How to Give Yourself a Manicure

Posted on June 16th, 2009 by Carmelia

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Giving yourself a manicure will not only save you money, but you can also save yourself the trouble of having to go to your nearest mani/pedi to get your nails done. Here’s how to give yourself a manicure and make it look like they’re done by a pro.

What You Need

Basin
Warm water
Cuticle cream or oil
Hand lotion
Cotton swabs
Manicure kit
Nail clippers
Orange stick
Nail brushes
Nail buffers
Nail file
Nail cleaner
Nail clipper
Strengthening nail polish remover
Nail polish base coat
Nail polish color coat
Nail polish top coat
Cotton swabs
Towel

Give Yourself a Manicure

Clean your nails by using soap and warm water. Use a toothbrush and an orange stick to make sure you’ve cleaned your nails thoroughly, around the edges and under the nails. Dry your hands on a towel and remove any remnants of old nail polish from your nails using a strengthening nail polish remover.

manicure

Soak your nails in warm water for around five minutes. Check if there is still any old nail polish left. Dry your nails with a tower.
You can now either trim your nails using a nail clipper or use a nail file to file your nails. Don’t cut your nails to the quick. The best way to clip your nails is to to clip vertically across, and then taking out a bit out of each side, which will be filed later to the ideal shape.
When filing your nails, try to achieve an even, rounded edge. When using the nail file, file in one direction only.
Wash your hands and nails again to clear them of debris, and dry with a towel.
Use a hand and nail cream moisturizer and rub them all over your fingers. Give a few minutes for the moisturizer to be absorbed in your skin.
Apply cuticle oil or cream on your cuticles by massaging the cream directly on them. Use the flat end of an orange stick to push your cuticles back gently. If you don’t want to use an orange stick, you can simply use a particular kind of cuticle cream that will help exfoliate and remove the dead skin cells.
Use a two-sided nail buffer. One side is to polish off the edges of your nails while the other can be used to making your nails shine.
Take your clear nail polish base coat and scrape off the excess from the rim of the bottle. Apply the coat in three strokes, starting from the middle of the nail before filling in both sides. Use a cotton swab to wipe off any excess polish didn’t end up on your nails. Let it dry for five minutes and apply another layer.
Once the base coat has dried, apply the color polish in three strokes again. Let the first layer dry for another five minutes and apply another layer.
Let the color layer dry and apply the nail polish top coat in a similar manner.

Quick Tips

Don’t apply nail polish near bedtime. Do your manicure at least two hours before to allow nails to dry fully and properly.
Keep your manicure set in one kit so that you won’t have to spend too much time looking for separate items. Keep the kit in a cool, dry place.
Keep a light hand when dealing with your nails, as you might end up hurting yourself or doing damage to your nails.
If your nail polish starts chipping off, you have two options: To remove the polish completely using a nail polisher or to put another layer of the same color polish on top.