Manicure at home

    Why spend money every few weeks on a professional manicure when you can do it yourself at home? Follow the steps below to get a salon-worthy manicure and get the scoop on some of my best manicure secrets. 

Time Required: 20 minutes to do, 20 minutes to dry.

Gather your supplies.

You will need :

Nail Polish Remover,                                                   Cotton Balls, 

Foot Scrub,                                                                 Cuticle Oil or Softener, 

Cuticle Pusher,                                                            Manicure Brush,  

Nail file and Buffer,                                                     Hand Soap or Any Liquid Soap

 Hand and Nail Cream                                                 Base coat and Cuticle Remover

Remove old nail polish:

Start by removing old polish. For natural nails. Use nail polish remover and cotton balls or swabs. Some kinds of nail polish remover may dry the areas on your nails and around them. You may wish to find one that doesn't do this as much, but do not be concerned unless you have a severe allergic reaction.

 Shape nails:

 Clip the nails, if necessary, after soaking for just a few seconds to prevent the nail from splintering when it is dry, then gently file them into shape. A slightly rounded nail shape or square-rounded edge is generally the best way to go.

Buff your nails. 

Using a white block of a stick-type nail buffer, or a pad-type nail buffer and buffing powder, buff the surface of the nail a little bit to even out the surface and to smooth out ridges. Remember not to buff too much; thinning it too much will weaken it. Perfect edge-to-edge flatness is not practical or necessary. A soft, flexible buffer will more easily buff the sides of the nail along with the middle.

Soak away:

Ahh … the relaxing part. Place your hands in a bowl of warm (not too hot) water and add a bit of your gentle face cleanser to the water. Avoid putting detergent or soapy cleansers in the water because they can be drying and make your cuticles look worse. Soaking the cuticle before trimming is crucial, but over-soaking actually damages skin and nails, so keep it to three minutes or less.

    

Prepare your cuticles:

 Dry your nails and apply a cuticle cream. Using a cuticle pusher, also called an orange stick, gently push back the cuticle.  Very gently push the cuticle back away from the nail with a cuticle pushing tool, but don't push it too far because it can damage nail growth or fray the cuticles. Be careful NOT to pull, lift, tear, rip, force, or cut into the cuticle in any way. Do NOT clip into the cuticle; merely nip off the free edge with a pair of metal cuticle nippers. Wipe off the excess cream with a tissue or towel in the direction that you pushed.

Moisturize:

Massage a rich cream or silky oil into the cuticles and all over the hands to hydrate and replenish skin. Try Paula's Choice Cuticle & Nail Treatment for a spa-like finish—your nails, cuticles, and hands will love it!

 Prepare for polish:

 Moisturizing ingredients of any kind left on the nail will prevent polish from adhering properly. Using a cotton swab or pad, apply nail-polish remover over the nail's surface to remove any residue. While it helps to avoid getting remover on the cuticle because you want to keep that area moisturized, don't worry if you do because you're going to apply moisturizer on your nails again once the polish is dry.

Paint nails in layers: 

If you have weak or brittle nails, use a base coat of ridge-filling nail polish to shore up the nail. A base coat also protects nails from staining and prevents chipping. Next, apply your color polish in layers, allowing each layer to dry between coats. Two coats of color polish, followed by a top coat to add shine and luster should do the trick. Use a lighter shade of polish if you're a novice at painting nails; any mistakes will be less noticeable!

Touch up your manicure every couple days with a single layer of top coat. This can make all the difference in keeping up the appearance and durability.

Clean up any mistakes. You're almost done. It takes time for nails to fully dry, so you must be patient. A fan helps, but do not use heat or the polish will chip and peel. Also, do not put your nails too close to the fan or you can get bubbles in your polish.

 Reapply moisturizer and during the day reapply sunscreen!

 Keeping your hands and the nail area healthy requires moisturizer and sunscreen. You can't have great nails and hands without these two essential items.

You can definitely get a brilliant manicure doing it yourself, if you have the right tools lined up and you use the right techniques. Of course, there's nothing wrong with getting a professional manicure for special occasions or just to be pampered, but knowing how to do it yourself can save you a lot of time and money!!