How To Do Your Own Nails Manicure

Before you go get a nails manicure you should know what a manicure is in the first place. The word manicure originates from the Latin word "manus" meaning hand and "cura" meaning care. In other words caring of the hands. And that is generally what a manicure is. A more modern definition of nails manicure is it is a cosmetic beauty treatment applied on the fingernails and hands.

Now a days, a standard manicure consists of washing of the hands and nails, cutting, filing and shaping the finger nails and applying nail polish on it. But this and others like it, like French Manicure are simply "standard" or default treatment. Specialty treatments from applying artificial nails to creating nail arts via airbrush nails are very common.

Your hands and fingers are constantly exposed to different environments. And no matter how careful we are with our hands and fingers, various elements will cause its natural beauty to wear and tear.

Some common examples that can destroy the natural beauty of your fingernails are soaps, detergents, hot water and even the common tap water we use can have chemicals and traces of toxins that can wear down your nails. The sun and of course the millions of dirt particles that we can't see are constantly bombarding your nails making your nails look tired and dull.

To overcome this, you need to regularly take care of your hands and fingernails.

In my opinion every woman has the right to pamper their hands and nails, and a right to have beautiful looking fingernails. Beautiful hands with perfect looking fingernails just adds so much to overall physical beauty and the amount of confidence you gain from having these is priceless. So what better way to do this than getting a nails manicure?

Preparing the Hands and Nails
While a lot of people forget this step, you shouldn't! Before anything else, clean your hands and fingernails thoroughly by scrubbing and using soap. Then dry with a towel. Make sure it is properly cleaned as any debris or dirt could ruin your nails manicure.

Once cleaned, cut or use an emery board and file the nails down gently. Next, you should shape your nails the way you want it, then file or buff it to smoothen it out.

Run your fingers over a pantyhose or mesh like material to see if your nails snags on. When you're content with the job you've done you can move on to the next step.

Caring for your Cuticle
Use a softener and apply it on your cuticle and let it absorb for a few minutes. Then dip your hands for a few minutes in warm water. Once your cuticle and hand is feeling soft and tender, start pushing on your cuticles gently. If this hurts, this can only mean your cuticles and hands have not yet softened so repeat the previous procedure.

Once you've pushed back the cuticles and cut off any excess or hangnails, you can apply hand lotion or moisturizer on to your hands and fingers, massaging them at the same time with your free hand.

Removing Polish
You're half way there! But before you can apply any new nail polish or color to your nails, you have to remove any remaining coatings left. Using an orange stick or cuticle stick (however you like to call it) with cotton wrapped around it, dip it in nail polish remover or acetone and gently rub the whole surface of each of your nails. This should remove any remaining polish from your previous nail job.

Apply Nail Polish
Now for the fun part! Choose the nail polish color that best suites your mood, get a brush dip it in the nail polish then gently stroke down the center of one of your nails. Another stroke on one of the sides and one last stroke for the last. You should never do more than 3 strokes to completely paint over your nails!

Once completed, you let the first coating sit for a while then resume to apply the second coating. After the second coat, you should apply a top-coat that forms a protective layer over the colored polish so it lasts longer and looks better longer.

Finished
And there you have it. Your very own Nails Manicure.

Don't worry about making mistakes while doing this, you can always start from scratch by going back to the first step anytime. And remember, no one gets it right the first time so keep practicing and you'll have it perfect in no time! And one last thing to make your nails last longer you can always redo the top coat every once in a while.