Everyone wants their hands and nails to look as amazing as possible, but that’s not always possible. With all the curveballs that life can throw at your schedule, you might not always have the time or energy to visit your local nail salon. Fortunately, you can give yourself a nice moment of self-care by doing your nails in the comfort of your own house. Here’s how you can give yourself a DIY manicure!
What is a Manicure?
A manicure is a beauty treatment that aims to improve the health and appearance of both your hands and fingernails. This is often done by cutting and shaping your nails, pushing back and cleaning up your cuticles, moisturizing and massaging your hands, and applying nail polish. Manicures are incredibly popular in beauty salons, but there’s no reason why you can’t give yourself one.
How to Give Yourself a Perfect DIY Manicure
Step 1: Prepare Your Nails
Remove any old nail polish on your nails with some acetone or polish remover. After drying your nails, you can begin clipping and filing your nails to your preferred shape and length before soaking your nails in some warm, soapy water for five minutes. This will help soften your cuticles and make them easier for the next step. Alternatively, you can also apply a cuticle-softening product.
Step 2: Prepare Your Cuticles
After soaking your nails, use a cuticle pusher or a nail stone to push your cuticles back before trimming off the excess bits. Make sure that you don’t cut off too much from your cuticles, as this can leave your nails vulnerable to all infections. Also, take this time to address any hangnails.
Step 3: Moisturize Your Hands
With rich and moisturizing body butter, balm, or cream, work this into both your cuticles and hands to make sure that they’re well-hydrated and healthy. If you like, you can also give yourself a relaxing hand massage.
Step 4: Apply Base Coat
Remove any oily residue from the previous step with some nail polish remover to ensure that the nail polish sticks better to your nails. Then, start applying your base coat, which will help the color go on more smoothly and last longer by preventing chipping.
Step 5: Apply Color
When the base coat has fully dried, apply a layer of your color polish before letting it dry for a few minutes. Repeat this step and apply several coats of nail polish until you’re satisfied with your nails’ appearance.
Step 6: Apply Top Coat
Once your color polish has dried, seal your nails in by swiping a layer of top coat on top. Not only will this help your color look smoother and shinier for longer, but it also adds an extra layer of protection against any chipping that may be caused by your everyday life.
Step 7: Clean and Moisturize
If you see any smudges at the corners of your nails, dampen a small piece of cotton with some polish remover before wrapping it around an orange stick. This will help you maneuver the cotton more easily so that you don’t ruin your work. Then, to finish, apply another layer of moisturizer over your hands and nails.
How Can I Make My Manicure Last Longer?
While giving yourself a nice manicure can be more comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective, you may be worried about how long your nails will actually last, but there are a few things that you can do to keep your manicure for as long as possible:
- Reapply Your Top Coat: Your top coat protects your color polish from daily wear and tear, but it may become worn out over time. This can ruin the look of your manicure, so make sure to touch up your top coat every other day or when it starts to look a bit worn out.
- Keep Your Nails Moisturized: Dry and dehydrated nails are much more likely to split, chip, and break, which can also affect the way your nail polish looks. Regularly moisturize your nails and cuticles with either a cuticle oil, some petroleum jelly, or a nail treatment.
- Make Some Lifestyle Changes: Many of your daily activities can actually ruin your manicure. If you’re doing anything that involves your hands, such as household cleaning, make sure to wear protective gloves. Also, keep your nails away from any hot water and avoid picking at or biting your nails.
The Takeaway
While there’s nothing quite like a professional manicure at a nail salon, you won’t always have the time or energy to spare for the trip. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean that you have to forego the manicure completely because you can easily achieve great results when you do it yourself. Not only will you be able to enjoy the pampering experience, but you’ll also be able to comfortably explore a wide range of colors and designs.
However, if you want to enjoy the best of both worlds, then you can always opt for an at-home manicure service that can bring the salon experience right to your doorstep!
