Mani-pedi at Home. Full Guide on How to Achieve Flawless Nails

There is something about beautiful nails that looks and feels elegant. For a fraction of the cost, in times when the favorite salon is fully booked until the end of the month, you can do a mani-pedi at home in your own time.

It feels intimidating but you can do it! Maybe you feel discouraged because you tried a few times and failed to achieve perfection with your mani-pedi. First thing first- enjoy yourself. Think of it as a little spa experience for your hands and feet rather than a chore.  

Give yourself enough time for your at-home mani-pedi.

If your nail technician can’t fit into 30 minutes, neither can you. Enjoy the process of your at-home mani-pedi. Play some music and give yourself at least an hour and a half. Patience is key. Before you start, make sure you have everything you need next to you. Here is the holy list you can follow:

• Nail polish remover and cotton swabs or pads
• Hot soapy water for your feet and hands
• Pumice Stone
• Nail clippers
• Emery board and nail buffer
• Cuticle pusher and nippers
• Hand/nail oil
• Q tips
• Base Coat
• Nail polish
• Topcoat

Ready? Things are getting real. First, we start with the pedicure. 

• Remove remaining nail polish with acetone. It will clean and prep the nails for the polish later on.
• Dip your feet into a tub of hot soapy water, for nails and skins to soften. It’s time to relax, so add flower petals to the water, light aromatherapy candle… It makes all the difference in the world and you will feel like a princess. Try this Foot soak with dead sea salt for taking down swelling and softening hard skin.

• Once your feet are softened and relaxed, exfoliate them with a pumice stone – we are obsessed with this one. Make sure you exfoliate not just the heels, but the toes and the bottom of the feet as well.
• Cut and file your nails according to the required length and shape. Try not to make a round shape as it is most likely to nail to ingrow that way. Make more of a square shape, so opt for a flat nail clipper.
• Choose your weapon for pushing back and cutting cuticles. Cosset-moi ‘s top choice is this stainless cutter.
• Apply cuticle oil for some added hydration and protection. Burt’s Bees 100% Natural Hand Salvis cruelty-free and recyclable so naturally is our top choice.

Now we can start with the pampering! We are halfway done with your at-home mani-pedi.

• Give your feet a nice massage. They contain vital nerves that help the function of the entire body, so massage does not only help in relaxing but also heals parts of the body that are not working properly. Massage the feet well with a heavy-duty cream or if you prefer something more natural try sesame and sandalwood oil until the skin has absorbed most of it.
• Apply nail primer and/or base coat. Their formulas are designed to remove dirt, oil, and residue from nails, resulting in a longer-lasting manicure. Also, they prevent nail polish to not chip as fast.
• Use toe separators, they will ease applying the nail polish. Now just go ahead, and apply your color of choice. Two coats should be enough. Finish up with a topcoat. If you have any mess-ups on the edges, you can dip a q-tip into nail polish remover and clean that up. We wear by the color range and quality of Essie nail polishes. They have the trendiest colors.

While we wait for your pedi to dry we can start with the mani. All from the comfort of your own home.

You know the drill – clean, soak, shape, nurture, massage, paint… Let’s deep dive into each step.

• Clean and soak your hands. Obviously, the first step you should do is to remove your old nail polish. Prepare a bowl of warm water, add soap, or if your nails are looking yellowish instead of soap squeeze lemon into it. After a few minutes, wash your hands and if there is any remaining nail polish left, use a cotton swab to remove it.
• Shape Use a straight clipper if you are going for a square shape of your nails, or a rounded one if you prefer your nails more of an oval shape. A slightly rounded nail shape or square-rounded edge is generally the best way to go but you can be as creative as you want. File your nails to ensure they are in perfect shape before you paint them. Do it in long swooping motions from side to side. You never want to go back and forth, you will just ruin your nails that way. We use the same Essie Gel Couture that we used for the pedicure.
• Nurture. Cuticles, cuticles, cuticles. Once they are shaped the way you like them, go over cuticles with some OPI ProSpa Collection cuticle oil.
• While it’s on gently push them away to make space for nail polish. Be careful NOT to pull, lift, tear, rip, force, or cut into the cuticle in any way. Do NOT clip into the cuticle; merely nip off the free edge with a pair of metal cuticle nippers. It’s better to under-do this step than to overdo it because the cuticle helps protect the nail bed from all sorts of problems.

Let the fun part begin! The final steps to your manicure are:

• Massage your hands with a rich cream or oil. Make sure the oil stays for a couple of minutes, and then wash your hands with soap thoroughly to make sure there is no oil left on your nail beds, or else your nail polish will chip much more easily.

• Paint. Apply the base coat.  That’s the secret to making your manicure last. It protects the nails and they do not get as yellow as they would do without it. Now, the fun part! Polish time. Go slowly and paint little by little, and leave parts along cuticles showing, to make sure not to paint your cuticles as you will never get it off completely. Don’t worry about it, as no one is going to see that. Apply two times for a nice opaque look. Finish up with Essie Gel Setter.

If you have fine nails you can check out our solutions in “Easy & Effective Ways For Strong Nails And Fast Growth”

Now be patient, play a Netflix show and wait for nails to fully dry, and then re-apply your hand moisturizer. Congratulations on your successful mani-pedi at home!