Howdy!!! So who doesn’t enjoy a good mani/pedi? I know I do. Who likes paying out the wazoo for them? No thank you. Over time, I have gotten to the point where I can get salon results (or better) at home! Bonus: I can have my mani/pedi anytime of day or night. If I go to my local cosmetology school, a mani/pedi including paraffin wax treatment will set me back $28 plus tip. I do my toes once a week and nails twice a week. You do the math. That adds up fast. So, thank you Amazon, I can do everything at home including the wax! This is going to take you step by step through how I do this including links for what I use.
I start out by filing my nails while I still have polish on them? Why, might you ask? Because it makes it super easy to make sure they are straight. (I do straight nails on both fingers and toes.). However you decide to shape your nails, filing with polish still on makes it easier to see. I love the Amope electric file. It also has a buffer and shiner included. I usually don’t use the shiner. The buffer is awesome when I have a nail that is cracking below the tip. A quick drop of super glue, buff once it’s dry, polish, and you’d never know it was there. Plus with the file doing all the work, I just kick back and relax. I don’t have to do any work here. If I need to take some length off, I clip first then shape with the file.
Pedi Perfect Electronic Nail Care System (reg $20, sale price $6.75)
Next, use cotton and remove polish. I love exfoliating cotton rounds here. I use them on my face as well. I was overly blessed with lots of cuticles and skin around my nails. Every little bit helps keep it in check. Once polish is off, I wash my hands and take a nail brush to the nails and cuticles. I keep a nail brush by the sink in my bathroom and one in the shower. (More on that in a moment.). Here are the tools that I use:
- Swisspers Premium Exfoliating Rounds, 2 Distinct Raised Textured Surface, Cotton Facial Pads, 80 Count Re-closable Bag
- Onyx Professional 100% Acetone Nail Polish Remover with Nail File Removes Artificial Nails, Nail Polish, Gel Polish & Glitter Polish, 16 Oz (2 Bottles)
- 3pcs Handle Grip Nail Brush, Fingernail Scrubbing Cleaning Brushes，Pedicure Brushes for Toes and Nails Cleaner
For the pedi portion, I skip the washing step here. I am not a contortionist. My feet will not reach into my sink. A shower follows the next step!
Next up, taming the cuticles. After much trial and error, I found that q tips are the secret here. If they are really bad, then I’ll use the metal pusher. That doesn’t happen often thankfully thanks to maintenance (which I really need to be diligent about.). Just get a couple drops on the tip, then push it (push it real good). I scrub my hands as each hand is done. (Part of being overly blessed here.) Once this step is done on my toes, I hit the shower. One of the advantages of doing my toes this way is that it doesn’t mess up the polish job. I don’t necessarily have to repaint every time. Grab those here:
When I’m working on my feet, this is where I do the sandpaper step. I use the Amope foot file. This thing is one of the best things ever invented. I use the extra coarse variety. For me, this is a critical step to having my feet sandal ready at all times. This is important because I am a native Florida girl. I wear them year round. I didn’t get all the bells and whistles with mine, but this is the model I use. This one is on sale right now from $40 down to just $27.14 when you clip the coupon on the product page. Next, turn on the wax warmer…
The real pampering starts in the shower. I make a sugar scrub with coconut oil (1/4 cup) and sugar (1 cup). I have one that is vanilla (used vanilla sugar that was made with the remnants of a vanilla bean that I needed the seeds from for a recipe) and one that I added sleep blend essential oils. These fit perfectly into a half pint mason jar. Shave, scrub, rinse, shave again, scrub again. All after washing off. I’ll also use this scrub with a pumice stone on the bottoms of my feet. If you do this, BE CAREFUL!!! It is very easy to bust your tail because your feet will be slick!
Now to feel like you have died and gone to heaven. Paraffin wax dip. This is the ultimate moisturizer. Go ahead and order extra wax with this. What comes with it doesn’t fill it.
Once you’re dipped and gloved/booted, kick back and relax. Seriously. This is the step that is excellent for our mental health. I will sometimes get my hubby to help me get the breathe app open on my watch for added relaxation. However, I would not recommend a glass of wine here. It’ll be hard to hold the glass with the insulated mitten thingies on.
Next up is exfoliating cuticle cream. This stuff is amazing. It really gives the nails a “clean” look. It also doesn’t take much to get the job done. This is the last step that I do with fingers and toes together.
Now we’re going to finish our feet. Our final steps here are moisturizing and polish. I use the OPI Infinite Shine polish. This stuff is indestructible. I literally don’t have to paint more than once a month if I don’t want to. (Still not a contortionist. Can’t paint my toes sitting Indian style. I can do cuticles and such that way though. Lucky for me my hubby has been willing to learn. And in the interest of full disclosure, the first time he did it, it looked like our preschooler polished my toes. Aggie Maroon is not the best color to learn with! This is why I have a corrector pen, and use #2 for the nail brush in the shower.) Here are those items:
- O’Keeffe’s Healthy Feet Exfoliating Foot Cream, 3 ounce Tube
- Nado Care Moisturizing Socks Lotion Gel for Dry Cracked Heels 4 Pack, Spa Gel Socks Humectant Moisturizer Heel Balm Foot Treatment Care Heel Softener Compression Cotton – Pink, Blue, Grey and Black
- OPI Infinite Shine ProStay Primer & Gloss Duo Pack, 1 Fl Oz
- OPI Infinite Shine, Raisin’ the Bar
- OPI Nail Lacquer Remover, Corrector Pen
And I just learned something. I had no idea these things were for anything but making it easier to paint toes.
Now to finish our hands. Depending on how close to bedtime it is, I’ll apply cuticle oil. *I should be doing this twice a day. I might just have to make myself do it when I take meds. After that, a good moisturizer. I also use lotion each time I wash my hands during the day. For the lighter lotion, I use Water hand cream from Bath and Bodyworks. It’s light but effective, and doesn’t have a scent so it won’t clash with whatever else you are wearing. I use the heavier stuff at night before bed.
Now for the polish. Unless you have crappy nails like mine, you can skip the first step. Mine require Nail Envy, which is a strengthening treatment. Two coats.
Base coat:
2. OPI Nail Lacquer Base Coat, Natural Nail, 0.5 fl. oz.
Nail lacquer, 2 coats of your color of choice: Today mine will be Kyoto Pearl, in case I don’t get to nails before Friday Night Lights. Colors are purple and white. This is the white. I think it was J. Lo who wore this color a few months ago.
3. OPI Nail Lacquer, Kyoto Pearl
And top coat: I use the rapid dry, because i tend to fall asleep after painting and wake up with what looks like the texture of my sheets on my nails when I use other stuff. Live and learn. There are others including an all in one base and top coat.
4. OPI Nail Lacquer Top Coat, RapiDry
From start to finish, this all takes about 2.5-3 hours including the shower and wax cooling time. One lesson that I also learned the hard way is to start the polishing just after a trip to the potty unless you have a spouse willing to help you so you don’t mess up your polish.
It’s not cheap to get started doing your own mani/pedi at home if you are having to buy everything at once, but everything pays for itself pretty quickly. The convenience is unbeatable.
Happy saving!!!!
This has been a guest post by Jennifer Johnston, a mother of SIX, who is cheap when she has to be so that she can have nice things when she wants them 🙂
