Typically go for gel manicures on nails as that’s the only way to get nail polish to last more than about 3/4 days, but if you don’t have time then simply do the best you can with a home manicure!
Love bright toenails and fingernails in the summertime?
Here are the steps that’ll work pretty well!
- Wash your hands with warm water, or let them soak in a bowl for a bit. This helps soften the cuticle area and generally makes the nails a little easier to work with.
- Apply a cuticle softener and gently push back the cuticle so the nail bed is completely free of any cuticle. Use a nipper if you need to.
- Wash your hands again and dry them off.
- Use a nail file to shape the nail, try not to saw the ends but instead work in the same direction, and use a nail buffer to slightly buff the nail bed for better adhesion of the polish! Don’t go overboard here!
- Rinse hands well and dry completely.
- Apply Bond Aid to each nail, allow it to dry (it dries very fast) and then apply a thin layer of base coat.
- Apply two coats of color. Don’t let the polish ball up at the end of the brush as that usually results in too much polish on the nail. Slide the brush against the container to clean it off a bit before applying color. Let the nails dry at least 60 seconds between coats.
- Apply a thin layer of top coat. The fewer strokes the better!
- Let dry!
- Enjoy your mani!
We really just put those last steps in there so we could make it to an even 10 steps. Make sure when you are applying polish you are wrapping the brush around the end of the fingernail as well. This will help “finish” the nail tip and ensure fewer chips!
credits: thesmallthings