A new trend we've seen hit the world of nail and hand care are waterless manicures! Nail care professionals realize that soaking the nails and hands can actually be detrimental to the longevity of the manicure. It also leaves hands dryer in the end than if the soaking step was just skipped altogether. When nails soak in water, they expand. Then, after the polish is applied and the nail starts to shrink back down, the integrity of the polish is weakened and it becomes more likely to crack and chip! The same for your hands. When the skin is soaked in water, it can become water logged. This means when you try to apply your lotion or cream, there's no room left for it to absorb! Thus, leaving you with the same dry hands you started with.
Thankfully, waterless manicures are fairly simple and don't require a lot of materials. This makes them great for an at home pamper sesh! All you need is a waterless sanitizer, cuticle pusher and oil, keratin gloves and/or your fav mositurizer, and the usual tools for filing, cutting, and painting your nails.
7 Steps for a Perfect Waterless Manicure
STEP 1: Our first step is to remove anything unnecessary from your hands and nails. You're going to clean your hands with your waterless sanitizer, and feel free to go up past your wrist a little bit. Then, using your nail polish remover, get rid of that old polish. If you're not wearing nail polish, it's always good to get a clean slate before painting them. Go ahead and lightly swipe some across your nails to get rid of any excess oils.
STEP 2: Now you're going to clean up your nails! Start by applying a cuticle oil to start softening up your cuticles. Then cut and file your nails to the desired length and shape.
*Tip: remember when filing your nails to file in one direction. This keeps your nails stronger and less likely to crack.
An alternative to a cuticle oil that you can use is a waterless cuticle remover. There are a wide variety of these cuticle removing serums you can choose from. They contain potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide to target thick, overgrown cuticles and dead skin for easy removal at a high pH level. You can apply the cuticle remover at the same time you would your cuticle oil before cutting and filing your nails.
STEP 3: If you used a cuticle oil, go ahead a push those babies back with your cuticle pusher and remove any excess oil. If you used a cuticle remover, same thing. Push them back and then remove excess product and any dead skin.
STEP 4: Next up, put on your keratin gloves! If you're not sure where to find these, Amazon (my favorite place) has a wide variety you can choose from. A lot of the gloves also come with keratin socks so you can give your feet a treatment also! Another option you can opt for is using high density polyethylene gloves and distributing a heavy amount of your favorite moisturizer evenly throughout the gloves and then putting them on.
STEP 5: Push back the tips of the gloves to expose your nails. Some gloves may require you to clip the ends and create an opening. Then clean off your nails and get them ready to be polished!
STEP 6: Make sure you get your nails clean and clear before painting them. Any lotion left on them will only prevent your nail polish from sticking.
*Tip: remember to use a base coat and top coat in order for your polish to last its longest!
STEP 7: Finally, remove those gloves and massage the remaining product into your hands and up into your arms!
There you have it! Now your nails look great, and your hands are perfectly moisturized! If you don't have time to do this at home, keep an eye out for it in nail salons near you. In the 2020 nail trends list, this is one trend that is definitely on the rise. If you do want to do this at home, make sure and check out 786 Cosmetic's selection of nail care products and colors!