Having well manicured hands can be an expensive habit to maintain. A bi-weekly manicure can work out to spending $60 or more a month, depending on the salon or nail bar you go to. At that rate, the yearly bill will come up to $720. If spending $720 a year doesn’t sound appealing to you, perhaps you should consider doing your own manicures at home for a fraction of the cost.

You can do your own manicure at home at a time that is convenient for you, all you need to do is ensure you’ve got the right tools for the job. Having the right tools for the job will save you money in the long run, and if you buy good quality equipment, it’ll serve you for many years to come.

So what tools are needed to get the job done?

To do your own manicures at home, you’ll need

cotton balls

orange sticks (or a cuticle pusher)

nail files

nail buffer

nail polish remover (with or without acetone)

a manicure bowl

nail polish (base coat, top coat and any color of your choice)

primer

nail clippers

cuticle trimmer

cuticle oil

These will allow you to keep your cuticles tidy and your nails polished week in and week out. Using a primer before applying any polish dehydrates the nail allowing the nail polish to stick to your nail better. A top coat should also be used whenever you paint your nails to protect whatever color you’ve applied to your nails and add shine to your manicure. The top coat should be followed by applying cuticle oil which should then be massaged into your cuticles to keep them soft.

If however you don’t have the time to polish your nails every week the alternative is to opt for a longer lasting solution. Using UV gel nail polish instead of regular nail lacquer will reduce the amount of times you’ll need to paint your nails as UV gel nail polish lasts for up to two weeks or longer.

If you choose to go down the UV gel polish route, you will need additional tools to get the job done. Apart from the items listed above, you’ll need UV gel polish – a base coat, top coat and color or colors of your choice. A nail lamp to cure the polish and acetone will also be required. The nail lamp cures or hardens the polish while the acetone is for soaking off or removing the polish.

Regular nail polish can be combined with UV gel nail polish. After the base coat and top coat have been cured, regular nail polish can be painted over it so you can use your existing colors without having to splash out on new ones.

The biggest expense involved if you choose to go down the UV gel polish route is the cost of the lamp. While lamps are available online from anything between $25 and $300, it is worth noting that you get what you pay for. Cheap isn’t always best in the case of UV lamps. Lamps that are cheap are the price they are for a good reason. The materials used are usually inferior in quality and important safety features the lamps should have like a timer are conveniently left out.

Ensure you familiarize yourself with how to apply UV gel nail polish and remove it before purchasing anything. You have to understand the application and removal process before you start investing in equipment. Read as much as you can get hold of on the application and removal process. Watch videos on the internet to make sure you are fully conversant with all the steps involved. Even if you bought the most expensive lamp on the market at $300, and spent another $200 buying an array of colors and equipment, it still works out far cheaper than getting a manicure at a salon every couple of weeks. If you’ve got friends, sisters, or daughters who are interested, you could all chip in together and do each others nails, bringing down the costs even further.

This is an article by Sue Robertson who writes more about UV gel manicures and home hair care treatments.

This is an article by Sue Robertson who writes more about UV gel manicures at http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-use-uv-gel-nail-polish-at-home

Author Bio: This is an article by Sue Robertson who writes more about UV gel manicures and home hair care treatments.

Category: Womens Interest
Keywords: UV gel polish, how to apply uv gel polish, gel polish manicure, UV gel manicures