcoat
Not only will topcoat protect your newly polished fingers, but by applying topcoat every other day, it will also help extend the life of your manicure by protecting and hydrating the nails and will also keep the polish from cracking.
Take a look at Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat, a very good topcoat product.
Hopefully these simple manicure tips will help you to give yourself beautifully polished fingers at home. And with just a little maintenance, it should last for a week or more. Feel like adding some more glamour to your look, try visiting our lipstick cosmetics article, which will help you to pick out the right type of lipstick for your mood and style. Plus, our post on how to apply foundation will aid you in creating a flawless complexion with cosmetics.