how to do manicure at home

Winter is not my my favorite season of the year. It makes me lazy No matter how much I try to keep myself warm, I catch cold very often. I miss my appointmets in the beauty salons all because I dont want to go out from my home. The walk from the apartment to the car freezes me to death. After getting better results in doing facial at home read http://dipsmi.hubpages.com/hub/How-I-did-facial-at-home, I decided to try my hands on doing manicure at home. However once in a time I do go to the parlor for manicure. It feels great if someone else does that for you.

Manicure consists of the following steps :-

• Removing the old nail polish
• Trimming of the nails
• soaking hand in warm soapy water
• Softening of the spots in the hand which are rough
• Pushing the cuticle
• Exfoliating the hands
• Moisturizing the hands
• Polishing your nails.

Based on the above points, I found out that a manicure set should contain the following items

• Nail polish remover
• Nail filer
• Nail clippers
• Cotton
• Cuticle oil
• Base coat (optional)
• Nail polish
• Top coat (optional)

Recently I think I saw a manicure set at Dollar tree. Since I was in a hurry, I did not see it properly but I am definitely going next week to see if I was right.

The "other " items which you need for manicure are

• Scrub homemade or ready made
• Moisturizer
• Warm water
• Clean towel
• Proper Light
• Good mood

How to do it?

1. Dab nail polish remover in cotton and remove the old nail polish from your nails.
2. Trim your nails with the length you desire. You can then shape your nails round or square. I must admit that I have never been able to shape my nails square no matter how much I try.
3. Many people skip this step to save time but I personally find it soothing. Soak your hands in warm water. You can add some of your liquid soap or shampoo in it.
4. Apply some cuticle oil on the rough spots of your hand. You can use moisturizer or olive oil instead of cuticle oil.Olive oil is great for brittle nails. I usually skip this step.
5. This step needs to be done properly. Push the cuticle back properly. Some people including me cut their cuticle, however be careful while cutting your cuticle. I would advice that in case you are not confident about cutting your cuticle, do it in a salon.
6. Scrub your hands with the ready made scrubber or with home made scrubs. I sometimes scrub my hands with oil and sugar or salt or http://dipsmi.hubpages.com/hub/Homemade-facial-scrubs.
7. Dry your hands and apply your moisturizer.
8. Apply the base coat on your nails. Let it dry and then apply nail polish. Let it dry again. Re apply the coat if needed. I do not use the base coat however I use the top coat. I usually apply a face pack while doing manicure. So by the time I am done with manicure, I have a glowing face and soft and shining hands! Some suggestions for face packs are http://dipsmi.hubpages.com/hub/face-packs-for-glowing-skin.