Nail soak

For a manicure, mix 1-cup warm water and juice of 1/2 lemon. Soak fingertips 5 minutes. Rinse and pat dry, pushing back cuticles. Rub lemon peel against nail back and forth vigorously. Finish by buffing with a soft cloth. --Mary Ellen's Best of helpful hints.

Fancy Footwork

Prep feet for a pedicure by soaking in warm water - add milk to soften skin.

Storing polish

Your nail polish will always be smooth and easy to apply if you store it in the refrigerator. Place gummy nail polish in a pan of boiling water to make it as good as new.

Basecoat and Topcoat for Nails

When polishing your nails don´t skip the basecoat or topcoat! Be skeptical of a product that says they contain all three! A basecoat is a tacky, non-shiny coat that prevents the colored polish from discoloring your nails and helps the colored polish to adhere to the nail surface. Following up with a top coat ensures shine and protection for your new manicure!

Simple Good Sense for Manicures

Always file nails BEFORE bathing or soaking them to prevent ragged edges and damage to the nail tip. Use an emery board only to file nails. Coarser boards are for acrylic nails. Move the file in one direction only. Do not use a back and forth motion which will create ragged edges. Remove all dust and bits of filed away nail before polishing.

Go for all the trimming

Avoid ingrown toenails by clipping straight across; don´t clip in curves. Finish by gently rounding with an emery board.

Corns

If you are plagued by painful corns, your shoes are either too tight or too short. In well-fitting shoes, you should be able to wiggle your toes.

Avoid Yellow Nails

Avoid yellow nails by always applying a basecoat before applying color polish.

Clear away cuticles

Soften cuticles with cuticle remover before pushing back gently with an orange stick. Follow by nudging cuticles back with the wet corner of a towel wrapped around your thumb.

A little oil

Try putting a few drops of essential oils in the water before soaking nails. It will help add moisture to cuticles.

Longer lasting polish

The stay put polish solution: Put your nails on a serious moisturizing regimen. Before a manicure, be sure to soak your nails in a creamy moisturizer for five to ten minutes. Wipe clean with a cotton ball dipped in a nonalcoholic astringent before applying a hydrating base coat. --Cosmopolitan. Apr 99

Happy Feet

Before bedtime, slather on foot cream and slip on cotton socks. Try Extra Emollient Night Cream by Mary Kay, works great and smells nice too.

Twinkle Toes

Put a little TWINKLE on your toes with sparkling nail polish!

Whitest nails

For the cleanest nails and whitest tips possible, soak nails in a bowl filled with soapy water and a capful of hydrogen peroxide or--for seriously yellowed talons--dunk a toothbrush in the bowl and scrub the nails, inside and out. Allure Magazine, May 1999

Fix a smudge

To fix smudged polish, dip your finger in remover and lightly tap the area to smooth it out, wait a minute, then apply topcoat. -- Allure Magazine, June 1999

Faster drying

For faster drying nail polish, set hands in a bowl of very cold water when nails are partially dry. --Mary Ellen's Best of helpful hints.

Magnificent Manicures

To give your home manicure a professional look, buff ridges from nail-surface and soak in bowl of warm water and lemon juice (or gentle shampoo for cuticle cuts).

Strong Nails

Weak nails may be a sign that you are not getting enough calcium from your diet.

Nail File

The best nail file is made out of small diamond chips. Diamancel makes a variety of these files for different uses.

Holiday Nails

For festive holiday nails, give yourself a manicure and pedicure with red polish.