How to do a Manicure

Materials Needed for your Do-It-Yourself Manicure:

Bowl of warm soapy water
Nail Brush
Alcohol
Nail File
Nail Clippers
Hand Cream / cuticle oil
Orange Wood Stick
Cuticle Nippers
Nail Buffer
Polish(Bottom, Color, & Top)

Always start manicure with clean and no-polished nails

1. Soak your fingertips in warm soapy water for about 2 minutes and brush with a nail brush.

2. Dry off fingertips, disinfect with alcohol and let dry, then begin to cut and file nails to desired length.

(Always file in the direction that your nail grows, from each side of the nail -file upward and towards the center)

3. Buff nail bed to smooth out any ridges, then buff tips of nails to clean any nail shavings left from filing.

Do-It-Yourself Manicure

4. Apply cuticle cream or oil, massaging it in the cuticle area. This softens the cuticle skin area making it easier to push back.

5. Using an orange cuticle stick, push back your cuticles and trim any hangnails with cuticle nippers, only if necessary. (trim cuticles very sparingly)

6. Apply hand cream and massage hands and forearms, this will increase blood flow and circulation to your hands and nails, creating healthy nails.

7. Nails are prepped and ready for polish. Begin with base coat, two coats of colored polish then a top coat. (two coats of colored polished is usually standard practice unless a preferred sheerer look is desired)

ALL DONE! A beautiful Do-It-Yourself Manicure, done at home.

QUICK TIP #1: Colored nail polish is applied in three strokes, once down the middle, then down one side then down the other.

QUICK TIP #2: I use cuticle oil to moisturize the skin around my cuticles in between manicures and pedicures it makes the cuticle area much prettier to look at, taking away any dry skin appearance. This trick works really well on toes. (keeps your toes looking cute even during the winter months)