As much as we may enjoy getting pampered or the feel of getting attended to in the nail salon, sometimes the costs and time factor can work against us. When your schedule or wallet can’t accommodate a trip to the nail salon, or if you’re looking for a new way to bring the salon to your home, take note of the following steps to recreate the salon experience in your own home.

Being able to copy the results of a professional manicure on your own can not only save you money, but will make you very popular among your girlfriends. What’s more fun that performing your own specialty manicures at your next get-together, as a gift for your mother, sister or best friend, or as a treat for yourself?

In order to start doing your own manicures, you’ll need to have the proper tools. Make a trip to the nearest beauty supply store and pick up the following items: base coat, top coat, buffer, large emory board, cuticle stick, cuticle oil or conditioner.

To start, be sure that the hands and nails are clean. If needed, wash the hands and be sure to get all of the gunk out from underneath the fingernails. Any nail polish should be removed before doing the manicure. Once the nails are clean, you’ll want to make sure they are all even. To trim the nails to a uniform length, use a pair of nail scissors instead of nail clippers, as clippers tend to bend and split the nail. Fragile nails work better with nail scissors. However, if you don’t have a pair of nail scissors handy, then use a small nail clipper to minimize any damage.

Once the nails are all the same desired length, use your large emory board to gently file the nails. Avoid using metal emory boards. Larger boards work better for manicures as opposed to the smaller ones because it covers more surface area and is easier to control. Paying attention to each finger, gently and briskly file any rough edges of the nails until they are smooth. Shape the nails until they are slightly square. Rounded nails tend to break easier but it really depends on what you - or the person you are performing the manicure on - prefers.

After filing and shaping the nails, it’s time to tackle the cuticles. For thin or barely there cuticles you can move on to the next step. When dealing with the cuticles, use a rubbed tipped cuticle stick to gently push back the cuticle and shape them properly. Once the cuticles are taken care of, apply a small drop of cuticle oil or conditioner to each cuticle area and gently rub it into the skin. To eliminate annoying dust from the filing, you can use a large makeup brush to clean the dust off and continue with the manicure.

Now buff each nail surface until you get a less shiny surface. Next, apply a light layer of case boat. Allow the base coat to dry for one minute and then apply the desired nail polish color. To finish the manicure, apply one to two layers of fast-drying top coat to each nail and allow to dry completely. Now you’re done!

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