Entries from July 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

How To Do Your Nails Fast

When you are in a rush, decisions have to be made. Prioritize.
Do you shape or polish? Do you quick-dry or go the long, slow route?

New formulas allow for snap decisions: Speed-dry enamels are worthy of their name (you can open mail, search for keys, or put on your tightest long-sleeved shirt within seconds), but there’s a downside: “As fast as they dry, that’s as fast they chip,” insists manicurist Anne of Manhattan Nails, so save them for emergencies.
Eke a few extra days out of a fast-dry manicure by doing a daily touch-up with a quick-drying coat. In the other corner, there are strong, chip-resistant formulas - the torttoise of the polish race. To pick up the pace of these tougher enamels, like L’Oreal Shock Proof, carefully submerge freshly painted nails in a bowl of ice-cold water for 30 seconds to harden still-groopy polish. Light or sheer shades are best for hasty manicures, Anne says. “You can even get away with just a wide stripe down the center” rather than painstakingly painting the entire nail. If a manicure is beyond the repair of a topcoat or two, face facts and call in the remover. You can keep single-use packets of nail polish remover (Cutex and Get Fresh make them) on hand so you can strip away color on the run. When there is no time for polish, just clean underneath the nails, rub on a buffing cream, and shine them with a chamois buffer.

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

Cuticles Your nail’s cuticles (the skin that surrounds the hard part of your nail) keeps your nails healthy and protects them from fungal infections. Cuticles are quite sensitive to injury. Do not cut them or pick at them; this may damage them permanently. Instead, after a shower, bath, or after soaking your nails, use a soft wooden stick to gently push back the cuticle. Overgrooming cuticles may cause them to thicken so be sure to use gentle care when grooming.

Nails ? Cleaning - If nails are dirty, use a bristled nail brush to remove debris from around cuticles or from under fingernails. Remove all polish with nail polish remover; do not pick at polish as that can damage the surface of nails. ? Shaping - Nails should be gently filed with a fine emery board, never with a metal file that can cause damage. File in gentle, long strokes from corner to center; do not “saw away” at nails. Keep the emery board poised at a 45 degree angle in relation to the fingertip to prevent damaging the nail layers. Do not file deep into corners of the nail; this weakens the nail. In general, shorter nails are easier to maintain. ? Protecting - Do not use your nails to scrape or lift anything, or to pull anything open. Wear gloves when washing dishes and use nail and hand lotion daily to keep hands and nails moisturized. ? Polishing - You may wish to use only a ridge-filling colorless coat on your nails to give them extra shine and strength. If you polish your nails, use a ridge-filling base coat followed by color and then a protective top coat for the best results. Give your nails at least an hour to dry before using your hands.

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

Ever spend an hour doing your nails only to smudge a nail within minutes of finishing up the last coat? Here’s six tips to avoid those smudges on your next manicure…

Tip #1: Make sure nails are super clean Natural oils on your nails aid in chipping. Even if your nails are polish-free, apply polish remover to get rid of oils on the surface of nails.

Tip #2: Prep nails with a base coat Polish will adhere best to nails prepped with a base coat like Opi Nail Treatment Start to Finish. Here’s a list of great base polishes at every price:

Tip #3: Don’t lay on the polish too thick Three to four thin coats of polish rather than 2 thick coats will last longer, cut down on drying time and cause fewer changes of bubbles brewing on your nails.

Tip #4: Don’t forget the tip When polishing, polish the tip of the nail as well. This helps cut down on nail polish chipping.

Tip #5: Consider a shimmery color. The little particles of sparkle will help polish cling to your nails.

Tip #6: Apply a clear topcoat Topcoat helps extend the life of your manicure. You can use the base coat as a topcoat. Do brush topcoat on and around the edges of nails as well, it’s an extra seal against chipping.

Tip #7: Allow proper drying time Make sure you give your nails a good 45 minutes drying time before handling objects. Once dry time is over, submerge nails in cold water then apply lotion. This allows for a slippery surface until nails are completely dry. For pedicures, wrap toes in plastic wrap if you’re wearing shoes other than flip-flops or sandals.

Tip #8: Keep topcoat handy To prolong the life of your manicure, apply a topcoat every other day.

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

Some interesting facts about our age and our hands.

In your 20s: Prevention is better than cure.Get into the habit now of applying sunscreen to the back of your hands after you’ve applied it to your face. When you’re driving, your hands are constantly exposed on the steering wheel, because UVA penetrates through glass. By protecting your hands now, you’ll prevent pigmentation blotches later, which can be time-consuming and costly to erase.

In your 30s: Beautiful hands in a hurry.Keep a tube of hand cream next to your hand basin, next to your bed and in your car ? and apply it often. But if your hands seem beyond repair, book a specialised manicure: Warm oil is massaged onto your hands and then they’re dipped in paraffin wax to boost the effect (your hands heat up in the wax). It’s the best way to get beautiful hands… fast.

In your 40s: Banish blotchy pigmentation.Regular exfoliation will keep your hands looking smooth and youthful. It removes dry skin, and also improves the appearance of superficial blotchiness caused by pigmentation. A hand cream that contains antioxidants, retinol or hydroxy acids will also help, but it needs to be applied regularly. Cape Town dermatologist Dr Ean Smit recommends microdermabrasion to treat pigmentation. IPL is another option. You should see results after the first of these non-invasive treatments, but subsequent treatments might be necessary if blotches are large or numerous. It is very important to apply a sunblock after IPL or microdermabrasion to prevent pigmentation from returning or intensifying.

In your 50s: Help for bony hands.With age, the layer of dermal fat that gives the skin its cushioning diminishes, so hands and feet look bonier and blood vessels become more obvious. Fat can be injected into the hands to soften the boniness, but respected South African plastic surgeon Dr Gavin Morrison recommends caution. ‘One needs to be careful with hands, as their primary purpose is function. Also, because fat takes best where there is some subcutaneous tissue in which to site it, the risk is irregularity.’

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

Some quick tips to help: -Yellow Nails - Soak your nails in one-fourth cup of bleach mixed with one-half cup of water. -Not Quite Dry - Coat wet nails with cuticle oil and cover your nails with plastic wrap. -Polish Smudge - Moisten the pad of your finger with polish remover and tap lightly to smooth it out. -Chipped Polish - Moisten your finger with polish remover and quickly swipe over the chipped area to smooth out the edges. -Broken Nail - If the break isn?t too low, carefully cut the nail, file it, and trim the other nails so they?re of equal length. For a big break apply a couple of drops of nail glue to the surface of the nail. Let set and hold the break in place for about a minute. Reapply glue and cover the nail with a piece of tea bag or tissue. Let dry, and then buff excess off.

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