Nail Care Guide: 10-Minute Manicure

Quick-and-easy manicure you can give yourself at home.


Step 1: Trim and Shape the Nails
Decide what nail shape best complements your hands:

- The current trendy nail shape is short and straight, with the edges like a rounded rectangle.

- Use your the shape of your cuticles as a guide: if they're oval shaped, square-cut nails are suitable choices, but if your cuticles are more pointy, oval-shaped nails work better for you.

- Long tapering nail tips complement delicate-looking hands and long fingers, while heavy-set hands with short fingers and wide nail beds look best with squared-off nails.

- Trim your nails to the appropriate length that will suit your lifestyle and the condition of your nails. They shouldn't be too long if your nails tend to chip or if you always engage in activities that might break your nails.


Step 2: File the Nails

- Filing your nails should even out any rough edges resulted from the trimmings.

- File gently from each corner to centre in one motion.

- Avoid the lazy way of side-to-side filing, which can weaken the nails and cause the nail tips to fray.

- It is best to use a soft, straight file made of sandpaper, rather than a metal file which can be harsh, especially on weak nails.

- Be careful not to file away the skin near the nails, and avoid filing too close to the edge of the nail bed.


Step 3: Push Back Cuticles

- To give your nails a neater appearance, you may want to push the cuticles back with a cuticle stick or orange wood stick.

- First soften the cuticles with some cuticle cream and rub in.

- Use the rounded end of the cuticle stick to gently push your cuticles back toward your skin around the base of the nail.

- You shouldn't need to push too hard. If you find your cuticles hard to push, they have not been softened enough. Re-apply more cuticle cream and wait for 3 minutes before trying again.

- Never attempt to trim the cuticles and this may lead to infection.
Once the cuticles are pushed back, gently wash off any remaining cuticle cream with warm soapy water.


Step 4: Buff and Shine Nails

- Buffing adds a healthy shiny finish to your nails, so don't skip this step.

- Using the roughest part of a three-way nail buffer, move it sideways in a sawing motion across each nail several times. This will exfoliate any rough ridges and stimulate the area underneath the nail to give it a healthy glow.

- Next use the less rough part to sand off any remaining rough spots.

- Finish off with the smooth part to polish your nails for a high shine.


Step 5: Polish the Nails

- Add a layer of top coat to protect the nails.

- Complete with a coating (or two) of lacquer. Or get creative and give yourself a French manicure.


Source: http://www.shoppinglifestyle.com/beauty/article.asp?id=163