Easy Home Manicure

Weekly home manicure shouldn't be a boring daunting task like doing dishes,

cleaning and cooking , spice things up and make it" fun and interesante"

I always look forward to my next manicure session as another opportunity
 
to relax and to release accumulated stress from my tensed fingers

after all the week"s wahala (naija wahalla can drive someone crazy a times).

This is what i do:
-I do my manicure and pedicure on sunday evenings this is the time am most
likely free from the hustle and bustle of unendless activities.

-I  use a  quiet and secluded spot which is usually my bedroom

-I control and condition my mind to a relaxation mood and try to cut out
anxious and worrisome thought (that can wait till when am done with manicure).

-I create a relaxing mood with a good comedy movie or a relaxing music
depending on what my mood crave for at that particular time.

-I keep a bottle of massage oil by my side to give my hands and feet
a dose of tender loving care(TLC) massage(they do deserve it)
Now am set for a good manicure time.

Basic essential need for manicure session:
Cotton wool
Nail polish removal
Warm water
Bowl
Body scrub/sugar scrub
Pumice stone/hand brush(solely meant for for the palm only)
Shea butter
Castor oil
Nail file
Nail buffer
Nail cutter
Base coat
Nail polish
Black soap/body wash
Cuticle stick/pusher

Procedure:
-Wipe out old nail polish coat with a nail polish removal, avoid using blade to scrape
out nail polish this does more harm than good, it thins out the nail overtime causing
nail breakage.

-Soak hands in a bowl of warm soapy water to soften cuticles, palms and dry dead skin cells

-Exfoliate dead skin cell off the skin by gently scrubbing the skin with a scrub or
home made sugar scrub, rinse off afterward .


-Scrub pumice stone/hand brush firmly but gently over palms to soften, this step is necessary if palm feels
dry and hard to the touch. you can
skip if you have soft palms already

-apply  shea butter on palm and rub both palms together applying friction until shea butter is
completely absorbed, shea butter
helps to soften the palms.

-Massage hands tenderly with massage oil (in the absence of one make a
massage oil from equal ratio of shea butter and castor oil)
a good hand massage is neccessary to reduce swellings from water retention, it relieves stress, tension and arthritic pain from the hand (fingers).
It also helps to promote blood circulation.

-Trim nails with a nail cutter, file to desired shape,smoothen nail surface with a
nail buffer, push in cuticle with a cuticle stick and massage nails and cuticle with
castor oil/shea butter. For every manicure session I love massaging my cuticles and
nails with castor oil. It helps to strengthen nail from breaking and speeds up nail growth.

-Now nails are ready for nail polishing and don't forget to start off with a base coat,
 it keeps nails from polish stain and prolongs nail polish.Apply nail polish on two
coatings drying at intervals. get a perfect glossy manicure finish with a transparent
nail polish.Voila  manicure se fini....Pretty easy.

Get Out That Embarrasing Dark Knuckles- Using This Amazing Tricks

Dark knuckles is perceived as one of the evidence of bleaching,
It can be really embarrassing for a lady, imagine visiting an expensive spa to get a new manicures and pedicures done and decided to share a picture of it on social media expecting likes and compliment, but all your social media friends care to notice and comment on is how dark your knuckles look with annoying questions like "are you bleaching?"
I feel for celebrities sha..... like one that flaunted her well manicured hands recently on social media but all she got from her fans was bashing from left and right about how disgusting and bleached out her fingers looked, all because of dark knuckles.
The fingers and feet may seem so unassuming  but it can create a dent in a lady'
over-all physical appearance when not cared for. It could also trigger a feeling of self-consciousness
and diminish one's self-confidence.

Factors responsible for dark knuckles
Genetics: dark knuckle can be hereditarily passed from parents to offspring, this account
for a dark person who is not into skin toning having pigmentations on the knuckles.

Exposure to sun rays: the danger of exposing the skin to the harsh rays of the sun begins with
facial sun-burn, wrinkling, darkening  of the knuckles before showing on other parts of the skin.

Excessive use of cosmetics: continous and extreme use of lightening/ toning creams and lotions
may successfully enhance and brighten your complexion leaving out the knuckles
This is because the skin on this area are tough and hard thereby requiring exclusive tender loving
care to actually lighten them.

Dryness: leaving your fingers dry especially after every hand wash and during the dry harmattan
season can cause dry,toughen skin which overtime darkens the knuckles.

Lack of exfoliation: exfoliation helps to rid the skin of dead skin cells that may create a resistive
barrier on the skin surface preventing skin care products from being absorbed by the skin layers.

Friction; daily routine activities like washing with harsh chemical detergent, submerging hands in hot
water and other rigorous physical activities that induces friction on the finger joint could also darken the
knuckles.


Steps to treating dark knuckles

 Exfoliate: the role and importance of exfoliation in the treatment of dark knuckles can not be
down-played at all. To remove the dead skin cells, you would need a body scrub ( I love Eden body

scrub) or alternatively you could use sugar (white or brown). Add tablespoons of fresh lemon juice in the sugar or body scrub,wash the skin, use this to gently scrub the fingers, feet, elbow, and knee paying particular attention to the troubled dark spot then wash off after scrubbing. you would feel smoothness
and soften skin afterward.

Lighten dark knuckle: the next procedure is to lighten those dark patches naturally using  "the good
 old" lemon and honey as a toner. Cut a lemon into two halves, pour honey on the surface of each half,
use this to vigorously scrub the knuckles of the finger and toes, elbow joint and knee cap,leave for 10 minutes and wash off. Don't leave on for too long lemon can be drying.

Moisturize:  make your own  home-made moisturizer/ hand and feet cream by blending a mould of sheabutter,10 tablespoonful almond oil, 6 tablespoon  vitamin E, 2 teaspoonful of honey and  5 tablespoonful johnson baby lotion /pears baby lotion., store in a fancy jar, use this to replace hand cream and use often. keep the hands, feet and and those joints that tends to darken moisturize regularly.

Pamper your hands and feet: Give your hands and feet weekly soak and massage if you can't afford salon
or spa pedicure and manicure. make your own soak by adding sea salt, olive oil and baking soda in a basin of warm water. use your home made hand and feet moisturizer to massage afterward.this helps in softening.

Sunscreen: use sunscreen protection on your skin before going out under the sun.

Patience:  finally be patient, it wont go away overnight but with constant and consistent care you are
sure of achieving that flawless and kissable hands and feet you've always wante