Exactly How to Get a Salon-Quality Manicure at Home

Having a professional salon manicure is a luxurious feeling and really completes a totally pulled-together look. But who has the time or money to go get your nails done every week? Mastering the techniques of doing your own manicure at home can allow you to look elegant all the time at a fraction of the cost.

Gather Your Tools

Before we get started, let’s make sure you have everything you’ll need:

• Nail-polish remover like Zoya Remove Plus Nail Polish Remover and cotton swabs or pads.
• Nail clippers. Try professional-quality nail clippers by Tweezerman for a clean, precise cut.
• Emery Board.
• Cuticle Pusher and Nippers. It can be helpful to have a set of cuticle pushers and nippers to get them trimmed and under control before you begin putting any products on your nails. We recommend the products by the Tweezerman brand.
• Base coat. Zoya Anchor Base Coat will hold your polish in place for maximum wear. If you suffer from ridges or unevenness in your nails, a product like Zoya Get Even Ridge Filler Base Coat will help create a smooth starting surface.
• Nail polish. Zoya makes a variety of high-durability polishes. We have over 130 different Zoya shades to choose from on pandorabeauty.com, from subtle natural shades to bold metallics.
• Clear topcoat. Try Zoya Armor Top Coat to add a flexible protective shine that will extend the life of your manicure.
• Optional: LED light. If you are really serious about getting a perfect manicure at home, you’ll want to purchase an LED lamp like the OPI Studio LED Light for quick, even curing of your nails.
• Optional: Nail strengtheners. If your nails are prone to breakage, a product like Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator or Duri Rejuvacote can be helpful to strengthen your nails. We also recommend taking minerals like Phyto Hair and Nail Supplement to improve your nail health from the inside out.

Performing a DIY Manicure at Home

• Remove any previously applied polish with nail polish remover and cotton pads. Ensure that all polish is completely removed.
• Clip and file your nails to the desired shape with clippers and emery board. Rounded or squared tips are less prone to breakage than pointed tips.
• Soak nails in a bowl of warm water for about three minutes.
• Push your cuticles into place and trim off any excess, being gentle. Never pull or tear at your cuticles!
• Apply base coat. Allow to fully dry. Never use heat, like from a hair dryer, as this will cause the polish to become brittle and prone to peeling and cracking.
• Apply two coats of polish, allowing time to dry after each coat. If you are new to DIY manicures, start with a pale, neutral polish so that any mistakes you make will be less noticeable.
• Apply top coat. To keep your manicure looking great, apply a fresh layer of top coat every couple of days and keep your hands, nails and cuticles well moisturized. That’s it! With a bit of practice, you’ll have the at-home manicure mastered.

Be sure to check out the full line of nail care products available on our website. We guarantee that all beauty lines offered are 100% authentic, never from a third-party, and are items that our beauty team uses on our own hair and skin. Plus, Pandora Beauty offers some of the best prices available on all your favorite salon-quality products.

Your Home Manicure Kit:

• Sanitising spray
• 100% acetone
• Nail file
• Buffer
• Cuticle remover
• A cuticle pusher and nipper
• Nail polish remover wipes
• Base coat, colour of your choice and top coat

How To Prep Your Hands And Nails Before A Manicure

Before getting started on your manicure at home, it’s important to make sure your hands and nails are in tip top condition and ready for their glow-up.

‘I find that people often leave their manicure to last and end up with messy looking nails,’ says Shelton. ‘The best thing to do would be to take your time. Always prepare the nails before applying polish, starting by pushing back the cuticles and shaping the nails. This will help with the longevity of your manicure and will of course take your manicure to another level.’

Kalnina suggests giving your hands a good old scrub before you get going as well. ‘Exfoliating your hands before the treatment can leave you with extra smooth hands and fingers,’ says Kalnina. ‘If your cuticles are extra dry you can fill in two manicure bowls with warm water and let them soak for a few minutes.’

How To Trim Your Cuticles Correctly

Let’s be honest, who actually trims their own cuticles when they’re painting their nails? Exactly. But, according to Kalnina, it’s a key step in getting a professional finish to your manicure.

‘Try to be gentle when trimming and pushing back the cuticles, sometimes we are way more heavy handed on ourselves than others, but we don’t want to end up with sore cuticles!’

How To Shape And File Your Nails Correctly

We’re all guilty of taking to our nail with glass file and frantically sawing back and forth to achieve a smoother edge, but turns out, that’s not great for our fingertips.

‘To file your nails you should follow one direction, from one of the edges towards the centre and the other way around,’ advises Kalnina. ‘If you file back and forth you can cause them to split.’

Between coffin, ballet slipper, squoval… the list goes on, it’s hard to know which nail shape is right for you.

‘I’m loving the short soft square or squoval nails at the moment because I just find them easier to maintain,’ says Shelton. ‘If you have a busy lifestyle and you’re always using your hands it’s hard to stop a nail from breaking or chipping when it’s on the longer side.
I find shorter nails easier to maintain and they can look really chic when painted. This shape is really easy to create at home and can be achieved on even the shortest nails.’

How To Do An At-Home Manicure Step By Step

Not sure where to start with painting your own nails? Let the pros talk you through it, step by step. Simply follow Kalnina’s instructions below:

1. The first thing you should do is sanitise your hands.
2. Then add cuticle remover to soften up your cuticles and push them back with the cuticle pusher.
3. With the cuticle nipper, trim any excess skin.
4. With a nail file, file you nail into your desired shape.
5. Buff the whole nail plate surface with a buffer to get rid of any texture on the nail plate.
6. With a lint free wipe soaked in acetone, clean your nails to make sure there’s no nail dust on the nail plate.
7. Apply a base coat.
8. Apply two coats of your favourite colour.
9. Apply a top coat
10. Finish by applying cuticle oil and massage it in.

How To Clean Up An At-Home Manicure

We’ve all been there, we rushed the job, smudged our carefully applied nail art and now there’s nail polish everywhere, including our slippers. Luckily, it’s easily remedied.

‘Using a brush dipped in acetone or a nail polish remover to clean up your manicure is probably the most underestimated trick in the book,’ explains Shelton. ‘As a professional even I make mistakes so I always have my brush ready at the end to tidy up. It makes a huge difference.’

How To Remove A Gel Manicure

If gel manicures are your thing but a return to visit to the salon to have it removed isn’t so much, it can be all too tempting to pick off those grown out gels. BUT, please don’t! The pros won’t be happy.

‘To remove gel polish at home it is extremely important to follow the directions /tutorials coming from professionals to avoid damaging your nails!’, cautions Kalnina.

Step 1

‘First you need to grab a nail file and make sure you completely remove any shine from the surface of the nail.’

Step 2

‘Open some soak off clips and place your lint free wipe already folded inside the clip, then pour acetone into the wipe and make sure it’s well saturated.’

Step 3

‘Place the clip on your finger so the wipe is facing the nail and close to secure it.’

Step 4

‘Repeat on all ten nails and wait 10 to 12 minutes.’

Step 5

‘When the time is up, remove one clip at a time and gently scrape the gel off using a cuticle pusher; if there’s any stubborn bits of gel on the nail plate, soak for a little longer.’

Step 6

‘With a buffer, gently buff off any imperfections on the nail plate.’