DIY: MANICURE

How to Give Yourself a Professional Manicure.

Tools you'll need: 

A small bowl for soaking, polish remover, cotton balls (or pads), and manicure tools (a cuticle pusher and a flexible nail file), cuticle cream and towels.

How to do it:

Step 1. Remove your old polish with a few fresh cotton balls or pads and an acetone polish remover.

Step 2. File and shape your nails. To get the right shape, use a flexible nail file, not a metal file (it may may damage nails). File each nail, working toward the center of the nail with each swipe; sawing back and forth will tear the nail. Filing in one direction also lets you proceed slowly, so you're more likely to achieve the shape you want. Start with a coarse file, then finish with a finer texture.

 Step 3. Soak your fingertips. Fill a bowl with warm, soapy water, and submerge nails and cuticles for a few minutes. If you have time, give yourself a post-soak hand massage. Make a fist and push the knuckles of that hand gently into the palm of the other hand; then switch hands. Rub your fingers along the bones in the back of each hand, then pull gently on each finger.

 Step 4. Groom your cuticles. Apply a dab of cuticle cream to each nail, massage it into the nail bed, then let it do its thing for a minute or two. Gently push cuticles back with a cuticle pusher or orangewood stick.

 Step 5. Clean up. Wash your hands, using a small nail brush or towel to get the cream off your fingers; then swipe nails with polish remover to clear them of excess cream.

 Step 6. Apply polish. Start with a layer of base coat, then follow with two coats of color and a final dose of top coat. (If you're pressed for time, try a one-coat polish.)  Try to cover the entire nail with only three strokes of polish; the more swipes you take, the more likely you are to get streaks.


Step 7. Clean off any polish that might have dripped onto your skin with a cotton swab dipped in polish remover. Be sure to let nails dry for at least 15 minutes before handling anything, and be extra careful for a complete half-hour to prevent smudges or dents.

Ten essential tips for hand and nail care!

Face and hand care are uppermost in our mind as regards the total beautification of our body. Both of them are visible parts of the body. Hand care is an important part of daily care routine and nail care is important when it comes to personal grooming.

  It is an interesting fact that our fingernails absorb water 100 times faster than our skin does and they also lose their moisture very fast which causes dehydration and drying of cuticles. Thus, both the hands and the nails have to be kept clean, moisturized and attractive.

Here are some essential tips on hand and nail care which would definitely help all.

1. Moisturize your hands for at least 4 times a day, will give them a healthy glow.

2. Always wear rubber gloves when working with water or harsh detergents, will protect them from weak nails and the reaction of detergents on your skin.

3. Exfoliate occasionally to remove the dead skin cells from your hands. You can also use an old tooth brush to brush your hands twice a weak.

4. Soak your hands in warm milk for five minutes to strengthen your nails and hydrate your skin. The lactic acid in milk will exfoliate dead skin from your hands while calcium will give strength to fragile nails.

5. Avoid clipping your nails to shorten them. Instead file them down to size.

6. Apply a top coat as often as possible to help protect the tips.

7. Break the habit of nail biting, it is very destructive to both the nail and the cuticle and can lead to infection that can actually deform the nail.

8. An excellent time to do your manicure is after a shower or the dishes. These activities will remove dirt from under the nails as well as soften dry nails.

9. Do not use nail polish remover frequently especially those containing acetone which tend to dry nails out. Use nail polish remover only once a week.

10. Never peel or scrape off nail polish or use metal instruments on the nail surface to push back the cuticle. This can scrape off the protective cells of the nail surface.