by Beverly Aycock

Created on: April 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

Do you want beautiful nails? Of course you do, but going to a salon can cost money you may not have to spend. There are several things you can do to get beautiful finger nails right at home. Here are some tips that can help you achieve beautiful nails.

1. Be sure to drink your 8 glasses of water. Weak, fragile, and/or brittle nails can be caused by lack of hydration.

2. Eat a well balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals or take a daily multi-vitamin. Lack of vitamins and minerals can cause various nail problems ranging from brittleness to red skin around the cuticles.

3. Always wear rubber gloves when dealing with harsh chemicals. Chemicals stress your nails fibers causing weak and brittle nails.

4. Avoid using perfumed lotions or any lotion that contains alcohol.

5. Use nail polish remover on your nails before painting them even if you do not need to remove old polish.

6. Massage your hands to increase circulation and encourage nail growth.

7. Give yourself an at home manicure.

Giving yourself an at home manicure:

1. Start by washing and drying your hands completely.

2. Use a double sided emery board, file your nails using gentle strokes in one direction. Begin to shape your nails to the desired shape, oval is popular right now.

3. Check to make sure your nails are even by running them over an old pair of pantyhose, if they snag file more until they do not snag.

4. Apply a cuticle softener to your nails and allow to sit for a few minutes, you can buy this at most drug or mass merchant stores.

5. Transfer hands to a warm bowl of water and soak for several minutes. Gently push cuticles, if hangnails are present carefully clip them now.

6. Apply a hand lotion and massage the palm of your hand with your other thumb and work your way over the entire hand, proceed to do this to the other hand.

7. Before applying nail polish be sure your nails are clean, do this be wrapping some cotton around an orange stick and dipping in nail polish remover. Rub over the surface of the nail to remove any residue.

8. Pick up a small amount of polish on your brush and paint one stroke down the center of the nail. Stroke the sides of the nail and let dry before applying a second coat.

9. When your polish has dried apply a clear top coat. This is an important step to make your manicure last longer.

10. Once the top coat has dried apply cuticle oil and massage into nail.

You can also buy a manicure set that includes a buffer, cuticle oil, orange stick, and other necessities at most drug stores and mass merchants if you desire.

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