Wednesday's Princess Pamper Principle

I love the way my hands look right after I have a manicure! However, with little tadpoles my hands stay in some sort of detergent which wrecks a manicure quickly. So I wanted to do something at home that I can maintain with out a large outlay of cash every week. So this week's Princess Pampering session will focus on home made manicures:

Necessary Equipment
* A mid-sized bowl
* Cotton balls or pads
* Cuticle (a.k.a. orange) stick
* Cuticle cream
* Hand cream
* Nail clippers
* Nail file
* Nail polish: base, color, top coat
* Nail polish remover
* Paper Towel
* Soap
* Towel
* Warm water

Basic Steps
1. Use clippers and a nail file to shape nails. When you file, don't saw back and forth -- it can weaken nails. Instead, start at one edge and move across the top in one fluid motion. I found that if you soak your hand in warm water and a little Palmolive liquid detergent, it really makes the cuticles soft. Soak your hands in the liquid for at least 5 minutes.

2. Dry your hands with a clean towel, then place a paper towel on your table and rest them on top of it.

3. Put a dot each of cuticle cream or sweet almond oil and rub it in. Cuticle cutting is a no-no -- it can lead to infection. Instead, use a cuticle stick to gently push back cuticles.

4. When you're finished, rinse yours hands in the warm soapy water and pat dry, then apply a moisturizing hand cream. Let it absorb for about five minutes before wiping away the excess. Then swipe each nail with a cotton ball soaked in polish remover to get rid of cream on the nail so polish can adhere.

5. Apply a base coat to each nail and let it dry for at least two minutes.

6. Then paint two coats of nail color, waiting one full minute between coats. You should be able to cover each nail with three strokes -- one on each side, one down the middle. If you get polish on the skin, don't worry; just wait until everything is dry and use a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover to remove the excess.

7. When the polish has dried, apply a top coat.

Below is also a video describing a home manicure.



Take some time to enjoy and pamper yourself with a manicure today!