Healthy Nails

When I say Nails I mean finger nails and toe nails  not old rusty metal nail. NAILS they are our own tiny canvases which you can pretty much do anything to given that they are will looked after. You can do a lot to your nails from  Sculptured Nails to Gel Nails, Acrylic or Gel Overlay,  Acrylic nails but in my opinion the best of all are your own nails. I give myself a manicure every other  week if not weekly to ensure that my nails are healthy.

  D.I.Y manicure the basics

 

You need to have the basics an emery board, nail clipper, orange stick, cuticle cream, cuticle cutter, buffer,base coat, clear coat, nail polish remover and cotton balls.Sally hansen and Manicare are two great brands that I have tried. As for the emery board I recently invested in a crystal emery board  and think is amazing, its a great investment as it last long given you look after it and give perfect results.

1. First remove previous nail polish.
2. File down nails to desired length, file in only one direction as filing back and forward damages you nails. If your nails are to long you should use the clipper for desired length the file them for precision.You should skip this step if you do this weekly as they will not have grown much.
3. Place nails in warm water for 5 minutes. Then apply cuticle oil to nails, if you do not have this you can use olive oil it is a cheap alternative. 
4. Using the Cuticle stick push back the cuticle. 
5. The next step is very tricky as the cuticle forms a protective seal between the nail and the skin, so it must be done careful as if done wrong it can lead to infection.  
6. Next use the buffer. Most buffers have steps written on them, just follow the steps. This step gives you lovely shiny nails. Great especially if you intend on just applying a clear coat of nail polish.     
7. It is important to use a base coat in order to protect your nails especially from dark nail polish which can stain your nails. You can also buy a 2 in 1 nail polish for both base and top coat.
8. Next use any color nail polish or nail art  you like.
9. Seal using a top coat.
10. Once completely dry apply some hand cream.