One of life's little pleasures is having great looking nails. There's just something about looking down at your hands and staring at a beautiful manicure. It's really not that difficult. Our simple step by step guide shows you how.
Step 1: Remove old polish
Using a cotton ball and nail polish remover remove all traces of existing polish. There are 2 main types of nail polish remover to choose from. Acetone removers take off the polish quickly but can dehydrate your cuticles. You might want to use Acetone removers if you are trying to remove bold, deep or bright shades of nail polish. Non-acetone removers take longer to remove polish but dry the nail and cuticle as well. Remember, if you have artificial nails, you should only use non-acetone polish remover.
Step 2: File your nails
Only file one direction. You'll weaken the nails if you saw back and forth. Starting from the back of the nail, and going to the center, make long, sweeping strokes. Avoid metal files, they are brutal on your nails.
Step 3: Soak your hands
Step 4: Fix up your cuticles
Use a cuticle pusher to push back your cuticles. Then use the pointy end to remove any remaining dirt from under your nails
Step 5: Apply a base coat
This helps prevent nails from staining, strengthens the nails, and also allows for a smoother application of nail polish. Your nail secretes oil, base coat helps the nail polish to adhere to your nail better. Apply a thin, not thick coat. A thick coat will just cause nail polish to smudge or take an extremely long time to dry. Make sure the base coat is COMPLETELY dry before applying nail polish.
Step 6: Apply nail polish
Step 7: Apply a second coat
After you are sure the first coat is dry repeat step 6. Apply the polish thinly to prevent smudging. When you take time between coats it will give your nails a more even finish.