How to Give Yourself an At-Home Manicure by the Experts at Ballymoon Beauty

Did you know that our hands are one the first three areas that shows our age earliest. We can delay the signs of aging on our hands by following some simple daily steps.

Protect your hands by wearing gloves while gardening, washing dishes, cleaning and in cold weather.

Keep hands soft and smooth by using Ballymoon’s Emerald Isle Hand & Foot Treatment once a day. It exfoliates, cleans and moisturizes. Most importantly, wear sunscreen on your hands to help prevent age spots. Ballymoon’s “Defense” Sun and Insect lotion is a wise choice. Once a week, give yourself your own at-home manicure.

How?

1. Remove any nail polish (Wearing nail polish continually doesn’t allow the nails to breathe and turns them yellow - nail polish remover dries out the nail causing them to split – give your nails a rest from polish at least once a month).

2. An emery board is a good tool to use when shaping the nails. File in one direction (not back and forth). Square or rounded shaping is preferred.

3. Use a good quality Natural Bristle Nail Brush with a bit of baking soda (it will get rid of all that unwanted dirt under nails).

4. In a bowl, pour warm water add: 1 drop each of Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Lavender and 1 Lemon. Move your fingers around in the bowl for 5 – 10 minutes then pat dry.

5. Gently push back cuticle using a wet Q tip.

6. Using a nail buffer, buff nails apply light pressure – excessive pressure thins the nail.

7. Save the best for last! Stir Ballymoon’s Emerald Isle Hand & Foot, and put a few drops in the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together as though washing with soap and water for about 30 seconds (be sure not to forget those nails and cuticles you just treated). Lightly rinse off the salt, and then pat dry (make sure you pat – you don’t want to rub off all those beneficial oils!)

A high quality Manicure tool set will supply you with all the tools mentioned here. After the manicure, apply a nail strengthener. Create your own. This recipe consists of high quality nourishing oils.

Nail Strengthener 10 ml of Grapeseed Oil • 10 drops of Apricot Kernel or Avocado Oil • 8 drops of Lemon Essential Oil • 3 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil • 3 drops of Lavender Essential Oil

Mix all ingredients together and apply. wait for at least 10 – 15 minutes to allow the oils to be absorbed before applying nail polish.

For a quick nail & cuticle treatment, whip up this recipe – it will make a few batches so you can store it in your fridge to use next week.Nail & Cuticle Treatment• 2 tablespoons of Grapeseed Oil • 2 tablespoons of Jojoba Oil • 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil • 3 tablespoons of Honey • 5 Vitamin E capsules (you will have to break them open).

More tips to keep your hands and nails top notch: Give new life to old looking yellow nails, scrub them with white vinegar.

Very chapped hands use Ballymoon’s Emerald Isle Hand & Foot Treatment, and follow with a layer of Ballymoon’s Body Butter. Wear a thin cotton pair of gloves to bed such as Ballymoon's Manicure Gloves. What a remarkable difference!