If you or someone you love enjoys having their nails done but doesn’t want to have to leave the house or pay money each time you want to get a new color on your nails, doing an at-home manicure could be the way to go. And with the right tips and tricks, you can have at-home manicures look just as good as the ones you get at the salon.

To help you see how this can be done, whether you’re doing your own nails or the nails of an elderly loved one living in an assisted living community, here are three tips for giving an at-home manicure. 

Properly Prep The Nails

The first step to having salon-quality manicures done at home is to properly prep your nails. Without the proper preparation on the nails, you can’t expect your finished product to look as good as it otherwise could. 

To get your nails prepped the right way, you’ll want to start with clipping your nails to the right length and overall shape that you want. Once you have this done, you’ll then want to file down any rough edges or parts of the nail that you couldn’t shape right with the clippers. As you file your nails, make sure you always move in the same direction, not back and forth, as this can weaken your nails. And finally, after clipping and filing, you’ll want to buff the nails. Buffing will make your nails brighter, smoother, and perfectly ready for applying polish. 

Fix Mistakes As You Go

Many people find applying nail polish to be challenging. But as long as you know how to fix your mistakes, even the messiest of nail polish applications can be fixed.

To best fix your mistakes, you’ll want to try to do this as you go. This way, you won’t allow the nail polish to dry onto your skin or around your nail where you don’t want it. Simply use a cotton bud or stiff brush with a flat edge and then dip that acetone. Then, you can use this to wipe away or clean up any mistakes. 

Get The Polish Dried Quickly

Once you have your nails painted exactly how you want them, you’ll want to get that polish dried as quickly as possible so that you don’t have a chance to ruin them while the paint is still wet.

To do this, you should try to keep the layers of nail polish light so that you don’t have thick layers to have to worry about drying. Additionally, if you use some cold air, like from a hair dryer or a fan, the polish on your nails will dry much more quickly. 

If you’re wanting to do perfect manicures at home, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you see how this can easily be done.