How to Give Yourself a Professional Pedicure
Giving yourself a professional pedicure is an 8-step process.
The first step is to remove the old polish from your nails.
Instead of cotton balls (which will leave fuzzies), we suggest using a lint-free cotton pad, such as Miss Webril or our favorite, Lippmann Collection The Stripper To Go .
Saturate the cotton pad with acetone remover & rub off the old polish. If the color isn’t coming off easily, press the saturated cotton on the nail & let it soak in first. A tip for removing stains from nails: try rubbing whitening toothpaste on your nails. You can also rub a drop of lemon or lavender oil on each toe & rub a buffer back & forth over the nail.
This will remove the yellowed outer layer.
Tip for picking the perfect polish remover: Alcohol- and acetone-free removers are less drying, but don’t work as well, especially on dark shades. Use the ‘free’ stuff on lighter shades.
Step #2 — Cut & File Nails
It’s best to use high quality clippers made for clipping toenails such as Tweezerman Deluxe ($10). To avoid ingrown nails, cut nail straight across to just above the skin. Make sure your nail doesn’t extend over the tip of your toe.
To get a soft square shape, file nails in one direction until they are even & slightly rounded at the corners. (Hint: Don’t use metal files, they’ll rip your nails). Basic emory boards like the ones from Revlon work great, but if you want to go truly pro, try the Mehaz ingrown toenail file which allows you to easily lift nail corners for shaping. Don’t clip the sides of nails, that can cause ingrowns.
Emory board tip: The fine-grade surface is for smoothing the nail edge, while the coarser surface is for shortening & shaping nails.
Step #3 — Soak Your Feet
Fill a large flat-bottom bowl with warm water. Throw in bath salts, your favorite aromatherapy oils or Epsom salt & let your feet soak 10 minutes. The more cracked & calloused your feet, the longer they need to stay in.
Trick only the pros know: Add a quarter cup of milk to your bath along with the essential oils & salts. The lactic acid in the milk loosens dead skin.
Step #4 — Trim Cuticles
Apply cuticle remover to the base of each nail & rub it in. Sally Hansenis a basic remover & works great. Leave on for a minute, then use an orangewood stick (Tweezerman works great) to gently push with a circular motion everywhere where skin meets the nail (including the sides). Be careful to remove skin only on top of the nail, don’t touch the toe flesh.
Use cuticle nippers (Mehaz nippers work best) to trim any loose skin. Be careful not to nip your toe flesh.
Step #5 — Scrub Your Feet
Apply an exfoliating body or foot scrub to a foot file or wet pumice stone to slough away the dead skin on the balls & heels of your feet. You’ll want to scrub the balls, bottoms & sides of your heels & around the toes. To get the most leverage, sit on the side of a bathtub, facing inward. Remember the pedicure motto we read about once, "smooth, don’t remove." You’ll want to stop if your foot turns bright red (this means you’ve scrubbed too hard). Remember, that tough skin is there for a reason.
Any basic foot file or pumice stone from your drugstore will do the trick, but if you want the Cadillac of foot files, try Perfect Beauty certamic foot file, $20, 800-694-4866).
Step #6 — Moisturize
Dry feet thoroughly including between the toes & rub in a thick foot cream like Barielle Total Foot Care Cream, $19.50 . Rub the feet & the calves. Rehydrate cuticles by rubbing in a dab of cuticle oil.
Step #7 — Polish Your Toes
Use acetone remover to get rid of any excess oils on the nails (including the cuticle oil you just applied). Apply a thin base coat using 3 strokes, one down the middle, then one on each side. Don’t paint the cuticle. Wait a minute before adding two coats of your favorite polish, then finish with a thin top coat (try quick-drying Seche Vite, $10. Clean up any errors with an orangewood stick wrapped in cotton & dipped in acetone remover.
Let nails dry for at least 40 minutes.
Tip: It’s good to paint any polish remaining on the brush over the front nail edge. This prevents chipping.
Step #8 — Finish
After nails have dried, spritz with a moisturizing oil like SolarSpeed spray. This sets your polish & moisturizes your cuticles. Then voila! You’re done!
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The Dirty Truth On Nail Fungus Treatment
Fingernail fungus is an infection caused by living microorganisms when it attacks the nail of either foot or hand. The fungus grows in dark and moist area that it finds under and sides of the nail as nails have micro-spaces around. The fungus finds comfortable environment as the nail itself protects it. It gradually locates [...]
Fingernail fungus is an infection caused by living microorganisms when it attacks the nail of either foot or hand. The fungus grows in dark and moist area that it finds under and sides of the nail as nails have micro-spaces around. The fungus finds comfortable environment as the nail itself protects it. It gradually locates beneath the nail and starts digesting the most valuable substance called as ‘keratin’. Keratin is the material that coats the nail and protects it from the damage and hence, keeps its structure well. Once the keratin is lost, the nail starts getting damaged by the fungus and then fungus grows and spreads.
Fingernail fungus is to be treated as soon as it is detected. This is because when it goes beyond its limit, it becomes difficult to reverse the procedure and then local incision with removal of affected part remains the only treatment. There are certain steps to be followed when one detects something awkward happening to the nail. The first comes is homemade remedy for treating fingernail fungus. The fungus hates the acidic environment and hence, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar works wonderfully. You can take an eyedropper and can have those vinegars directly to be put onto the affected areas including cuticles.
There are many essential oils such as lavender essential oil and olive oil. You can mix them or can put single. Apart from such oils, soaking affected area is one of the most effective remedies to treat fingernail fungus infection. You can soak in special solution made out of acidophilus beer, some essential oils and some disinfectant herbs. Neem is another considerable herb that grows abundantly in India. You can use its oil or can use the decoction of its leaves for soaking the affected area.
There are some Chinese medicines like Fungo Balm etc that have proven results in treating various fingernail fungal infections. You can use them alone or can get some combination. A group of expert believer that Listerine works very well on curing fingernail fungus when applied directly or in combination with any other anti-fungal agent. Some of the dietician advice to take some natural disinfectant food such as garlic or ginger and black pepper that help boosting the immunity and help killing microorganism present in the body.
Allopathic healthcare advisors favor taking some oral anti-fungal drugs for treating fingernail fungal infection as a surefire to treat such infections. However, along with internal medications, some of the external therapies like washing the affected area with hydrogen peroxide too, are advised. Dermatologists may suggest soaking the affected area in the solution containing Epsom salt that has proven anti-fungal and disinfectant properties.
Apart from local and internal treatment, fingernail fungal infection requires hygienic attention. One should wear washed socks and shoes are to be cleaned too. Dusting disinfectant powder inside the socks and shoes is good idea to keep healthy environment around the feet. The fingernail is to be kept dry because wet and moist environment is an ideal for fungus to grow and spread.
Weird Nail Trend: Painting the Inside of the Nails
Weird Nail Trend: Painting the Inside of the Nails I think I saw this latest trend while perusing Redbook. More women are painting the inside of the nails a different color from the outside of nails. An example: The… Source: beauty.about.com
Weird Nail Trend: Painting the Inside of the Nails
I think I saw this latest trend while perusing Redbook. More women are painting the inside of the nails a different color from the outside of nails. An example: The…
Source: beauty.about.com
