Going to the salon for refreshing your manicure is not necessarily possible at the moment with constantly uncertain conditions and limits due to the pandemic. In addition, even if the salon in the country are still open, you may want to save some money and do your manicure on your own instead. No matter the reason, learning how to do your manicure at home and do it as well as in the salon is a skill you definitely want to develop and that will serve you to the rest of your live. In fact, it is definitely not as hard as you may think and with plenty of free time in your hands during a lockdown, it is definitely a good idea to invest your time into acquiring a new skill. In addition, mastering your manicure routine can also have a therapeutic effect and benefits for you, which is always a bonus and can calm you down.

No matter how enthusiastic you are for developing this new skills, there is no doubt that plenty of things can go wrong, including chipping, warping of the nails or smudging of the nail varnish, therefore means you need to take your time for getting the best at it. A good method and a bit of practice is more than enough for making you the next manicure master in the neighbourhood. We have gathered some precious tips from manicure specialists in order to help you learn how to do your own manicure and get the best at-home results.

Tip One: Clean Your Nails with a Nail Varnish Remover

In order to get the best-looking manicure at home, you need to follow the steps of professionals at the salon, which means you want to spend time on preparing your nails. Start by cleaning your nails with a nail varnish remover even if you don’t have old nail varnish on. A good-quality nail varnish remover is enriched with nutrients that are essential and help your nails to be stronger and healthier. In addition, the remover will get rid of all the oils accumulated on your nails, which will guarantee that your nail varnish will stay on for longer and will not start chipping on the second day after application.

Tip Two: The Right Order – Clip, File, Buff

Follow the right order of steps for maintaining and styling our nails – start with clipping them, then filing them and finally buffing them. Make sure to be gentle when filing your nails, moving in one direction only in order to prevent damaging the nails and separating the layers of the nails. Once you are done with filing, make sure to buff tops and sides of the nails in order to smooth them out. Buffing is also important for removing the natural oils from building on your nail, which will prevent having a beautiful manicure for longer.

Tip Three: Push Back the Cuticles

In order to have a beautiful manicure, you don’t want to pay attention to the nails only, you also want to take care of your cuticles. In order to ensure the right upkeep, start by preparing the cuticles by applying a softening product, usually sold as a cuticle remover. Keep in mind that cuticle oils and cuticle removers are not the same type of product and they are not interchangeable, so make sure you have a cuticle remover in your drawer. Once the cuticles are softer, use a cuticle stick to push them back gently. Avoid cutting the cuticles, they are there for a reason – their mission is to protect your nails from bacteria.

Tip Four: Exfoliate Your Hands

If you want your beautiful manicure to stand out, you also want to take care of the skin of your hands. Proper maintenance starts with good exfoliation of the hands that will remove all the dead skin and make your hands softer and smoother. Once you are done exfoliating your hands, wash them gently and dry them thoroughly, then apply your favourite hand cream for good hydration of the skin and nourishing. If you decide to continue with the application of nail polish, do not forget to wipe each nail with a cotton bug with a nail polish remover in order to get rid of all the excess product and de-oil your nails.

Tip Five: The Importance of a Base Coat

It is really important to start working on your nails with the application of a base coat as the first step. Even if you are not planning to continue with the application of nail polish, a base coat will protect your nails, strengthen them and add a beautiful lustre to them. Especially if you are going to continue with nail polish, a base coat is also very helpful for helping you make sure the varnish stays on for longer and does not chip that easily. In case you don’t use the best nail varnishes, the base coat will also protect your nails from the varnish and prevent yellowing or staining of the nails.