Let us see how you can take care of your beautiful nails,which can help them grow properly.
1
Get your supplies
together. To give yourself a gorgeous manicure,
make sure you have all the right supplies. You might have to spend a bit up
front, but next time you want to paint your nails, you'll already be covered.
Get the following products:
·
Nail polish remover
·
Cotton balls or cotton swabs
·
Cuticle trimmer
·
Nail buffer
·
Nail trimmers
·
Nail file
·
Cuticle or hand cream
·
Nail polish
·
Base coat
·
Top coat
2.
Set up your
workspace. Nail polish and remover can damage
many surfaces such as cloth, wood finish and plastic. Wear an expendable
t-shirt and no valuable accessories, sit at a desk or table, and protect it
with scrap paper (not newsprint, which smudges). Make sure the table itself and
anything near it is not particularly valuable or important to keep perfect
because there might be a spatter or spill soaking through. You might not want
to work near a computer, for instance.
3
Remove your old
nail polish. Use nail polish remover and cotton
balls or swabs. Some kinds of nail polish remover may dry the areas on your
nails and around them. You may wish to find one that doesn't do this as much,
but do not be concerned unless you have a severe allergic reaction.
·
If you have and wish to keep fake nails, such as acrylic, choose a
polish that will not remove them, and don't let it soak much.
·
Unless you use it once a month or less, don't use a nail polish remover
with acetone in it. Though acetone will make removing the nail polish easier, it
can damage the nails themselves.
4
Cut and file your
nails. Use nail clippers and trim your
nails. Don't cut them too short; you should be able to see at least a little of
the white tip still, all the way across. Using a nail file, file the nail and
create a smooth and clean shape. Gently drag the file across the nail, rather
than pushing it. Excessive force or sawing back and forth will weaken the nails
and cause them to break. Pivot the hand with the file through each stroke to
make a smooth curve rather than angles. Do not file them too short: just clean
up any points or roughness left by the clippers.
·
If you want to remove fake nails, perhaps because they look odd from
having grown out too far, here's how to do that.
·
Do not round the corners down into the sides of the nail bed. This can
cause the nail to become ingrown. Be particularly careful with the big toe,
which, perhaps due to shoes, is more prone to ingrowing.
5
Buff your nails. Using a white block of a stick-type nail buffer, or a pad-type nail
buffer and buffing powder, buff the surface of the nail a little bit to even
out the surface and to smooth out ridges. Remember not to buff too much;
thinning it too much will weaken it. Perfect edge-to-edge flatness is not
practical or necessary. A soft, flexible buffer will more easily buff the sides
of the nail along with the middle.
·
You may wish to buff your nails after pushing back the cuticles if there
is some residue where the cuticles used to cover, in order to scrape or grind
it off in the process. Being thin, soft, and not firmly attached, it should
come off easily.
6
Soak your nails. Get a bowl or stopper the sink and fill it with warm (not hot!) water
and a few drops of soap. Soak your hands only for a few minutes. The water and
soap will help to loosen dirt, dead skin, and any dust left over from filing
and buffing, and soften cuticles. Use a nail brush to gently clean your nails
and the skin around them. Gently scrape under your nails if necessary to remove
dirt. If you want your nails and cuticles really manageable, you can soak them
in Dawn dishwasher soap.
·
If you have dry skin or fragile nails you should not soak them; just
rinse them.
·
Don't go overboard with scraping, since you can damage your nails if you
remove the white powdery substance that is actually part of your nails.
7
Prepare your
cuticles. Dry your nails and apply a cuticle
cream. Using a cuticle pusher, also called an orange stick, gently push back
the cuticle. Do not force them back, and never cut your cuticles. Even if the
equipment is sterile, removing the cuticle can cause infection and leaves the
then-less-protected margin of the skin vulnerable. Wipe off the excess cream
with a tissue or towel in the direction that you pushed.
·
A small binder clip is great for pushing back cuticles. Make sure it's
clean and well-formed, without sharp edges. Fold the wire grips to lay flat
against each other. Hold the clip between the thumb and forefinger or middle
finger by the flat metal sides, with the grips passing between in the direction
of the little finger tip; the flat back piece extending past the thumb and
forefinger. Now you're ready to push back the cuticles on the other hand
(switch later to do the one currently holding the clip).
8
Apply hand cream or
lotion. Take a lotion or hand cream and
massage it into your hands. If you have very dry skin use an intensive lotion,
if not, any lotion will do. Be sure to rub it into and around your nails and
let it soak in for 30 minutes or longer.
·
This is as well done after painting the nails and allowing them to dry
thoroughly as before painting. For very dry skin, apply some greasy lotion and
sleep with cheap cotton gloves over your hands to allow it to remain on and
work for a long time without keeping you from productive activities.
·
Nail polish/lacquer will not stick to nails with moisturizer on them, so
take a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover and quickly wipe the nails to remove
the lotion. Wipe excess remover off promptly to mitigate nail damage.
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