Manicures: From Salon to DIY

About two years ago I started getting manicures every two weeks. I spend a lot of time meeting clients so manicures seemed like a necessity for the business I am in. On several occasions I have tried to paint my own nails. It seemed like what I should do to cut down on expenses. It never seemed to work. I always got paint everywhere and my cuticles just look so tired. I have a full set of supplies for a manicure but I haven't attempted one in about two years.

I realized that part of the problem was that I was always doing a manicure in a hurry. I would only realize my nails looked horrid 20 minuties before I needed to be at an event. Yeah that's not going to work if you are trying to file, clean up cuticles, paint and then dry. Last week I set out to try to get this right (meaning not doing it while I was rushed). Using my CVS Extracare  Bucks I bought the following items:

Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover.

I have cuticle nippers but I know I should only use them for hang nails. But my cuticles are so messed up I needed to find another way to deal with them. According to the internet, gel cuticle removers help to dissolve over grown cuticles. This product was on sale so I decided to try it. I spread it on my cuticle, let it  sit for two minutes and used an orange stick to push my cuticles back. I did have to clip some cuticle with my nipper but it did a great job. 

Revlon File and Smooth

I need to watch a couple of videos about how to file. I found this file to be very ineffective. It takes off too much nail at one time and when filing the side of my nail it takes your skin off. I think I will go back to my regular files. 

Burts Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

The easiest way to deal with nasty cuticles is to prevent them. So I tried this special cuticle butter. Now I am sure I could have used my coconut oil for this but I am in love with citrus products. I have been oiling them twice a day for a week and my fingers look much better. 

So I am on a manicure vacation for a while and hopefully I can keep this up. If I give up at least one of the manicures per month I will save $204 a year. Now if I could only figure out how to thread.