Manicure is a key part of our lives. Besides the general aesthetics functions they play in our overall appearance, they also serve important functions of keeping the nails clean and healthy hence preventing any occurrence of infections such as nail fungus.
Manicure is a great opportunity to show forth your personality and make a dashing and convincing appearance. However, while we try to appear our best by harnessing the benefits of manicure, there are several mistakes we could make that could spoil the impression or image we are trying to make. We will be discussing the most common mistakes we see people make now and then.
1. Failure to wash your tools
It is only normal to expect any tools used on the body to be properly sanitized. The very first step in doing your manicure is to sanitize your manicure tools. This is very important because the areas beneath and under the nails are said to store the largest amounts of harmful bacteria. If tools are not properly washed, germs could spread quickly and easily. Therefore, disinfect the tools before and after every nail treatment.
You should also desist from storing manicure tools in a sealed bag because this makes bacteria thrive.
2. Cutting your cuticles
This is a mistake we all, including professionals, have made at one point or the other. Many people cut their cuticle because they see professionals do it. Cutting live tissues of the cuticle presents a very high health risk. It exposes your nails to infections such as nail fungus which will mess the nails up. Also, cuticles usually become messy and flaky when growing back hence ruining your look.
If you must nip your cuticles, use a rosewood stick to push them back.
3. Failure to use a base coat
When doing your manicure, a base coat is very vital. However, many people still think it is unnecessary. They see it as a waste of time hence they often skip it. This is definitely a mistake because our nails secret natural oils that make it difficult for nail polish to bind properly with the nail. Base coats serve the purpose of binding to your nails hence elongating the usage span of your manicure by at least seven days. They do this by keeping the oils out as well as keep the polish from chipping.
4. Applying thick coats of polish
Aside from the fact that people do not choose the right nail polish brands, another common mistake people often make is that a very pigmented look on the nail is always a temptation because it looks solid and takes less time to complete. When you apply thick coats of polish on the nail, you will need at least twice the period required for a thin coat to dry. Generally, nail polish is not designed to dry well when thick hence applying a thick coat is a huge mistake. Besides the drying problem, nails also need to breathe to stay healthy. A thick coat makes breathing more difficult for nails hence nails can start thickening. Use 3 or 4 thin layers instead of 1 or 2 thick layers.
5. Back and forth filing
To get a smooth nail surface for a manicure, people often file nails back and forth. This is actually a mistake because what it does is to damage your nails as well as spoil the entire manicure. Filing nails back and forth leaves microcracks in the nail hence making the nail polish look uneven.
File nails in one direction or circular motions to avoid damaging your nails.
6. Failure to apply nail polish beneath the nail
Failure to apply nail polish beneath and around the edges of the nail helps to keep water from getting trapped between the nail and the nail polish resulting in flaking or chipping. This way, you get about 7 additional days on your nail polish.
7. Shaking the nail polish bottle
I can't remember the number of times I made this mistake especially when the polish is almost finished. Shaking the bottle mixes the polish with the air trapped in the bottle hence causing tiny bubbles that make the polish look uneven on the nail. Rather than shaking the bottle, simply roll the bottle horizontally in-between your palms.
All the mistakes discussed above will not only make the nail polish look unattractive, some will also expose the nail itself to damages such as breaking and fungus infections. If you are still doing any of these, it is time to stop so that your nails can remain healthy and your nail polish attractive.