I live to get my nails done. It’s a process I’d best describe be as highly enjoyable, much like watching that video of a tiny hamster wrapped in a blanket while eating a baby carrot, but I digress. Here’s the thing though — it comes at a price. Salon quality nails comes with a salon quality small talk, which is not ideal for anti-social people like yours truly.
You’re going to need a couple of technician tools, which are all pretty cheap and you probably have most of them already. I’d also suggest that you invest in your own nail tool kit regardless of whether you get them done at a salon or not. Carrying your own tools is super hygienic and nail salons are often hotbeds of fungal infections (ew).
Start by prepping your mitts, and sticking your nails in water is probably the worst thing you can do right now. While it does soften your cuticles, making it easier to remove, it also softens your nails — which basically means that your polish is going to start chipping a lot sooner. Remove old polish, apply nail oil (I just have grapeseed oil in an old polish bottle) to the skin, and not the nail. This is when you’d use a cuticle remover, but ideally don’t get too wild with it because the odds of you cutting yourself by accident are quite high.
Wipe down your nails with rubbing alcohol to clean any hand goo off, and try using some sort of base coat. I love Essie’s variant in particular, because I used to struggle with peel-y, chippy nails which could not hold a manicure together for more than 2 days. It should protect your nails from yellow stains
(up to a point) and bind the polish to your nail better.
Now for the most fun bit—paint your nails! Do your absolute best to try not to get polish everywhere, and do nothing for a solid 10 minutes till both your coats dry. Here’s the stitch: painting my right fingers always looks like a toddler went ham on my arm with wall paint, and that is something you are definitely going to want to fix. Get an old eyeliner brush, one that you will most definitely not mind never using on your face again, dip it in nail polish remover and clean up the lines! I’ve tried doing this with cotton buds and even paper towels, but this method is totally foolproof. You get a really precise line so it looks like you actually know how to paint your nails.
Once you’ve cleaned up and slapped on a top coat, you’ll slowly come to realise that salon appointments are a thing of the past, and the only reason you ever have to leave the comfort of your couch is to answer the door for pizza delivery.
Saumya R Chawla
@pixie.secrets
The writer loves to over-share, drink wine & watch period dramas