MANICURE
Shorter nails are more stylish and easier to maintain. When I say short, I don’t mean something you bit down to the nub, please don’t even consider biting your nails. And if you are one of those women that bite your toenails, please return this book to my home address for a full refund! There’s nothing wrong with giving yourself a manicure (it can save time and money), you just have to remember a few things:
- When giving yourself a manicure, always use a basecoat.
- Nail polish colors, especially the dark, vampy colors will stain your nails.
- Use two coats of polish. One coat will peel off too quickly and more than two coats will be too thick.
- Apply thin coats of polish and always finish with a top coat.
- A light shade of polish that blends in with your natural skin tone will give the appearance of longer, thinner hands.
- Short nails look better with very bright or very dark polish. Go with either a light and natural polish or a very dark color.
Allow thirty minutes for your nail polish to dry to avoid smudges, especially dark colors. You might want to try a nail mask before your manicure, they help moisturize your dry nails and cuticles. For a nail mask at home: warm up some oil, apply it to clean nails by gently massaging and leave it on for at least an hour. Be sure to clean the oil off your nails completely before applying polish. Try essential oils, lavender, lemon, tea tree, olive, almond, or rosemary. Every few weeks, leave your nails bare so they can breathe. Otherwise, have fun and experiment with your nails!
PEDICURE
Our feet all too often get forgotten, here is a quick way to do a homemade pedicure. Before bed each night apply a foot cream. Use one with large concentrations of exfoliate like salicylic acid and alpha hydroxyl acids. These exfoliants will soften the feet and make any rough skin baby soft. Going barefoot occasionally around the house is good for your feet as it exercises the foot muscles. When applying nail polish to your toenails, follow the same rules as I set out above.
Excerpt from the book ‘Pulling It All Together’ by Paul Wharton – available on Amazon.
