How to do a manicure like a pro

manicure at home step by step

after manicure
Manicure with clear nail polish.

A manicure was one of the hardest things to learn at beauty school.

It wasn’t so much about it being actually that hard to learn, it was just hard to fathom that a manicure is really that simple and easy. Like – can we actually charge for that?

Okay, now that I really think of it -it just felt so easy after all the other harder things we learned and studied. Still, it’s pretty simple, so I’m going to teach you to do it yourself!

 

manicure
Before & after a manicure.

How to do a professional manicure at home – Step by step

how to do a manicure

  1. Wash your hands and use a disinfectant. Just to start things off fresh and clean.
  2. Remove the old nail polish, if there is any.

manicure at home

  1. Give your nails and hands a warm bath. I usually use a moisturizing shower gel, foam or a shower oil for the bath. Bathe for about 5-10 minutes. This helps to soften your cuticles and nails and it also feels nice and relaxing.
    + If you’re feeling extra, you can also exfoliate your hands. A body exfoliator will work just fine. Exfoliating gets rid of dead skin cells and makes your cream absorb better.
  2. Push your cuticles using a cuticle pusher tool. Be gentle – this shouldn’t hurt. (If you absolutely need to, here is where you would cut your cuticles. But do it only if they’re really grown out or sticking out.)
  3. Shape your nails with a nail file. I strongly recommend getting a glass file, because it’s more gentle to your nails. With a glass file you can file back and forth without breaking the layers on your nails.

how to manicure

  1. Clean your nails with a nail polish remover. This is to remove any dirt and oils from the surface so that the nail polish lasts longer.
  2. Apply your nail polish. I recommend doing it in three phases: a base coat, two layers of color polish and a top coat. Let the nail polish dry in-between layers. A base coat is super important, because it protects your nails. There are different types of base coats – hardening, ridge-filling, moisturizing etc. Pick a base coat suitable for your needs. You can also use a 2-in-1 clear polish that can be used as a top coat as well. There are different types of top coats as well: quick drying or hardening.
  3. Add a hand cream to your hands and cuticles. A cuticle treatment is recommended too. I like using just coconut oil. Your nail polish should be dry before adding the oil. If you’re worried about messing up the nail polish, let it dry before adding a hand cream.

And that’s it! A good old manicure. The order of these steps may vary but this is the very basic routine.

 

how to do manicure

 

What you need for a home manicure:

*Professional Nail Spa Bowl Manicure
*Cuticle pusher & cutter, metallic
Base coat, color nail polish & top coat (Check out some brand recommendations from below)
Hand or body lotion

easy manicure at home

My favorite nail polishes for a home manicure

I like Essie’s nail polishes. I especially like their *all in one base coat + top coat + strengthener

For color polish, I like Isadora and *Mavala. We actually used Mavala at school too. I love their small sizes, because they don’t dry out and I get to use all the product. Isadora’s nail polishes I’ve used for several years and sometimes I even skip top coat with them, because they dry so quickly and have a good shine.

My absolute favorite top coat is *Seche Vite Fast Dry  Top Coat. That has actually changed the whole game for me. Check out my full review and demo on it here.

natural nails

When was the last time you treated yourself to a manicure? 

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15 Comments

  1. James
    2017-05-29

    Perfect nails. More nail polish and swatches, please.

    Reply
  2. Yiota
    2017-05-30

    I love to paint my nails but I don’t really like to do a manicure or at least, I am not good at it haha! This is a great tutorial, I will make sure I follow it next time to improve myself!

    Yiota
    pinkdaisyloves.blogspot.com

    Reply
    1. Charlotta Takkula
      2017-05-30

      Thanks!

      Reply
  3. Rachel
    2017-05-30

    Loved this post! I really need to start taking care of my nails, at the moment my nail varnish is a mess and nearly all chipped off

    Reply
    1. Charlotta Takkula
      2017-05-30

      Haha that’s very often the case with me as well..

      Reply
  4. Charlotte Carter
    2017-05-30

    You have such lovely natural nails! I have such stumps hahah!
    a life of a charlotte
    x

    Reply
    1. Charlotta Takkula
      2017-05-30

      Thank you, they weren’t always like this! I think a healthy diet with nuts etc. has been helping 🙂

      Reply
  5. Eleni
    2017-05-30

    Very useful post! Your nails look very healthy and strong and I love the colour you used. I’m quite ok with a manicure at home when there’s time, but where I lack any ability is a pedicure! I just find it so hard to shape my toe nails! Thank you for the useful tips x
    http://www.rougenapples.com

    Reply
    1. Charlotta Takkula
      2017-05-31

      Thank you, glad you found it useful. Pedicure is a totally different story haha!

      Reply
  6. Shelleen
    2017-05-31

    Great post, I wish my nails were as strong as yours though! haha x
    A Blushing Beauty Blog

    Reply
    1. Charlotta Takkula
      2017-05-31

      Haha thanks 🙂

      Reply
  7. Rachel
    2017-05-31

    You have lovely nails! Thanks for this guide, I’m so terrible at doing my own so this really helps 😀

    Rachel | Coffee & Avocados

    Reply
    1. Charlotta Takkula
      2017-05-31

      Thank you, I’m glad you found this helpful. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Amy
    2017-06-01

    I need to make more time to do stuff like this. I’m lazy with nail varnish and rarely wear it but love the idea of following these steps to do it properly. Yours look so neat!

    http://amyevans.blog – Amy

    Reply
    1. Charlotta Takkula
      2017-06-01

      Thanks Amy. :>

      Reply

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