Mothers are always busy at home. They are the ones who often bathe the kids, prepare food, do the laundry, clean the house, you name it and for sure, the woman of the house will be doing most of them. These activities are actually taking their toll on their hands and nails and although heading to the nail salon to get some pampering, the cost is not always appropriate for their budget
Fortunately, you don’t have to go to the nail salon just to take care of your nails, because there are several manicure tips that will work for all the at-home moms out there.
Start with a clean slate. If you are wearing nail polish that has already chipped and peeled, make sure that you remove them first before working on your nails. It is also important that you clean under your nails as well as your cuticles using a nail brush.
Give your nails a good soak. To speed up removing any dirt under your nails or softening your cuticles, soak your nails in a small bowl of water for a minute or two. This will make it easier for you to clean your nails prior to applying new nail polish.
Shape your nails. It is always a good idea to give your nails shape. Use clippers or file to achieve your desired shape then smooth the ends using a buffing block. Make sure that you buff in one direction only rather than forward and backward as it may damage the nails in the process.
Push cuticles back. After you have shaped your nails and while your cuticles are still soft, push them back using your cuticle instrument. Don’t forget to be gentle to avoid damaging your cuticle bed and to prevent bacteria from getting inside your nails.
Exfoliate. Before you can moisturize your hands, you will need to remove the dead skin cells first. Use a pre-made scrub to remove the dead skin or you can make your own using sugar and coconut oil. Either way, it will help reveal healthy skin which can absorb moisture fairly quickly.
Massage. Give your hands the love and care that they need so that they will not become dry and wrinkly. For this, you can use baby oil or a moisturizer which can nourish your hands and your nails in the process. You can massage your hands any time of the day and several times if you prefer especially after soaking your hands in water for several minutes. This will prevent dryness.
Apply base coat. When it comes to applying nail polish, always start with the base coat. The base coat provides protection to your nails while prolonging the life of your nail color too. Without it, your nail polish will probably chip by the first hour.
Do two color coats. After your base coat has dried, apply a thin layer of nail polish first then another layer once dried. Take a moment to see whether it is the desired shade. If not, you can apply a third layer but make sure that you do this carefully otherwise you will end up with clumps of nail polish on your nails.
Use top coat. The top coat should be applied after the nail polish is dry. This will add an extra shine to your nails while preventing chips from occurring.
So you see? You don’t need to go to the nail salon all the time just to make your nails look pretty because the steps mentioned above can help you achieve this with ease and for free too.
