Well-manicured hands are beautiful
to look at. They show others the effort
we have spent in taking care of our self, while also letting out a bit about our
characteristics. Well-looked after hands also make us feel more confident and
pretty about our self. So, does that mean a regular trip to the salon is vital? Well, not necessarily.
At-home manicures are a wonderful
alternative to your salon experiences. You can treat your hands and fingers for a relaxing manicure indoors and that too anytime you want and without splurging a lot of money. Instead
of paying for a hand and nail treatment at every given chance, gather a few basic tools and learn how to do manicure at home.
Just follow the below given manicure steps and be sure to get the best results in the quarter of the amount you spend outside.
Before starting your manicure procedure at home, ensure that you have some key elements beside you. These include a nail polish remover, cotton pads/balls, nail cutter, nail file, cuticle
pusher, warm milk, moisturizing cream or lotion, new nail polish (if you wish to paint
your nails) and a clean cloth for wiping your hands.
1) Remove Old Nail Polish
Washing and wiping your hands
clean is how a manicure should ideally begin. After you have cleaned and dried your hands, observe your fingernails. If you have peeled or dried paints on your nails, then it is necessary to get rid of them. For this, take a cotton pad/ball and wet it with a bit of nail polish remover. Gently rub and remove the old polish from your nail. Repeat the process for all fingernails.
Check your fingernails properly after this manicure step. They should look completely natural and bare, without a trace of the old nail polish on your nails or the nearby skin.
In the market, you will easily get your hands on acetone and non-acetone nail polish removers. An acetone-free nail polish remover is highly advisable though. This is because, non-acetone polish removers are gentler on the nails and cause less dryness than the acetone ones. My personal favorite is the Colorbar Nail Polish Remover, as it is acetone-free and enriched with needed proteins, natural emollient and Vitamin B5 to strengthen and moisturize the nails.
Check your fingernails properly after this manicure step. They should look completely natural and bare, without a trace of the old nail polish on your nails or the nearby skin.
In the market, you will easily get your hands on acetone and non-acetone nail polish removers. An acetone-free nail polish remover is highly advisable though. This is because, non-acetone polish removers are gentler on the nails and cause less dryness than the acetone ones. My personal favorite is the Colorbar Nail Polish Remover, as it is acetone-free and enriched with needed proteins, natural emollient and Vitamin B5 to strengthen and moisturize the nails.
2) Trim & Shape Your Nails
You will need your nail cutter and nail file in this step. If you feel your nails have grown and need a slight cut,
then use your nail cutter (also known as nail clipper) to trim them. Avoid trimming
your nails too short, as you can hurt the skin beside it.
Now choose the shape you intend to have. The most popular shapes for fingernails are the oval, round, squoval, square and almond ones. The oval shapes look good when you have short/long fingers or small hands, and the nail beds are wide. If you like your fingernails short or you have small fingers with narrow nail beds, then go for round shapes. The square shapes look flattering on people with long fingers or large hands with narrow nail beds.
Squoval (or square oval) is a crowd-pleasing shape and looks good on both short and long fingers. Almond shape looks good when you have long, and slender fingers and your nails are strong. You also need to have a bit of practice, before trying this shape. If you want an edgy and bold look then go for ballerina/coffin or stiletto shapes. However, to add that kind of drama, your natural nails should be long and strong and not to forget, they also involve fake nails. So, think for a moment longer, before you make your pick.
After you have decided on the nail shape, start filing your nails. The best way to file and shape your nails, is by moving from the edge of the nail to its center in a fluid motion. Lift the file after you have smoothed one edge. Move to the other edge of the same fingernail to repeat the process. This will not only prevent you from filing back and forth, which is one of the key reasons for nail breakage and peeling but also smooths the rough edges in the best possible way.
* A tip to remember during this step is to keep the sizes and shapes of all your nails even.
3) Soak Your Fingernails
This is the rewarding part for
your nails and definitely a relaxing time for you. In this step, place a
wide bowl with warm milk. If you have almond oil, olive oil,
rose water or honey at home, then add one spoon of either of these
to the milk and mix it. You can also add your favorite essential oil (only a couple of drops required) to the milk. Adding the extra ingredients to the warm milk is optional. However, the results on your hands and fingernails are far more enriching. So, I highly recommend it.
Dip your hands in this bowl of milk and let it soak the goodness of the liquid mixture for about 10 minutes. The
milk soak will soften your hands, nails and cuticles and also moisturize them.
A lot of people prefer a water soak.
They add a bit of hand wash to the water and then soak their nails in this
soapy mixture for about 2-3 minutes. But keeping your trimmed nails in water for long, increases the
risk of damaging your fingernails. Your trimmed nails can become slightly dry
and brittle after it has dried. A reason why, I highly suggest a nourishing
milk soak to a water one.
After the soak, wipe your hands
using a clean cloth kept beside you.
4) Push Back Your Cuticles
If you visit a nail salon or
beauty parlor for manicures, most likely their experts will cut your cuticles.
However, it is not mandatory to do so. You can simply push the cuticles back, as
gently as possible and you are good to go. A cuticle pusher or orange wood sticks (available at beauty stores and online shopping sites) will help you achieve
this. The pusher and stick also gives a cleaner and finished look to your fingers and nails. But, if you have neither of these at hand, then as an alternative use your filer, toothpick or just your fingers to push back the
cuticles of each of your nails.
Be gentle during the process, as we do not want any hard
pushes to damage the cuticle or hinder the growth of your beloved nails.
5) Moisturize & Massage
Now that you have trimmed and shaped your fingernails and pushed backed the cuticles, grab this wonderful opportunity to hydrate them. For this, take your favorite body lotion or hand/body cream in your palms and massage it all over your hands and fingernails for at least 5 minutes. Keep massaging till you feel your fingers, nails, edges of the nails and hands go soft and thoroughly moisturized.
I like using Oriflame Milk and Honey Gold Nourishing Hand and Body Cream here. It works wonderfully well for me and also because I can't get enough of its enticing smell. So, I use it liberally while massaging my hands with it. If you have not tried the product, then you can check my review here.
However, there is no hard and fast rule, that you need a cream or lotion to massage and hydrate your hands and fingers. You can also take and massage some oil (almond oil, olive oil or coconut oil) instead and let the moisturizer/oil sit and soak on your hands for at least 10 minutes, before you move to the concluding step.
However, there is no hard and fast rule, that you need a cream or lotion to massage and hydrate your hands and fingers. You can also take and massage some oil (almond oil, olive oil or coconut oil) instead and let the moisturizer/oil sit and soak on your hands for at least 10 minutes, before you move to the concluding step.
6) Add Color to Your Nails
Now this is an entirely optional step. If you do not wish to paint your nails, then you can end your manicure session in the previous step. If not, then it is necessary to remove the moisturizer from your nails before painting them. This is because the nail polish won't stick to your nails, if it is moisturized with a cream, lotion or oil of any kind.
Using cotton pads/balls and nail polish remover, thoroughly wipe your nails clean. Once you have cleaned all your fingernails, again wipe your nails with a dry cotton pad/ball (without dipping it in the nail polish remover this time). Let your nails dry completely, before you start polishing your nails.
At home, most ladies paint their nails using their preferred nail polish, without applying the base and topcoat. This is either due to sheer laziness or because they do not know the importance of the extra coats on their nails. However, if you want to give your fingernails a salon type experience, then apply a thin layer of base coat, followed by 2 even coats of your chosen nail polish and then a layer of topcoat. This will give your nails a polished and glossy look and your nail paint will also last longer. Remember, to not rush through the process of applying nail polish. Give your nails ample time to dry after applying each coat.
Now that your nails are painted, revel in the fruits of your DIY manicure and be ready to flaunt your happy nails whenever you want.
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