9 Easy Steps to Give Your Nails the Spa Treatment

You hear the words spa day and you can’t help but melt. Take some time out to treat yourself. Spend a bit of time taking care of your nails. Why not turn those summer nails into an autumnal nail look?

We don’t always get to spend a lot of time on our nails. Sure, we slap on a bit of nail polish that matches our outfit, but you need to look deeper at the condition of your nails. You can always treat yourself to a manicure where they’ll buff your nail for a smooth surface, massage hydrating oils, file a nice shape, and a flawless coat of nail polish.

If this is a bit of an expensive pastime, there’s nothing wrong with a home manicure as it allows you to get familiar with your nails and everyone’s nails are different, from being brittle, jagged or even dry.

Here are the steps to give yourself some downtime with your nails:

1. Remove any nail polish you’ve got on. We want to begin with a clean slate.
2. Depending on how harsh your nail polish remover is, maybe give your nails a quick rinse under the tap and dry your hands.
3. If you have a nail buffer on hand, then that’s great! Use it to buff the surface of your nail lightly – this will give a smooth surface and even be used before polish to round the edge of your nail ever so slightly. If you don’t have a nail buffer, get an old, soft cotton flannel and gently rub your nails from side to side with the flannel or cloth. For extra shine, add a drop of almond oil on each nail.
4. Next, if you have nails that need clipping, clip them. If not, then you can move on to the filing stage. File them to the shape you want (round or straight). Make sure you get rid of the extra bits that get under your nails.
5. With all that ‘nail dust’ everywhere you should give your nails a quick rinse.
6. To make sure you don’t ruin your nail bed, we suggest you put on a coat base nail polish. Ideally one with nutrients that can help to rejuvenate and is breathable.
7. Once this is dry, you can apply that gorgeous nail polish. Depending on the thickness, you may need to add a second coat to get an even colour. Make sure you wait a full 3-5 minutes for your first coat to dry. We’ve all been there, where we’ve eagerly started a second coat and realised the first coat wasn’t fully set yet.
8. Once both coats are done and dry, for a long-lasting and shiny look, add one last clear top coat. To help to seal in the colour and add a bit of protection against bumps and scrapes.
9. Done? Nope, not yet. Once it’s all dry and you’re confident they will survive an accidental scratch, you need to remember your cuticles. Add a dab of cuticle oil to the top of each nail and very lightly massage it in and around your nail. To be on the safe side you can add a dab, spread it around so it coats everything and wait till it’s absorbed enough.

We all need moments like this, where we spend some time on our nails, getting to know them and giving them the chance to shine. As Lizzo sings do your  “hair toss, check my nails” because they now look fabulous!

To really complement your spa day, you should first begin with a face mask. Ideally, before you do your nails as you’ll need those fingers to apply the mask, peel or wash it off, and dry your face. A bit of self-love is worth it, and you’ll definitely be getting compliments on your skin and nails.