Ace That Manicure: 5 Mistakes You Should Avoid If You Want Salon-Like Nails At Home

Who doesn’t love a good manicure, right? Shiny, glossy, pretty nails – we want them so bad! Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, most of us haven’t visited a nail salon in months. While we can trim and shape our nails at home, we still end up making a few manicure mistakes along the way.

5 Manicure Mistakes You Need To Stop Making ASAP

If you continue to make these mistakes, you might cause some serious long-term damage to your nails.

Mistake 1: You Remove Your Cuticles

A few reasons why most manicurists remove your cuticles–they either want your nails to appear longer, help acrylic nails fit perfectly to your nails and finally, to make them look beautiful. If not done correctly, you could lose the nail or get a nail infection. If you lack the experience of removing your cuticles, don’t do it. Cuticles keep the bacteria, germs and infections at bay. If you’re bothered by the way they look, gently push them back with a rosewood stick. Safety over beauty, ladies!

Mistake 2: You Don’t Apply A Base Coat

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Applying a base coat is one of the most crucial steps of a manicure. The main job of a base coat is to bind with the natural nails and make your manicure last for a week without chipping. Since our nails produce natural oils, this prevents the manicure from staying put on the nails. To avoid ruining your manicure, apply a base coat and then follow it with nail polish.

Mistake 3: You Apply A Thick Coat of Polish

A good manicure has no shortcuts. Applying a thick coat of nail polish will lead to a smudging disaster since it requires more time to dry up. What you should do is apply 3-5 thin layers of nail polish so that it gets time to dry up and won’t smudge the skin around your nails.

Mistake 4: You Forget To Apply Nail Polish Underneath The Edges

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Painting just your nails isn’t enough. You must apply underneath the edges of your nails too. Not doing this will cause your nail polish to chip while doing household chores like cooking, cleaning and washing the dishes.

Mistake 5: You’re Not Washing Your Nail Care Tools

Each time you’re filing or cutting your nails, wash and sanitize your nail care tools. Not doing so will cause the spread of germs and lead to a nail infection. Wipe your tools with a sanitizing wipe and allow them to air-dry. If the tools are wet and kept in a closed space, they become breeding grounds for bacteria.