How to Give Yourself an At-Home Manicure

You don’t have to be rolling in the cash to enjoy a good manicure. Sure, you may not be able to afford to get your nails done at the very best salon or even any salon at all, but you sure as hell can give yourself an amazing manicure from home with these simple steps.

Cut

Begin your at-home salon experience by cutting your nails and beginning to shape them the way you want- whether that be round, square, oval, squaoval (that’s a real shape in the nail world), whatever you like!

File

Once your nails are cut and roughly shaped, begin filing the edges of each nail so you have a smooth and flawless finish.

Oil

Cuticle oil is what will really up your at-home nail session. The great thing about cuticle oil is that you don’t have to own a nail salon to get your hands on it. Luckily, you can purchase cuticle oil wherever nail polish is sold. Be sure to moisturize your cuticles on every finger.

Soak

Soak your hands for a few minutes each in warm water to further soften your cuticles to make the next step easier!

Push

The worst part of any manicure is the cuticle push, however if you’ve moisturized your cuticles with the oil and have soaked your fingers for long enough, this process should be less painful.

Buff

The next step is to buff your nails, this step is very important because the nail polish will apply more flawlessly when your nails are buffed and smooth (and what’s a good manicure without a flawless nail polish application?)

Moisturize and Massage

While cuticle pushing is the worst, moisturizing and massaging is the best. Slather on your favorite moisturizer and pamper yourself! When moisturizing and massaging, be sure to place extra focus on the driest areas (like your knuckles.) Moisturizing and massaging your hands is another aspect that will have you feeling like you’re at a real salon!

Polish

When applying polish, never forget to apply all 3 coats- a base coat, color coat, and a top coat! All 3 are necessary for a flawless and long lasting application. Start by applying your base coat and letting it dry completely, then apply your color coat and let that dry completely as well (you may need a second coat of color depending on which color and brand you choose), and lastly, apply your top coat to prevent chipping, cracking, and to add that extra shine!