How To: Do-It-Yourself Manicure!

I do not have strong enough words to express how shocked I am when I hear female friends tell me that they have never, and will never do their own nails. To me, this is absolutely unacceptable! My immediate question after hearing this jarring fact is: how much money gets thrown away every month on manicures? How about every year? The average manicure costs about $20.00 USD. Most women who get their nails done regularly go about every two weeks. That comes to $40.00 per month, and $480.00 per year. An excess of nearly $500 wasted every year on a simple task that could be done at home for free. Imagine all the things that you could spend that $500 on instead!

The reason for this "necessary" expense many of the women I talk to cite is that they do not know how to do their own nails. However, I'm here to alert you that it is not nearly as hard as one would think!

What you need to get started. Nail clippers, emery board (nail file), clear nail polish, colored polish of your choice, nail polish remover, cotton balls, q-tips.

Step one. Clip your nails down to about the same length and shape. Do not worry too much about jagged edges right now.

Step two. Using your emery board, file jagged corners of your nails down to a smooth edge; round, squared-off or oval - the choice is yours, and it's all about personal preference!

Step three. Apply the clear nail polish to the surface of each of your nails, as well as the edges that you filed down. This will help to seal off the vulnerable layers of your nails that the clipping and filing exposed, and will help to prevent your nails from peeling after your manicure is done.

Step four. Now apply your colored polish! Usually 1-3 coats, waiting at least 10-15 minutes between coats. Don't worry if you get some polish on your skin - we'll take care of that later.

Step five. Using the clear polish again, apply another coat to each of your nails to protect the colored polish and add shine.

Step six. More often than not, you will get polish on your cuticles. The remedy is simple! Take a q-tip and dip it into your nail polish remover. Carefully rub the tip around the edges of your nail to remove the excess polish. Be sure to let your nails dry completely before you do anything too crazy with your hands - messing up a manicure is fixable, but a pain and is best if it can be avoided the first time around.

And now you are finished! While giving yourself an at-home manicure is time consuming, it is a major cost-saver and your friends will love being able to come to you for the help. Learning to do a manicure is a great skill, and do not forget those statistics we talked about earlier - the money you save is well worth the effort!