Manicure and Pedicure Equipment for Salon Style at Home
If you want salon quality manicures and pedicures but don´t have the time or money to go to the salon, you can do them yourself at home. However, you will need the right manicure and pedicure equipment to make the experience as close to salon quality as possible. You will also need a substantial amount of time to devote to the process. A home manicure or pedicure is a relaxing, luxurious experience with the payoff of gorgeous hands and feet.
The first thing you´ll need is a quality polish remover to take off old polish and prep nails for new paint. If you wear artificial nails, you must choose non-acetone polish. Natural nails can hold up under acetone remover unless they are very fragile or brittle. Remove all polish first before proceeding with the rest of your manicure or pedicure. You´ll want to soak hands and/or feet after using remover.
A foot spa is the ideal way to soften and clean rough feet before primping and polishing. Or, you can soak hands and feet in bowls of warm, soapy water for twenty minutes. There are soaking products at salon supply stores like Sally Beauty Supply that can be added to warm water for a fragrant, softening soak. Make sure to have lots of fluffy towels handy to dry off afterwards.
After a good soak, moisturizer is an ideal next step. Try a manicure warmer which uses even heat and disposable cups to warm lotions and oils. Massaging hands and feet with warm moisturizer is the ultimate in pampering. Not only does it feel fantastic, but the heat helps the product penetrate the skin more efficiently.
Swipe each nail with polish remover after your moisturizing session to prep them for polish. Before painting, however, you´ll want to push back cuticles with an orangewood stick wrapped in cotton and shape the nails using a quality emery board. There are different grades of emery boards designed for natural and artificial nails. If you want to forgo polish, try buffing nails to a shiny finish with a soft buffing square.
 By lizadanger
If you do choose to use polish on fingers and toes, go for a quality salon brand like OPI or Essie. Quality polishes such as these brands come in countless colors to suit every skin tone, dry fairly quickly, resist chipping and go on smoothly. You might not think there is much of a difference between the high end brands and the drugstore brands, but once you try the salon brands you´ll likely want to stick with them. These brands of polish can be purchased at Sally Beauty Supply or most anywhere else professional manicure and pedicure equipment is sold.
