How to take Care of your Hands(Manicure) and Feet(Pedicure)
Just as you spend much time taking care of your face, you must also find time to take care of your hands and feet. After your face, they are one of the most noticeable parts of your body. Having beautiful hands and feet enhance your personality and is the sign of healthy and hygienic life. Many are unaware of proper manicure and pedicure processes and visit the beauty parlour. But you can do them at home also with a little patience. This way you can save the money you spend at the salon and keep your hands and feet in shape regularly.
Manicure and pedicure done at home may seem to be slightly difficult at first but with practice you will be able to do them perfectly. To this at home, first of all you have to collect all your manicure and pedicure equipments and keep them ready for use. You need not have the costly and hi-tech equipments that you see in a salon. Just a few simple items are enough for you to practice it at home. Some of the things that you need are:
- A Moisturiser
- A cuticle remover
- A bottle of nail color of your preference
- A bottle of nail polish remover to remove the existing nail polish and make your nails clean
- Cotton balls for cleaning your nails
- A packet of paper towels
- 2 toe separators
- A nail trimmer to cut your nails
- A pair of scissors or an emery board
Removing the nail color:
Once you have all the equipments ready, you have to start with removing the nail color from the nails. You must never apply a new nail color without removing the remains of the existing nail polish from your nails. Dip a cotton ball in nail polish remover and rub it on your nail till all the color is removed and your nail gets its natural color. One thing to remember is that you must use the nail polish remover as little as possible as it dries the nail and cuticle and may cause harm to them due to its extremely drying properties.
Cuticle remover:
Always remember to dip your hands in warm water for about 3 to 4 minutes before you remove the cuticles from your nail. This makes the nail and the skin soft and helps in the easy removal of the cuticle. The soft skin that you can find at the bottom of the nail, where the nail and the skin meet, is known s the cuticle. Use a cuticle remover cream on the finger and push the cuticle back in to place. By removing the cuticle, the nail will grow better and becomes healthier. After removing the cuticle, massage the nail well and remove the dead skin. To do pedicure, out your feet in warm water, to which shampoo or soap is mixed, for a few minutes. You may also add salt or essence of various oils to the water. This will make the trough areas under your feet smooth and helps to remove the tough skin easily.
Exfoliation and Moisturizing:
Before you start manicure and pedicure, it is advisable that you massage your hands and arms as well as your legs and feet. This will improve the flow of blood to these areas. Your feet may have dead skins and rough areas underneath. Use a pumice stone to remove all these and make your feet smooth. After removing the dead skin and the calluses under the feet, apply a thick moisturizing cream on your feet. This will act on rough and dry skin of the feet and make the skin smooth and soft. It will also heal the cracks that form on your feet, making your feet beautiful. For hands also you must use a rich moisturizing cream, which will give you soft and pretty hands.
Nail color:
After shaping your nails you may put a good nail polish on your nails. You get nail polishes with different shades in the market and you may choose one that you like the most and that matches your skin. When you polish your nails, do it in layers. First apply one layer of the nail color and wait for it to dry. This is the base coat. Then apply two more coats of the nail polish. Finally apply the top coat, and your nail is properly polished. If you have brittle nails, put ridge filling nail polish first instead of the base coat and then apply the two coats of the nail polish flowed by the top coat.
Trimming of your finger nails:
Soaking your hands in warm water has made your nails soft and now you can cut your finger nails according to the shape you prefer. To shorten your nails or reshape the nails to give a better shape to the nails, you may use scissors. This way you can give your nails the shape you desire. When you cut and trim your toe nails, you must use nail clippers. After cutting the nails, the edges will be rough and sharp at places. So file your nails well using a filer. This will make the edges smooth and also give them a perfect shape.
By following the above mentioned steps, you will get a well manicured and pedicured hands and feet without spending too much money at the beauty parlors. Some advice fish pedicures, but it is said to be unhealthy according to the recent researches made. According to the recent reports, fish pedicure is not safe for you. It may put you at the risk of getting hepatitis C and HIV.