Okay, to be fair, this only takes 5 mins if you do it regularly. I usually recommend it daily, with the assumption that most people will hear "daily" and do it 3 times a week. The less often you do it, the longer it takes. Aim for a couple times a week.
First let me show you my nails pre-mani. I'll warn you, its not pretty.
You may also notice my cuticles are so overgrown that you can't see the moons of my nails. Yeah, I did that just for you! I skipped two weeks of my 5 min mani to show you a dramatic before and after! Aren't I nice?
Step 1: Cuticles.
First, we're going to do our cuticles. Like everything I do, my goal is to be effective yet cheap. With this in mind, these are the tools you need:
- Some kind of cuticle disappearing cream
(I like Essie's disappearing trick is my favorite but anything you like is good)
- A toothpick
- Cuticle nipper
We're going to do one finger at a time. Start by rubbing just a teeny bit of cuticle cream into your cuticle. Using a toothpick, remove any cuticle thats crept down onto your nail. Now I don't mean push back your cuticle, just scrape off the little layers that creep halfway down your nail. As for your cuticle, slide the toothpick under the edge just a little bit. I use the nippers to trim my cuticles where they are totally out of control. Use teeny little nips and be very careful to only take off overgrown cuticles. Keep in mind, trimming too much and pushing too far back can cause damage and infections. Be careful! Part of what makes this a 5 min mani and not a 15 min mani is that you are never taking off more than a little bit at a time. With regular care, you'll notice a big difference.
Step 2: File and Buff.
You'll need one of those 4 sided buffer blocks. (Mine has cupcakes!!) First, wash off any leftover cream. File your nails however you like them. Then buff off any ridges. Keep in mind that you are doing a little bit every day, so don't worry about making them perfect right away. After removing the ridges, use the smoothing and shining side. This gives your nails a good finish for polish to stick to and will keep polish on longer.Step 3: Polish.
Wash your nails once more, using a nail brush to make sure you get them nice and clean, and then apply whatever basecoat you prefer. I use nail protein or a nail hardener cause my nails are so abused.
Follow with your favorite polish, or leave nails bare. And you're all done! Do it a couple times a week and it will only take you 5 mins a day but you'll see a huge difference!
4 comments
What a dramatic difference! You make it sound quick and easy. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is! I don't have the patience for anything that takes too long :)
DeleteI'm definitely going to try this!
ReplyDeleteLet us know how it goes!
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