Back on the subject of nails and manicures today! We all know I love a good ol' manicure any day of the week but finding the right colour to slap on isn't the only thing you need to think about. A great new shade won't be half as flattering if you haven't take the steps to keep your nails healthy looking and clean even before the polish. I feel like cuticles are one of the things people tend to forget about but they can make such a huge difference! A lot of the time when you get your nails professionally done the manicurist will cut your cuticles with cuticle clippers which I have a slight problem with. The main problem with cutting your cuticle is that most of the time they end up growing back all funky and then you're a slave to them because you'll have to constantly cut them to make them look nice again. The second option, and what I've recently been converted to, is using a cuticle remover and just pushing them back! Not only does it eliminate the risk of causing infections due to exposed cuticles after they've been cut, but it takes no time at all and it's virtually foolproof.
After you've cut and filed your nails as desired, just place a little bit of this gel (I'm using Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover) around your cuticles and let it sit for around 30 seconds but no longer than a minute tops! Then take a cuticle pushing tool (I don't even think there's an official name for these...) which you can find in most of those manicure sets they sell at Walmart or Target and simply push the cuticles back, easy! Just wash your hands with soapy, warm water and you're ready to layer on your base coat and start polishing those tips! I will say that when the packaging tells you not to leave the gel for too long, listen to them. It doesn't improve the process, in fact the gel stops being as liquify and makes it harder to push them back. If you follow the instructions you'll be cuticle free in no time at all.
What are your favourite parts of your manicure routine? Are you a complete minimalist and just go straight into painting your nails? Are you (crazy) like me and have a ton of steps that you can magically do in 5 minutes? Share down below!
