Nail Polishing 101: Important Steps For Beautiful and Healthier Nails By Janet Martin At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Any woman will tell you that she put hard effort in applying her own manicure, especially when she was just starting out with it. After spending an hour or so to carefully paint your nails, it is really frustrating to see your nails chipped or the colors peeled off in just a day or two.

Majority of women enjoy doing their own nails because they have the freedom to express their style, and more importantly, it is a lot cheaper. Just like any daunting task, cleaning your own nails and putting your own manicure can get better and easier with experience. Of course, you don't have to put through all the hardships to become an expert. It is always better to learn from other people's experiences. Here are some tips that can help you do your manicure with ease:

Clean Before You Polish

If you want professional looking manicure, you have to make sure that your nails are properly filed. First, you have to remove any trace of old polish on your nails. Putting on a new slick of color on top of the old one will just make your nails look thicker. And there is nothing uglier than thickly coated nails.

Next, you have to trim your nails and file them so that they are of the same length and shape. If you are just starting out, it would be best to keep your nails short because the longer the nails are, the more prone they are to chipping and breaking.

Lastly, scrub your hands and nails and clean the dirt underneath them. There is nothing grosser than a woman with dirt and soil under her nails. And it is not only unhygienic, it is also unladylike.

Base Is Ace

Before you put the fuschia pink shade on your nails, you better apply a colorless polish as base. The base is important because it will help prevent nail discoloration. Dark shades usually tend to yellow your nails, so you better not forget to put on your base before putting on a colored polish. Moreover, do not forget to put base polish even in the exposed areas under your nails. This will make your nail stronger and resistant to chipping, breaking and pitting.

Thin Is In

A thinly layered nail polish looks sleek and elegant. If you have been in a salon, you will notice that manicurists apply the color thinly. Moreover, they make sure that they apply no more than two layers of polish. So if you want to have a professional-looking nail polish, make sure that you don't go overboard and apply four layers of colors.

By the way, before you apply another layer of polish, make sure that the first one has completely dried out. If not, you might find it hard to smoothen the surface. In fact, you might even see bubbles forming as a result of not waiting for the first base to dry up.

Mind Your Cuticles

The skin that is located at the base of your nails is what is called the cuticle. You have cuticles, or eponychia, because it protects the nail area from getting infected. Thus, it would be better if you do not remove them. Removing the cuticle make your nails more prone to breaking and tearing. This condition is commonly known as hangnails. It surely is painful to have hangnails, especially if they are infected.

You can take care of your cuticles by making sure that they are moisturized. There are products, such as oils and creams, in the market that are specifically designed to prevent nail dryness. Trimming some loose cuticle ends is also a good way to prevent hangnail and the development of infection in the area.

One common nail infection that is caused by broken hangnail is nail fungus. This type of infection is usually hard to get rid of. Women who share nail cleaning tools or have broken nail skin are also prone to getting nail fungus.

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