Posted on Tuesday, August 18 2015 10:36:39 AM in Blog by Laura

12 steps to a great looking manicure.

Believe us when we say that we love getting our nails done. We love to feel pampered but sometimes we just don’t have the time to spend at a salon. For those times here are some steps that will help you get a salon perfect manicure at home.

1. Clean your nails. Remove any old polish from your fingernails. Wash your hands thoroughly.

2. File your nails. Choose a nail file with a medium to gentle grit. And always file in one direction not back and forth which can lead to splitting.

3. Buff your nails. Use a buffer to help smooth out any ridges on your nail beds and to smooth out the tips that you just filed.

4. Clean and remove dry cuticles. Clean cuticles lead to a better looking manicure. Use a cuticle remover and stick to remove any excess from the nail beds before adding the polish.

5. Clean your nail surface. Once you’ve filed, buffed, and taken care of your cuticles it’s time to polish. It’s very important to remove any soap, old polish or oils from the nail bed. Wipe the nail bed down with a q-tip soaked in acetone.

6. Apply a base coat. Apply your base coat in a thin, even coat. Don’t forget the edge of the nail. Allow the base coat to dry at least 3 minutes before applying nail polish.

7. Choose the nail polish color. This is the fun but oftentimes hardest part. SquareHue has tried to make the color choosing dilemma easier by providing you with 3 great nail polish color choices that are on trend and in fashion. The great thing about doing your own nails is that you can change the color several times a week without the guilt of having spent your money.

8. Time to polish. Prep the nail polish brush by sliding it into the polish bottle and loading it with the polish. While pulling back the brush, wipe the polish on the back side of the brush on the rim. You definitely don’t want a huge glob of polish.

9. Start with your non-dominant hand and pinkie finger. Place the brush in the middle of the nail, slightly above the cuticle, push slightly back so the polish is just below your cuticle line and then pull forward to the tip of your nail. Repeat this on both the left and right side of this center line. Repeat this step on all of your fingers and allow 3 minutes of dry time between coats. Don’t neglect to paint the edge of the nail. It will help avoid the tip from chipping.

10. Clean up the cuticle line. The secret to a great looking manicure is a neat edge around the cuticle. Use a very small slanted makeup brush dipped in nail polish remover (acetone works best) to clean up my nail beds just below the cuticles and around the edges of the fingertips.

11. Apply the top coat.  Apply the top coat in a thin, even coat. Also paint the edge of the nail to protect the tips from chipping. Allow the top coat to dry at least 3 minutes.

12. Apply cuticle oil.  Once the top coat is dry, apply cuticle oil around your cuticles. Repeat this each evening to keep your cuticles from drying out.

Hope you try all of these steps. And let us know if you have any tips or tricks to making your manicure look great!

The post Manicure 101 – 12 Steps to a great manicure appeared first on SquareHue.