Wednesday, August 12, 2020

I miss the nail salon! I haven’t been since the beginning of March. I think I could safely go now while wearing a mask, but I guess I have gotten into the habit of NOT going and I’m choosing to do mine at home right now. Have you been to the nail salon?

Boy, do I miss a pedicure! I got spoiled and didn’t do my own for YEARS. It was probably my primary method of self-care, you know? But, I mentioned before that doing my own pedicure is helping with another of my pandemic goals – increased flexibility. I do not need witnesses to me doing my own pedicure, o.k.?

I think I’m pretty good at doing my own nails because I have had over 40 years of practice off and on and have always loved polish! I’m always trying to find the bright side and one of them is getting to change my colors more frequently. After 2-3 weeks of dip I would get very tired of the color.

My method gives me about 4-5 days of a manicure and that is with living life – getting in the river, doing all.the.dishes that more cooking at home creates, and just everything else one does with their hands on the daily.

I really gravitate towards blues right now. I am totally a seasonal person when it comes to polish. I do whites, blues, pinks, greens in the summer and save the darker colors for the fall and winter.

I am a bit of a nail polish snob. I just think I get a much better result if I use a higher end polish. My two favorites are OPI and Essie both for the quality and the color selection.

Tip: Spend a LONG time shaking up your bottle. Have you watched a professional nail tech? They do this. If your polish is a bit older, add a small drop of acetone or polish remover and then proceed to shake. This will really help.

Step One: Make sure your nail beds are clean and dry. If you have just cut and filed, wash your hands and spend a long time drying. Then, you may also want to do a quick swipe of acetone or remover over your nails.

Step Two: Buy this Gelous Base Coat or another base coat. I don’t know exactly why but it really helps the color to adhere. Do a very thin coat of this and let it dry.

Step Three: Have you noticed how little polish the professional nail tech uses? That is the key. Do a very thin first coat of your color and let dry. They start in the middle of the nail and then do the outer edges. Don’t freak if you get outside the lines because you can always fix when dry with a q-tip or a corner of paper towel. If you try to fix when wet you will make a bigger disaster.

Step Four: Do another thin and final coat of your color. This coat matters more so take a bit more time.

Final Step: After letting the second coat dry, now apply a very thin layer of top coat. I like the OPI brand for this and it is what I already had, but there are other good ones, too.

Note: I really think the more expensive brands of polish dry quicker, too. And, remember your coat is so thin that it will dry quicker naturally because of that alone!

OPI: Thicker brush that is good for pedicures and maybe those with bigger or wider nails.

Essie: Tiny brush great for fingers or those with small nails. Great for children.

Another note: I think darker colors look better on shorter nails. Maybe this is just a personal preference?

Do you do your own nails?

Any tips for me or others?

Happy polishing!

Amy