Anyone can do their own pedicure, but if you want truly professional results at home, you need to know a few things. Just a handful of techniques can turn an ordinary pedicure into a great one.
1. Use cuticle oil
While cuticle oil may seem like a waste of time at first glance, it actually gives you a more professional pedicure. It can be tough to avoid painting your cuticles.
Nail polish on the cuticle can look messy and very unprofessional, so carefully apply a little cuticle oil before you start painting, but after you have soaked your feet. If you don’t have any specialized oil, olive oil also works well.
2. Avoid painting your skin
It is fairly common to paint the skin just above your toenail when working on a pedicure. This gives you the annoying task of trying to eliminate the nail polish later on from your skin. You can skip the whole issue by just slipping a bit of newspaper under your nail.
If you cut it to be slightly curved, the paper will fit better. When you slip up, the paper will be painted, rather than your skin. Toss the paper at the end of the session to enjoy nice, neat nails.
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3. Fix mistakes quickly with nail polish remover
A Q-tip and nail polish remover will make it easy to fix any mistakes you make with your pedicure. Rather than leave the smudges or uneven edges, you can use the Q-tip dipped in remover to gently smooth out those wobbly lines. It’s easier to handle than a brush and will give you great results every time.
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4. Apply polish the right way
To get a perfectly smooth finish, you need to work quickly when applying nail polish However, the strokes you use will also affect the end result. Start in the center, near the cuticle, and gently push down to fill in the rounded space above the cuticle. Then sweep the brush straight up the center of the nail.
Without reloading the brush, move it up each side from the cuticle to the tip. This will redistribute the excess polish and make it look nice and smooth. The trick here is to avoid using too much polish.
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5. Dry your nails faster
There are a few methods of getting your polish to dry faster than usual. You can dip your toes in ice water, which will also harden the polish more than letting it air dry. Another popular method is to use a quick dry top coat. This is a special substance that will not smudge your polish, but will help it dry extra fast. If you are always in a hurry or don’t want to smudge your nails, a quick dry top coat can be a good investment.
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6. Avoid split nails with a crystal file
A crystal nail file is far superior to the usual metal or sandpaper ones. If you have brittle toenails, you will find that a crystal nail file is a better choice.
It can handle even the most fragile nails and shape them without breakage. Better yet, the file can be washed, dried and reused for years to come.
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7. Keep your feet moisturized
It can be a real hassle to scrub and scrape and exfoliate your feet when you want a nice pedicure. If you keep up with the maintenance, a pedicure can be as simple as sitting down to paint your nails.
Take some time each evening to rub baby oil or coconut oil into your feet. After each bath, use a pumice stone to remove dead skin, especially around the nails.
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8. Leave time for drying
It can be tempting to rush the drying times on your pedicure, but it’s best to wait at least 5-10 minutes before you add another layer of polish or attempt to do anything that could smudge the polish. The longer you wait, the harder the polish will be and the longer it will last.
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9. Add a few layers of clear polish
Whatever the design you have chosen, a few coats of clear polish will help seal the design in. You can use any kind of transparent nail polish. Using a couple of extra layers is an excellent way to eliminate the bumpy feel of glitter polish, without losing the look of the glitter polish.
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10. Loosen clumpy polish
Is your nail polish getting dried out and hard to use? Before painting it on your nails, add a few drops of nail polish thinner, cap and shake well before using. Just make sure the product you use is actually nail polish thinner. Nail polish remover will not work the same way and will ruin your bottle of polish.
The perfect pedicure is not necessarily simple, but when you have all these tricks up your sleeve, you can get those nails looking great. Your toes will sparkle in no time.
