Push Back Your Cuticles And Cut If Need Be
You know that white crust around your toenails that like to show-up and show-out around your toes?! Its time to get them together.
Push back your cuticles and cut cuticles that need to be removed using a cuticle pusher. If your cuticles are super stubborn, I recommend looking into a cuticle remover cream or oil. While this doesnt technically remove your cuticles if will make it easier to push them back or remove.
Once you have pushed back cuticles, run a cleaner along the base of the nail to remove excess cuticle and dead skin.
Ways On How To Apply Fake Nails At Home Like A Pro
Our nails are not always in the best condition and sometimes we just really crave those gorgeous, long, healthy looking nails so we can flaunt them around and stare at them whenever we get the chance. You also, sometimes, don’t want to wait around until your natural nails start getting longer, especially if you have an event and you need a quick fix. There are two ways you can easily apply fake nails at home and have them look like you just got them done at the salon, saving money, time.
1. Press On Nails
I never liked my fake nails when I got them at the salon and press on nails helped me realize how easily I can apply fake nails for myself at home. Press on Nails are quick and fast, they usually already have the color and shape perfected and you can buy the length and size that fits you. I personally like to adapt the length and shape to my own liking because this is the key to get fake nails to look natural. I also prefer this method because the stick on does a lot less damage to your nail than the liquid nail glue does.
1. Make sure your natural nails are completely clean from any polish remnants, oils or creams by giving them a swipe of alcohol.
2. Before removing the fake nails stickers, match every nail to each finger and lay them out in order so you don’t get confused.
2. Glue On Nails
Main Image Credits: Instagram
Video Credits: Tina Halada
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Clean Up Your Cuticles
My trusty nail polish clean-up brush.
So you’ve prepped, painted and polished off your mani with top coat, but even though you were extra careful, there’s polish on your cuticles. Ugh!
Here’s my remedy: a teeny, tiny brush and some acetone. All you have to do to get a perfectly clean cuticle is to clean it up! I use a cheap small eyeliner brush, the Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush No. 107, that’s tiny enough to swipe around my cuticle for the perfect clean-up. Here are few other brushes to try:
You want to make sure you’re using a good remover for this, like 100 percent acetone, because it’ll make the job so much easier. Just dip the brush into the acetone and swipe it along your cuticle, where the polish might be uneven or on your skin. You’ll get that perfect line every time!
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Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover Available At Target For $499
I put this product at the end for the sole fact that I personally don’t touch my cuticles since they get pushed back and removed from my daily activities anyway. They don’t personally bother me so I leave them be. On top of that, I wouldn’t recommend using this product on a weekly basis or every time you paint your nails, but it’s a great house keeping tool.
The Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover was recommended to me by a coworker Megan Foster, a self-proclaimed nail enthusiast, who said, “I discovered the Sally Hansen cuticle remover at my local Target and since then, it’s been hard to tell the difference between an at-home and salon manicure. It’s easy to apply, works in a few seconds, and leaves my cuticles looking refreshed and clean.”
To use this product, simple apply a thin strip of the gel formula to each cuticle. After 15 seconds, push back the cuticles using a cotton-wrapped manicure stick. The formula features Chamomile and Aloe, so your cuticles and skin stay nourished to give you that salon-grade finish.
, “Within seconds of applying it to my nails, the cuticle becomes soft and I can remove it right away. I used to never remove my cuticles when doing my nails, I guess because I didn’t really know how to, but since I started using this product, my nails look so good.” , “I have been using this for years. I don’t like having my cuticles cut and this works really well to clean up my cuticles.”
Apply A Cuticle Remover On The Outside Edges Of Your Nail
This will gently soften and exfoliate the dry skin by the cuticle, making it easier to push back. An added bonus? Miss Pop finds that a cuticle remover can help eliminate the yellow staining you get after removing darker nail polish colors, too.
“Paint the cuticle remover on the nail as if it were a base coat or top coat. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then gently rub it in with your finger, and wipe it off with cotton,” she instructs.
If you’re looking for another way to remove that yellow tint to your natural nail, Miss Pop recommends soaking your nails in a bowl of warm water and a dissolved denture tablet for a few minutes.
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Choose The Perfect Fit
Fake nails come in many different sizes, but natural fingernails come in just as many, if not more. Pay close attention to the sizes of the fake nails youre using before you adhere them to your nail beds. If you just pick a random nail size, youll likely end up with fake nails that dont fit properly and end up looking awkward and sloppy.
To determine which size fake nails fit your natural nails most closely, hold each plastic nail up to the surface of your natural nails. If necessary, file or clip the edges of the fake nails slightly before applying them. To get the most natural look, the bottom edge of your fake nails should rest right below the white part of your nail beds, not at the base of your natural nails.
Finish With A Touch Of Cuticle Oil
Whether or not you decided to add a pop of nail art, the last step of your at-home manicure should be to add some cuticle oil to rehydrate the skin around your nails.
“Even if you like your nails bare, apply cuticle oil regularly to stave off hangnails and maintain the health of your skin and nails,” adds Miss Pop.
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Is It Worth Doing Gel Nails At Home
While at home, maintaining a regular manicure routine helps keep your nails healthy and strong. This could be the best opportunity to learn and become skilled at DIY gel nail polishing.
Doing gel nails at home is indeed beneficial in the following ways:
- Its cost-effective. When doing gel nails at home, you only need to worry about the cost of buying products and equipment rather than the additional service cost.
- Its time-saving. At-home gel manicures don’t require you to have to travel to the salon, saving you time spent on commuting.
- You get to be creative. Coming up with unique gel nail polish styles allows you to experiment with color and design ideas to develop personalized nail art youve always wanted to try.
- Its resourceful. Typically, each gel nail polish bottle can last you 20-30 manicures. Our S& L gel nail polishes contains more volume than the average gel polish bottle. They last really long.
- It’s healthier. Nail salons rush to remove the gel nail polish on your nails without adequate time for them to soak. If you DIY at home, you can soak the gel polish off more patiently so your nails won’t damage.
Push Back Your Cuticles
Soak your fingers in a bowl of warm water with either a drop of gentle face cleanser or shampoo. Soaking the cuticles before pushing back or cutting them makes the whole process a lot easier and a whole lot more relaxing. After soaking your fingers, apply a cuticle remover or lotion to your cuticles so soften them up a little more. Once soft, push your cuticles back gently. You should avoid cutting your cuticles since your cuticles protect your nails from bacteria. If you must trim your cuticles, be careful NOT to pull, lift, tear, rip, force, or cut into the cuticle in any way. All you need to do is nip off the free edge with a pair of metal cuticle nippers. You can use these cuticle nippers to remove any hangnails as well.
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Paint With The Right Technique
Three swipes is all it takes to coat each nail.
When it comes to getting the colour on, here’s what works for me:
Step 1: Start by taking the excess nail polish off the brush, but leave just enough to get a healthy amount on the nail.
Step 2: Apply the polish to the centre of the nailas close to the cuticle as you can getand swipe up, as you can see in the photo below:
Swipe your polish up the centre of the nail, starting from the cuticle.
Step 3: Go back into the polish, always removing the excess so you avoid nail polish pooling in your cuticles. Again, start at the base of the nail, near the cuticle, but drag the polish up and to the left side of your nail.
Paint another strip up the left side of your nail.
Step 4: If there’s enough polish left on your brush, do the same with the right side, or go back in and get more polish and repeat.
Finish with a strip up the right side of the nail.
Keep in mind, your first coat will almost always be uneven and imperfect, as you can see in the last photowhich is totally fine! That’s why there’s a second coat, to even everything out.
How To Get Salon Quality Nails At Home
STEP 1: Base + Color in One Begin with Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy Longwear Nail Enamel. There is no need to use a base coat underneath because this high performance lacquer already has a base coat and color in one convenient formula for longwearing brilliant color. This provides time saving applications, which is exactly what I need these days! I love that the color is easily removable with your favorite nail enamel remover.
STEP 2: NEW Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat
Give the final touch with Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat. This is Revlons toughest top coat yet! Between running my businesses, being a full time Mom, changing diapers, cooking and cleaning my nails take a beating. With this top coat, I dont have to worry because it has a protective coating that allows me to go about my daily activities without stressing about ruining my nails. Technically speaking, the film smoothing and DiamondFlex Technologydelivers long lasting chip-resistant wear, strength and leaves my nails with a beautiful multi-faceted diamond like shine.
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Gel Nail Polish Removers To Consider
Here are some of the most recommended gel nail polish removal methods you can use to successfully remove gel from your nails.
Keep in mind that before trying any of these methods, you should use your nail file to file the top coat lightly or a buffer to buff the top layer of gel polish off before soaking it in acetone.
1. Soaking Your Nails in Acetone
Due to the high-solvent nature of acetone, it remains as one of the best nail polish removers. However, using acetone frequently removes lots of natural oils and pales your skin, so keep your nails soaked in acetone for 15-20 minutes.
Nonetheless, it’s still a good gel polish remover. You have to settle for one of the two options to use it: file your nails and soak them in acetone, or soak cotton in acetone, and wrap your nails with cotton and foils. Either way, the polish will be out in minutes.
2. Use a Gel Removal Steamer
A gel removal steamer does just what the cold one cannot do-it steams the whole process giving a warmer environment for faster effective results.
To use it, first make sure you have filed and buffed your gel polish. Then pour the acetone remover into the base, switch on the steamer, then stick your fingers into the 5 finger holes.
Typically, most gel removal steamers will beep you, indicating its done. When youre told its complete, use an orange wood stick or a nail scrapper to scrape off the gel polish.
Repeat the process until the gel nail polish is scraped off of each nail.
Buff Your Nails But Only If You Need To
Gently buff your nails in one direction if they are peeling or flaking, she says. If not, you can skip this step.
Miss Pop adds that she doesn’t normally buff nails because it strips the top layer, which is the most keratin-rich.
“The reason people buff nails before they apply regular polish is because it helps the polish last longer,” she says. “Doing that, however, removes the natural oils on the nail.”
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How To Sanitize Pedicure Tools At Home
You can clean your pedicure tools at home by wiping off any debris and then following up by washing with soap and water, To disinfect pedicure tools, rub with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol. Additionally, you can soak your tools in hydrogen peroxide for a few minutes.
To remove dirt and oil residue in your foot soak, use a magic eraser to remove the oily residue build-up that can leave a ring around your foot bath.
So this step-by-step how to have a spa-level pedicure at home! Do you give yourself pedicures or do tend to go to the salon? I would love to know below!
Dont You Ever Get Manicures In A Salon
But wait a second, Mary, Ive seen you on instastories getting your nails done before! Absolutely. Im not saying I never get my nails done. Youre all well aware of how much I love Glamsquad, and having their in-home offerings every month or two is one of my favorite treats. I actually love these appointments as a way of maintaining proper cuticle maintenance with a professional trimming, which isnt necessary for me every single time, but rather just every 2nd or 3rd manicure. Also, getting your nails done is always a fun, relaxing self-care moment and certainly something I like to indulge in every now and then.
Right now, however, with the coronavirus pandemic keeping everyone at home, going to the nail salon is absolutely not an option. But, outside of global health crises putting all of us on lockdown, there are also times when you simply cant make it to the salon. When you have a busy schedule, work full-time and/or have kids, regular nail salon appointments arent always realistic. You also maybe just dont feel like dropping $100+ on your nails every few weeks. Whatever your reasoning, learning to do your own gel manicures is a skill that will pay off.
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How To Do A Professional Gel Manicure At Home
The secrets out: Ive done my own gel nails at home for years. Im not talking about a manicure with regular nail polish or the pseudo-gel polish alternatives out there. Im talking about doing a professional-quality gel manicure with the exact products that are used at your salon. This is not a drill.
With the right technique and a little patience, you can truly get the same high quality, long-lasting result at a fraction of the price, without leaving your home. Since were all social distancing right now, I wanted to break down everything you need to achieve a gel manicure and I promise, anyone can do this! Below Im detailing every product and trick for achieving a perfect, healthy, long-lasting manicure at home so we can all save some money and love our nails .
What Is An Sns Powder Dip Manicure Exactly
Different to your standard gel or acrylic nails, an SNS manicure uses a gel base polish to begin and then while wet, the nail is dipped in powder for colour. It dries instantly and doesn’t require an LED or UV lamp to cure the nail .
According to SNS creators the gel base polish is packed with nutrients including vitamins A, E, D and B5 to help protect your nails.
For anyone who has had an SNS manicure before, you’ll understand how complex the process is it’s definitely a skill that will make you appreciate your nail technician a whole lot more but after a few practice runs it’s possible to master salon-quality nails at home, on your own!
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How To Diy Salon
There are few things that make you feel instantly put-together and glamorous as effortlessly as a fresh set of artificial nails. The shiny, carefully shaped perfection of lacquered fake nails adds polished elegance to any look.
viaMaking it to a nail salon every other week to maintain a full set of acrylics isnt always realistic for your schedule or your bank account. Its easy enough to swipe a coat of nail polish but a layer of polish just doesnt live up to the glamour of falsies. Applying your own salon-quality fake nails can be tricky, but is possible to DIY at-home fake nails that dont look sloppy or glaringly artificial.
