MANICURES: STEP BY STEP

The home manicure
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Taking care of your hands should be a regular part of your beauty routine. Try to schedule a home manicure every two or three weeks and allow time in-between for touch-ups. Travelling to a salon, getting a manicure and waiting for your nails to dry can sometimes take too long, so it often makes sense to do it yourself.


REMOVE ALL VARNISH
Partially saturate a cotton ball with varnish remover and work quickly to whisk off old varnish from the base of the nail to the tip. Try not smear the remover into the cuticle or the surrounding skin. Avoid removers that contain acetone (or any of its chemical relatives ), even if they have conditioners. Acetone and its cousins will usually dry out your nails. Quickly rinse off all traces of remover with warm water and dry thoroughly.


FILE TO SHAPE
Shape your nails by filing from one edge of the nail to the centre, and then from the other edge back to the centre. Always hold the emery board at a 45-degree angle so that you are filing mainly the underside of the nail. Repeat on all of your nails. Remember that the most natural and easiest-to-manage shape-not to mention the strongest-is a slightly squared oval. Try to mirror the shape of your nail at the base for the most flattering effect.



EXFOLIATE
Dampen your hands and massage them with an exfoliator. You could try a commercial product or a mixture of coarse sea-salt and essential oil to rev up circulation.






SOAK
Soak your fingers in a bowl of lukewarm water.






SCRUB
Scrub nails gently with a soft-bristled brush and dry hands thoroughly with a soft towel.






PUSH BACK CUTICLE
Apply cuticle oil or cuticle softener. Massage well into the base of the nails. Leave to work for a few minutes, then gently push cuticles back with a hoof stick or cottonwool-covered orange stick. Wipe off residue with a tissue and rinse nails in warm water to remove all cream/oil.



NIP EXCESS CUTICLE
Nip away any ragged excess cuticle or hangnails with a cuticle nipper. Be careful not to cut into the mantle, which can lead to infection.






MOISTURIZE CUTICLES
Moisturize cuticles with cuticle oil or moisturizer.









MASSAGE
Massage with hand cream (see the next post for the right massage technique).







USE WHITE PENCIL
Run a white pencil under your nails to brighten them.



APPLY VARNISH
Remove all signs of cream, then apply nail varnish in three coats: clear basecoat, followed by polish, topped with clear topcoat to lock in colour. Allow the basecoat to dry for three minutes before you start to apply polish. This acts as a foundation for the polish and helps prevent stains. Apply nail polish in two thin coats using three strokes from base to tip: first stroke polish up the centre, then stroke along each side. Let the first layer of colour dry for three minutes and the second for five minutes. Finally, brush on a topcoat to lock in colour and protect the polish.

OR BUFF TO SHINE
For an alternative to nail polish, try nail buffing. It will shine your nails and smooth ridges. For a natural gloss, buff nails gently in one direction, with downward strokes from the base to the free edge. Raise the buffer after each stroke. Do about 10 strokes on each nail.