Todays Lady

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If you want healthier nails or are simply looking for the perfect pedicure or a manicure, here are some must-follow tips:

1. Massage Vaseline into your cuticles once a week. This helps feed the new nail and encourages nail growth. A great time to do this is right before bedtime.

2. Buff your nails! This also helps your nails to grow because it improves circulation. It also helps keep the nail bed smooth. Just don’t go overboard..! Buffing too much can weaken the nail.

3. Stick to one direction when filing your nails. Filing in a back and forth manner places stress on the structure of your nail plate and will actually cause nail breakage down the road. Always carefully file in one direction.

4. To get a few extra applications out of your favorite nail polish, try adding a tiny bit of nail polish remover to the bottle. Make sure the polish and remover are mixed well before applying. You won’t want to try this until that bottle of nail color is almost ready to throw out.

5. Instead of shaking your bottle of nail polish to even out the color, gently roll it back and forth across a table or in the palm of your hand. This prevents air bubbles from forming inside the bottle – and prevents them from ending up on your nails. You want your nail polish to go on smoothly.

6. When it comes to application, you should always apply the following: a base coat, two coats of color and a final top coat. The base coat protects your nail and helps the polish to last longer. It also prevents your nail from yellowing. Two coats ensures even coverage and the top coat adds shine and helps your manicure or pedicure to last as long as possible.

7. Finally, you should always let your nails dry for about an hour before wearing shoes. The polish may be dry to the touch after just 5 minutes or so, but make sure to only wear sandals or flip flops for the first hour to prevent marks and scuffs in your new polish.