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.

Easy Home Pedicure

 We ladies absolutely love indulging and giving our feet a treat with a
professionally done pedicure in a spa or beauty parlor and tell me don't your feet (tootsie) just
crave all those attention, soak and therapeutic massage showered on them? and after all your 
feet comes out looking prim, kissable, soft and oooohhhhh......la...la...cious!!!.

Wouldn't it be fun to have regular professional spa tended pedicure probably weekly or
bi-monthly?  But every once in a while a chic could be short on finance but still want to flaunt
 a gorgeous feet in that open toes sandal, and trust me when I say though your feet may seem
unassuming, it's a very visible part of your body that people get to notice. You don't want to
leave a wrong impression with a dry chapped, tough, calluse ridden feet or a chipped nail polish.
And what's more you should show some love to your feet for being so down-to-earth picking up all the dust
and dirt after you while carrying your whole body network/frame.

For this process we'll be improvising with the items needed so you don't spend too much but
still get an amazing result similar to when you visit a spa.

Items required for our home-spa pedicure:

uncoated aspirin tablet/baking soda
mint green tea bag
home foot scrub/industrial body scrub
vinegar/disinfectant
pumice stone/foot brush
lemon
nail file
nail cutter
nail buffer
olive oil/almond oil
shea butter/castor oil as nail cream
cuticle pushing stick
towel
basin
nail polish
foot cream/baby lotion.
a pair of stocking
original black soap/foot shampoo

home foot scrub:
In the absence of an industrial foot scrub, make a foot scrub at home, mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 1/2 cup of coconut oil,1/2 a lemon  to a body scrub consistency, now you have ready a foot scrub. Mix fresh batch for every use.

steps to getting a great pedicure:
Using cotton soaked with nail polish remover wipe off old nail coat
get a basin of warm water enough to submerge the feet in, add vinegar/disinfectant, drop 2 bags of mint green tea for a soothing effect. Throw in some uncoated aspirin tablets/baking soda
this helps in softening and exfoliating dead skin cells, add a bar of black soap/foot shampoo,
remove black soap once water becomes foamy, now soak feet in the warm water, sit back relax and have fun with a good novel/movie for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove foot using the pumice stone/foot brush firmly scrub the calluses and
toughened skin on the heels and underneath the feet. Scrub until the heels and balls of the
feet are smooth to the touch, do same for other foot.

Now slather on some foot scrub mixed with lemon juice on the feet, massage gently the skin on the feet, underneath the feet and corners around the toes. Rinse with cool water and dry with a clean
towel, your entire feet should feel soft and smooth at this point.

Take a part of  olive oil/almond oil mix with some foot lotion/baby lotion, gently and tenderly massage
 the moist feet, toes, heels and underneath the feet, until absorbed by the skin.

Trim toenails with a nail cutter avoid cutting the corners of the nails to avoid ingrown nail
springing out from the sides. Using a nail file, file each nail from left side to middle and right side to
 middle direction to get a shapely nail.
Smoothen the rough edges on the nail surface with a nail buffer, push in the cuticle with a cuticle stick, now gently massage cuticle and nails with shea butter/castor oil, this helps to strengthens the nail from breakage and it also enhances nail growth.

Apply base coat on the nail before nail polish, this prevents nail polish stain, apply first coat of nail polish, leave for few minutes follow with a second coat to prevent untimely nail polish chipping and finally touch up with a transparent gloss coat for a perfect finish.

Sit back one more time and relax for 30 minutes to allow nail polish to dry up before putting on a pair of thick woolen stockings to allow feet soak in the oil and moisture.

Note
This ought to be a leisurely routine so it is more convenient to do this on weekend or your relaxation
period to maximize time.

Pedicure is inevitably necessary particularly during the harsh, cold and dry harmatan or winter season to
protect and keep those feet (tootsie) in tip-top shape. you can observe this weekly and in no time at all you will have a feet (tootsie) to die for.
Your comments, questions and suggestions is highly welcome