All You Need to Know About Manicure

The word manicure is derived from the Latin word manus, which means hands, and cura, which means care. Thus, the contemporary meaning of manicure is the care and treatment of the hands and nails.

If you thought spending obscene amounts on manicure or obsessing over your talons was a recent phenomenon, you are way off the mark. A look back into history will reveal that there were numerous instances in various civilizations where people paid great emphasis on the appearance and condition of their hands and nails.

It was long believed that the state or condition of your hands reflected your lifestyle, or were indicative of your social status.

From the ancient Egyptians to the Chinese royals of the Ming dynasty, to the Rajput kings and queens of India, caring and beautifying your hands and nails was important, and various natural ingredients were tried and used to achieve the desired look and color.

Over time, the advancements in science and technology have enabled even the masses to use and employ certain chemicals and ingredients to get beautiful attractive hands. So, today, a manicure is a cosmetic beauty treatment for the hands and fingernails.

A manicure can treat only the hands or fingernails or both. A professional manicure at the salon or spa will surely work wonders for your hands and nails, but you can do it yourself at home too. But, before we get to that, let's take a brief look at the purpose and benefits of having a manicure.

The main purpose of this treatment is to improve the look and feel of your hands and fingernails. Another purpose is to clean, strengthen, shape, make attractive and sometimes even dress your nails. The other benefits associated with treatment include:

• It improves the health and texture of your hands and fingernails.

• It helps in preventing hang - nail formation.
• It may help in treating sore or broken skin if present around the nails.
• It helps in preventing nail damages like fragile tips, cuts or splits.

• Massage that often accompanies manicure helps in improving the health of the skin by increasing blood circulation.
• By improving the health of the skin, it discourages the wrinkling of the skin on hands.

The most common tools include:

• Bowl of warm water
• Nail cutters or Nail clippers
• Nail brushes
• Nail filer
• Nail buffers
• Cuticle knife and clippers
• Cuticle pusher
• Orange stick

The most common manicure supplies include:

• Cotton swabs
• Liquid soap
• Cuticle remover
• Cuticle cream
• Cuticle oil
• Hand and body lotion for massage
• Nail cleaners
• Nail polishes
• Nail polish remover
• Sanitizing sprays
• Hand towels

1. Remove your old nail polish with the help of nail polish remover using cotton swabs.
2. File your nails using a nail cutter or a nail filer to desired shape in one direction.
3. Put some liquid soap in warm water and soak your hands in it for few minutes. This will help in softening the cuticles.

4. Clean the cuticle using cuticle remover.
5. Rub some amount of cuticle cream on cuticles.
6. Push the cuticle back with an orange stick or a cuticle pusher.
7. Massage your hands with a moisturizing hand lotion.
8. Apply a base coat and let it dry for a minute.
9. Apply first coat of the nail polish.

10. When the first coat of the nail polish is dried, apply the second coat for deeper color. Always start with one side of the nail and cover the nail in three strokes.
11. You can clean the left stray marks using a nail polish remover dabbed in cotton swab.
12. Allow the nail polish to dry thoroughly and then apply the top coat of the nail polish.

The major steps involved in the following manicures are mostly the same. What distinguishes a type from another is the different shaping of the nails and application of different oils and creams.