Balancing home and work life situations is no mean task and it puts every woman under extreme stress. Be it cooking for the family, washing dishes and clothes, doing gardening work or other activities, throughout the day, especially the hands are continuously working to accomplish daily tasks. By the end of the day, all a woman craves for is some ‘Me’ time where she can simply sit back and unwind. Even though we might make it a point to carry out the CTM ritual before calling off the day, little do we realize that our hands and nails too require extra care and often gets unnoticed due to other priorities.

Also Read: Missing Beauty Parlour? The 3-Step DIY Facial Ritual To Try Right At Home

Unlike the skin protecting our whole body, the top layer of the palms doesn’t have oil glands and hence are unable to produce sebum to keep them soft and moisturized. Additionally, owing to the constant use, the skin of the hands often gets dry, hard, wrinkled and pigmented along with chipped and discoloured nails. Well, if you are looking for a remedy, here comes, a relaxing Manicure session to bestow you with an ultimate calming and de-stressing experience.

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What Is A Manicure?

A manicure is a cosmetic beauty process involving filing and shaping of the free edge of the nails, treatments with various hand soaks and scrubs, massage of the hand, and the application of fingernail polish.

Benefits Of Manicure

  • Cleans the nails
  • Nourishes the cuticles
  • Bestows soft, smooth hands
  • Improves blood circulation
  • Calms and relaxes

There is something about a beautiful manicure that just looks and feels extremely elegant, but the cost of salon manicures can literally drive a hole through your pocket over the course of a year! If you want to save time, money and avoid being in close proximity to people in the parlour due to the pandemic, all you need is a simple home-based regime for a fraction of the cost.

We bring you a simple guide including 3 homemade recipes to achieve gorgeous hands and fabulous nails right at home.
How to give yourself a manicure

Step 1: Gather all the required tools including (nail polish remover, nail clipper, cotton pads, cuticle pusher and nipper, hand soak, hand scrub, hand and cuticle cream, base coat, favourite nail polish, top coat)

Step 2: Remove previous nail polish

Step 3: Clip and file the nails

Step 4: Soak your hands in a solution

Warm Water – Honey Hand Soak

Ingredients:

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tbsp baby shampoo

2 tbsp honey

1-5 drops of rosehip oil

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Immerse your clean and filed nails in it for 3 minutes.

Remove your hands and towel dry.

How It Works:

While warm water helps to soften the cuticles, baby shampoo loosens up the dirt and dead skin cells. The addition of honey keeps the skin soft and prevents infections, while rosehip oil improves nail growth.

Step 5: Remove dead skin cells using scrub

Coffee – Coconut Oil Hand Scrub

Ingredients:

2 tbsp coffee (granulated)

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vitamin E oil

Method:

Blend all the ingredients in a bowl.

Apply it to your hands and massage gently for 5 minutes.

Rinse with warm water.

How It Works:

Imbued with antioxidants, coffee not only absorbs dirt, grime, and dust particles but also offers deep pore cleansing. While coconut oil soothes and moisturizes the palms and upper surface of the hand, vitamin E oil reverses the various signs of ageing by minimizing wrinkles, fine lines and pigmentation.
Manicured hands

Step 6: Apply hand and cuticle cream and massage for 10 minutes.

Shea Butter – Lavender Oil Hand And Cuticle Cream

Ingredients:

2 tbsp shea butter

1 tbsp olive oil

5 drops lavender essential oil

2 drops peppermint oil

1 tbsp bees wax

Method:

Melt the bees wax in a double boiler.

Slowly add, olive oil and shea butter to it.

Lastly, add both the essential oils after switching off the flame.

Cool the mixture and massage it on your hands and nails for 10 minutes.

Apply it on clean feet, wear socks and keep it on overnight.

How It Works:

Enriched with vitamin E, shea butter deeply moisturizes the skin and prevents peeling and dryness. While olive oil increases blood circulation and helps in regeneration of new skin cells, the essential oils ward off bacterial infection and inflammation and bestows an invigorating aroma to the hands.

Also Read: Dried Up Palms? A Dab Of These Natural Emollients Will Keep Your Hands Soft And Nourished

Step 7: Apply base coat, favourite nail polish and later finish up with top coat