Entries from June 2007 ↓

Giving yourself a professional pedicure is an 8-step process.

The first step is to remove the old polish from your nails.

Instead of cotton balls (which will leave fuzzies), we suggest using a lint-free cotton pad, such as Miss Webril or our favorite, Lippmann Collection The Stripper To Go .

Saturate the cotton pad with acetone remover & rub off the old polish. If the color isn’t coming off easily, press the saturated cotton on the nail & let it soak in first. A tip for removing stains from nails: try rubbing whitening toothpaste on your nails. You can also rub a drop of lemon or lavender oil on each toe & rub a buffer back & forth over the nail.
This will remove the yellowed outer layer.

Tip for picking the perfect polish remover: Alcohol- and acetone-free removers are less drying, but don’t work as well, especially on dark shades. Use the ‘free’ stuff on lighter shades.

Step #2 — Cut & File Nails
It’s best to use high quality clippers made for clipping toenails such as Tweezerman Deluxe ($10). To avoid ingrown nails, cut nail straight across to just above the skin. Make sure your nail doesn’t extend over the tip of your toe.

To get a soft square shape, file nails in one direction until they are even & slightly rounded at the corners. (Hint: Don’t use metal files, they’ll rip your nails). Basic emory boards like the ones from Revlon work great, but if you want to go truly pro, try the Mehaz ingrown toenail file which allows you to easily lift nail corners for shaping. Don’t clip the sides of nails, that can cause ingrowns.

Emory board tip: The fine-grade surface is for smoothing the nail edge, while the coarser surface is for shortening & shaping nails.

Step #3 — Soak Your Feet
Fill a large flat-bottom bowl with warm water. Throw in bath salts, your favorite aromatherapy oils or Epsom salt & let your feet soak 10 minutes. The more cracked & calloused your feet, the longer they need to stay in.

Trick only the pros know: Add a quarter cup of milk to your bath along with the essential oils & salts. The lactic acid in the milk loosens dead skin.

Step #4 — Trim Cuticles
Apply cuticle remover to the base of each nail & rub it in. Sally Hansenis a basic remover & works great. Leave on for a minute, then use an orangewood stick (Tweezerman works great) to gently push with a circular motion everywhere where skin meets the nail (including the sides). Be careful to remove skin only on top of the nail, don’t touch the toe flesh.

Use cuticle nippers (Mehaz nippers work best) to trim any loose skin. Be careful not to nip your toe flesh.

Step #5 — Scrub Your Feet
Apply an exfoliating body or foot scrub to a foot file or wet pumice stone to slough away the dead skin on the balls & heels of your feet. You’ll want to scrub the balls, bottoms & sides of your heels & around the toes. To get the most leverage, sit on the side of a bathtub, facing inward. Remember the pedicure motto we read about once, “smooth, don’t remove.” You’ll want to stop if your foot turns bright red (this means you’ve scrubbed too hard). Remember, that tough skin is there for a reason.

Any basic foot file or pumice stone from your drugstore will do the trick, but if you want the Cadillac of foot files, try Perfect Beauty certamic foot file, $20, 800-694-4866).

Step #6 — Moisturize
Dry feet thoroughly including between the toes & rub in a thick foot cream like Barielle Total Foot Care Cream, $19.50 . Rub the feet & the calves. Rehydrate cuticles by rubbing in a dab of cuticle oil.

Step #7 — Polish Your Toes
Use acetone remover to get rid of any excess oils on the nails (including the cuticle oil you just applied). Apply a thin base coat using 3 strokes, one down the middle, then one on each side. Don’t paint the cuticle. Wait a minute before adding two coats of your favorite polish, then finish with a thin top coat (try quick-drying Seche Vite, $10. Clean up any errors with an orangewood stick wrapped in cotton & dipped in acetone remover.

Let nails dry for at least 40 minutes.

Tip: It’s good to paint any polish remaining on the brush over the front nail edge. This prevents chipping.

Step #8 — Finish
After nails have dried, spritz with a moisturizing oil like SolarSpeed spray. This sets your polish & moisturizes your cuticles. Then voila! You’re done!

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page

Hi all,

Thought you may enjoy this standup routine by a Latino comedian Anjelah Johnson.

I surely hope we don’t talk to our customers like that. Or maybe we do

Watch video here

Acrylic nails are called many different names, with the nail technician’s least favorite being “fake nails”. We much prefer the term artificial nails. There are several different types of artificial nail enhancement products as well as application procedures. The most commonly applied enhancement is traditional acrylic, which is a two-part system of monomer and polymer. This type of product can be applied with one color of acrylic, pink and white acrylic for a Permanent French look, or can be applied with colored acrylic, glitter acrylic or in any combination. Pink and white acrylic nails are often referred to as “Solar Nails”. Solar Nail is a product made by Creative Nail Design Systems and includes their Original Solar Nail, Radical Solar Nail, Retention + , and Moxie acrylic systems. Unless you actually see this product in its original bottle on the nail table, your nails may not be ‘Solar Nails”.

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page

Avoid using your nails as tools. This means no picking, scratching, digging, pinching, etc. You know who you are! Increase the amount of calcium in your diet. Use products containing alcohol, especially perfumed lotions, sparingly. These items can make nails prone to breaking. Wear rubber gloves when you do chores that involve continual submersion in water or contact with harsh detergents or chemicals.

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page

*How do I avoid getting polish on my cuticles? Instead of painting right from the cuticle, place the brush on the nail bed about 1/8″ away from the cuticle and push backwards toward it, stopping just before the skin. *That’s too much work…how do remove polish from my cuticles? Plan ahead. Paint your nails about an hour before bedtime, leaving the messy polish on. When taking a shower the next morning, the polish will soften and peel off. Any stubborn polish still left on the skin can easily be removed by rubbing it with a soft towel. Polish not dry yet? In a rush? Use a cotton swab and nail polish remover to do a quick removal. *How do I keep my polish from peeling near the skin? Lightly buff the top of your nail near your cuticle with a fine-grained file. This will take away the top oily enamel and allow better adhesion. *My polish doesn’t peel near the skin, it peels at the tips, what am I doing wrong? It’s usually one of these two things… ?You’ve used two or more coats of ridge-filler and followed with a couple coats of polish. To avoid peeling, stick to only one coat of ridge-filler, and wait until it’s completely dry to apply the regular polish. ?You’ve painted a couple thick coats instead of a few thin ones. Always use thin coats, it gives better coverage, dries faster and lasts longer. *I can’t apply thin coats, my nail polish is just thick to begin with. What should I do? If you really want your nail polish to keep well in the bottle, keep it in the refrigerator, this will extend its shelf-life. *I keep getting those darn bubbles! Two things can cut down significantly on bubbles: ROLL the bottle between your palms, instead of shaking it. Shaking just whips bubbles into the polish. Also, use only thin coats. *Why does my polish keep cracking? Try applying a thin clear coat of polish every other night to avoid this. *My nails keep splitting in layers at the top, will eating gelatin and drinking milk help strengthen them? No and no. These are just myths. Your fingernails are made of keratin, the same protein as hair. Have you ever seen conditioner brag that it has calcium in it? Probably not. What WILL help strengthen your nails is to avoid filing them as much as possible, and when you have to, file in one direction only. You know what happens if you keep bending a wire back and forth? The same thing happens to nails, just on a different level. Other tips… use gloves when washing dishes and doing other household chores. Keep exposure to harsh chemicals at a minimum, especially bleach. *People say that you need different moisturizers for your nails than for your hands…why? Well, back to the protein thing again. Would you use hand cream on your hair? Unlikely. The fact is that your fingernails absorb water 100 times faster than your skin does…and they lose the moisture just as fast as they absorb it. So considering how much hand cream you need in the wintertime, think how thirsty your nails are, and recognize that they need just as must tenderness (if not more) than your hands do. *I work with food, so my hands are constantly in water. What can I do to keep my manicure nice? I only see two choices really. ?Keep nails well-trimmed, and don’t wear polish to work (not even clear, it’ll just crack and peel). ?Get thee to a nail salon! In my opinion, acrylic is to fingernails what Godiva is to chocolate. Only nail enhancements will stand up to the beating your hands will take.

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page

There is one nail color out there that is famous for it’s perfect color. Perhaps the most popular — & most universally beloved — nail polish color is OPI’s ‘I’m Not Really a Waitress’ . You, too, can have it on at a nails salon such as Manhattan Nails or purchase one while at a salon visit.

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page

There are a lot of little things that you could be doing without even thinking about it. And, it could be taking a toll on your nails. Here are some of the things that we all do from time to time.

* Don’t wash a dish without slipping into a pair of rubber gloves. Hand models who make their living from their gorgeous hands and nails, wouldn’t dream of doing any housework without some sort of gloves to protect their investment.
* You haven’t made certain that your nails are dry and free of oil before applying polish.
* You find that your polish is chipped and you can’t help yourself from picking at the remaining polish. Not a good idea. You could actually damage the underlying nail.
* Don’t let your nails get too long. Not only do they look unattractive… picture talons in your mind…

# they are easier to break.
# Don’t use your nails as tools. We do this all the time, and it weakens our nails.
# We go out in public with chipped polish. Nothing looks worse and everyone does notice. Get a repolish
# You don’t moisturize your cuticles and it is such an easy thing to do. Get into the habit of moisturizing every night. Who needs hangnails.
# I was told a long time ago never to carry heavy packages. The reason… the weight caused blood to rush to your hands and becoming trapped in the veins, which in time enlarges them. That is not something you want to see when you hit your forties.
# You don’t carry an emery board with you at all times. If you find yourself with a snag and you don’t have an emery board handy, guess what you are going to use… that’s right, your teeth.
# No one likes ridges in their nails, but overbuffing could lead to traumatizing the nail. Instead, massage a good oil into the nail and then a ridge filling base coat. That should take care of the ridges before you apply your polish.

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page

There is one nail color out there that is famous for it’s perfect color. Perhaps the most popular — & most universally beloved — nail polish color is OPI’s ‘I’m Not Really a Waitress’ . You, too, can have it on at a nails salon such as Manhattan Nails or purchase one while at a salon visit.

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page