A handy tip...

Manicures
Skill level: Easy
Cast time: 5-20 minutes
Duration: 1 week
+4 to Classy
+5 to Professionalism
+2 to Pretty

For those special occasions when you have to look 'nice', how much effort do you put in? Whether you need to look presentable for work or you've got a wedding to go to, most of us will at the very least groom our hair and slap on a token amount of make up, but how often do you groom your hands?


It sounds like a small thing - who looks at hands, anyway? - but having neatly manicured hands can make a big difference in the way people see you. Next time you go out to a restaurant or cafe, look at the hands of your waiter. Are his or her hands chapped and flaky or smooth and soft? Are the nails clean or dirty? Are the ends smooth and round or jagged and bitten? Now think about how that makes you feel about the food they're handing you. Gross, right?

It's probably not something you've ever thought of before, yet subconsciously, your hands could contribute as much to first impressions as your hair or face. Fortunately, you don't need to go to a lot of effort or spend a fortune on weekly manicures to have professional and classy looking hands. All you need is a buffing block, some good hand cream and some cuticle oil.

If you don't know what a buffing block is, don't worry. It's just a foam block, about 10cmx2cmx2cm, with four different filing sides. We'll get into this in a moment.

When you're shopping for your hand cream, you want something that soaks in quickly and won't leave a greasy residue on your hands. I use The Body Shop's Almond Oil Hand Rescue, but it's not necessarily right for everyone, so go into a store that lets you try the creams (like The Body Shop) and keep trying creams until you find one that feels right to you. Ideally, if your hands are very dry, you want something with a barrier agent such as beeswax or lanolin, because that will help keep the moisture in your hands.

Cuticle oil isn't essential, but does definitely speed things up a bit. It's basically just oil designed to strengthen your nails and soften your cuticles so you can push them into place without them cracking and bleeding. In the past I've used one from Seacret, but now I use The Body Shop's Almond Oil Nail and Cuticle Treatment. Not only does it match the hand cream above, but it's got a nifty brush and cuticle tool so you don't get oil all over your fingers.

So, how do you use these things?

First, wash your hands. Get out a nail brush or an old toothbrush and scrub under your nails. This is important, because once we're done, any dirt under there will be much more obvious in comparison to your beautiful hands.

Next, apply some cuticle oil to your nails. If you've got a bottle, I usually use one drop per nail, but if you've got it in a pen with a brush on the end, just dab it on lightly. The oil goes a long way, so concentrate the application on your cuticles and don't worry too much about your nails for now.

Once your cuticles are oiled up, it's time to moisturise. Don't use too much, or it won't soak in properly and you'll just end up with greasy hands and a slippery keyboard. Only apply small amounts at a time and get more as you need to. Unless your palms are so dry that they feel scratchy when you rub your cheek, don't worry about applying moisturiser to your fronts of your hands - they will get moisturised when you're rubbing it into the backs of your hands - but do remember to moisturise your fingers, especially the knuckles. As you get to the tip of each finger, rub the cuticle oil into the nail and the surrounding area.

Now your hands are prepared, it's time to do the real work. If you've got one, gently use a cuticle tool to push your cuticles up and off the nail. If you don't have one, you can use your thumbnail, but you're less likely to scratch yourself with the tool. Don't push too hard, just enough so the nail has a clearly defined edge where it emerges from your finger. The oil should have softened the cuticle, so this should be easy to do.

Then get the buffing block and use the first side to file your nails (the sides should be labelled 1 through to 4). If you've bitten them right down, this might be a little hard, but you should still be able to smooth the edge of them so they aren't rough and jagged. If you've got a bit more nail to play with, you have some options with what shape you want to file them into. I prefer a squared oval, which is basically a flat tip with rounded edges, as I find it's the most convenient to type with and suits my hand shape. Some people prefer completely square (which I find scary because you end up with sharp corners) or completely oval (which I find too impractical because it ends up being that little bit too long), but you should experiment to see what's right for you.

Next, use side #2 to file the ridges from the top of your nail. Don't press too hard, you just want to lightly skim the block across the nail, making sure you get the whole thing. If you didn't push your cuticles back earlier, this might hurt a little, as you could end up buffing skin instead of nail. Once the ridges are gone, your nails should look kind of like frosted glass - flat, but with itty bitty scratches on it. This is when you use side #3 to smooth out the scratches. When you're done, the nail should look smooth but matte, so the final step is to use side #4 to polish them up and add a bit of shine.

Chances are, your nails are now looking fantastic but there's nail dust everywhere. Depending on how dry your hands are, you can either re-apply the cuticle oil, or just rub in a little hand cream to absorb the dust and soothe your cuticles.

The first time you do this, it might take a little while, but if you do it on a regular basis (say, once a week or so) your cuticles should pretty much stay where you squish them and you can just do touch-up buffing while you're waiting for everyone in the raid to turn up.