Before you begin, you will need to assemble a few items. You can pick up most of these from the pharmacy, supermarket or places like Priceline for a reasonable price. Alternatively, you could scour department stores, or online for a manicure set, or a manicure and pedicure set. Some come with just the basic tools, while others include battery powered buffing tools & even powered drying stations for nails wet with polish! They aren’t necessary of course, & you can give yourself a perfect manicure at home with just the items I have listed here. For the recipes on the other hand you might need to brave the local health food store – or try the folks at Sydney Essential Oil Co.

What you’ll be needing:

Towels
Acetone or Nail Polish Remover
Alcohol or Sanitiser
Bowls
Warm Water
Emery Board or Nail File
Buffing Board
Nail Clippers or Scissors
Orange Stick or Cuticle Pusher
Square Tipped Brush
Nail Polish

Set up your space, ideally close to basin. Place the nail clippers & orange stick in a cup or mug with a small amount of alcohol poured into the bottom to disinfect & sanitise. When you’ve finished your manicure it’s important to remember to spray the emery board & the buffing board (& any other tools) with disinfectant and give them a wipe down. You & your hands a really important so don’t expose either to nasty bacteria & risk giving yourself an infection!

1. Clean Hands

First things first, remove old nail polish with nail polish remover or acetone, & some cotton balls. Personally, I don’t buy nail polish remover any more. I go to the hardware store & buy a big bottle of acetone, which is basically the primary ingredient in nail polish remover anyway. Some people find that it can be drying, but I haven’t had any problems so far – especially since I make a point of moisturising afterwards. It works out to be so much cheaper as well & there’s less packaging to deal with. Make sure your hands are clean & wet the cotton ball with a small amount of acetone & hold over the nail for a few seconds. Then wipe away the polish with one or two firm, slow strokes and move on to the next nail. Use the pointed end of the orange stick to clean out dirt from underneath the nail.

2. Exfoliate

Mud Cake Hand Scrub

30g Organic Coco Butter
30ml Organic Almond Oil
20ml Vegetable Glycerin
30g Organic Coco Powder
60g Raw Organic Sugar

Melt the coco butter in a bowl in the microwave. As coco butter is quite hard & can be stubborn, it’s best to try microwaving it for a minute at time until it has fully melted. Once the butter has melted, add the other ingredients & give it a good stir. I find its best to use while warm, as the mixture will thicken up as it cools. To use, place about a tablespoon of the mixture in the palm of one hand & rub both hands together, scrubbing the backs of the hands, in-between fingers, & up towards the nails. Coco butter moisturises, while the sugar exfoliates meaning this scrumptious scrub makes hands soft & lovely, but even better than that, it smells divine. Just like chocolate mud cake! Délicieux! Wash away the scrub with warm water & pat hands dry with a towel.

3. Clip & File

Now it’s time to clip and file our nails. I don’t usually cut or clip my nails unless they’re really uneven & I recommend you do the same. Excessive clipping or cutting can make the free edge of the nail weak & it can sometimes cause tearing or split nails. Take the nail file and slide it along the free edge of your nail from the out corner to the centre. Don’t file in a see-saw or back & forth motion, as this will also weaken the nail. Instead file in just the one direction, from corner to centre & then start again from the other side of the nail, first with the rough edge of the nail file & then with the smooth edge. The purpose of filing your nails is to smooth over & even out the free edge of the nail. The ideal shape for filed nails is a rounded square – this shape is least likely to break, split or chip. If you like, you can go over the edged of your filed nails with the rough side of the buffing board to really smooth them out.

4. Soak

Time to soak! Soaking your hands in warm water is a lovely relaxing treat, but is only necessary if you plan to push back your cuticles.

Gingerbread Nail Soak

50ml Organic Liquid Castile Soap
10ml Organic Apricot Kernel or Almond Oil
3 drops Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil
3 drops Ginger Essential Oil

Use a stirring rod or the handle of a spoon to gently stir the essential oils and apricot or almond oil into the castile soap, and store in a clean glass bottle. To use, mix between one and two tablespoons of the soak into a bowl filled with warm water & soak hands & nails for five to ten minutes to loosen cuticles. While cinnamon and ginger essential oils are good for improving circulation, they may irritate sensitive skin. However, you can easily substitute them for any other essential oils. I recommend lavender & geranium, or myrrh & vanilla, or even peppermint & lime! Got nuts and formulate your own! When your hands are done languishing in the warm water, take them out & pat dry with a towel.

5. Cuticles

Take the orange stick and use the flat end to gently push back the cuticles. This step isn’t necessary & its not something I do every time I give myself a manicure. Pushing back the cuticle gives your nail a neat & tidy look & makes nail polish application even, but if you’re not careful you run the risk of getting an infection. Especially if your cuticles are cracked, torn or bleeding. So be careful!

6. Buff

Buffing your nails smooths out the weak spots; ridges, cracks & chips. Smooth, buffed nails are less likely to break & your manicure will last longer. Take the buffing board & begin with the roughest edge. Use a little pressure & make small circular motions against the surface of the nail. Finish with a side to side motion & then use the finer edge of the board. The board I use is four sided, the sides are covered with buffing paper & each side uses a grade that is finer than the last. The first side is for removing ridges, the second for smoothing, the third for buffing & the last for polishing & adding shine. Don’t use the final side if you plan to apply nail polish as the polish tends to stick better to porous surfaces rather than glossy smooth ones.

7. Moisturise

Sweet Nut Hand Treatment

50g Honey
20ml Organic Macadamia Oil
20ml Organic Almond Oil
1 Vitamin E Capsule

Pour the honey into a bowl & warm in the microwave until runny. Gently stir in the macadamia & almond oils & then add the contents of the broken vitamin E capsule. Use while still warm by slathering the mixture all over your hands & then wrapping them up in a plastic bag followed by a hot towel. (Warm up your towels in the dryer, or by dampening them in a basin full of hot water) Then sit & relax! After five to ten minutes remove your hands & wash thoroughly in warm water. Honey is an excellent moisturiser & when mixed with the oils it is wonderful for soothing tired skin & leaving your hands soft & gorgeous!

8. Polish

Again like pushing back cuticles, applying polish is optional. Use a base coat or clear top coat first to seal the nail & prevent the coloured polish from leaving a stain. Très passé! Apply the polish in three even strokes, the first in the middle & then one either side. Stronger colours may need a second coat. Leave to dry & then apply a layer of top coat or clear nail polish for a lovely glossy look.

Keep your hands still for an hour or so to let the polish dry properly. You can use the time to read a magazine, watch your favourite film or chat with a friend.Voilà! You’re finished & your nails should look wonderful!

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