Every woman has the right to beautiful nails. But trips to the nail salon can be time consuming and costly. Thankfully, sitting in a crowded nail salon is not the only way to get a manicure. With the right nail supplies, you can get a professional looking manicure without leaving the house. Here are some essential nail supplies for the perfect do-it-yourself manicure.

Disposable Nail Supplies

A beautiful manicure starts with maintaining the health of your nails and cuticles. So cuticle remover, nail hardener, polish remover, and nail color are all must-have nail supplies for DIY manicures. Cuticle remover softens the cuticles so dead skin can be easily removed. Polish remover removes old nail polish from  your fingernails. Nail hardener strengthens and protects the nails. And polish gives the nails a salon-finished look.

Portable Nail Station

No more shuffling through a cluttered cabinet to find misplaced nail supplies. A portable nail station offers you a convenient and organized place to store your nail polish, cotton balls, and polish remover.Some nail stations even come equipped with small stands to support your hands and make doing manicures easier.

Nail File and Cuticle Stick

A cuticle stick is used to push back the cuticles, and remove the dead skin. Injured cuticles can lead to bacteria growth, so be careful not to damage them when using the cuticle stick. Push the cuticle back gently, angle the stick, and use light circular motions to prevent damage to the cuticles.

Nail files are used to shape and smooth the rough edges of the fingernails. Nail files can be purchased in ceramic, glass, and metal. You can also buy emery boards. However, emery boards are not meant to last, so in the long-term they may not be as cost-effective as other types of nail files.

Nail Buffer

A nail buffer is used to remove ridges and pits from the surface of the nails. Buffers also polish the fingernails to give them a smooth healthy appearance. Buffing should only be done once a month. Too much buffing will cause damage to your nails. When you buff your nails, make sure they are clean, dry, and polish-free.

The French manicure has remained popular for several decades, and there’s a good reason. This style of fingernail and toenail polishing is simple yet very elegant. It’s also natural looking which is what many women prefer as opposed to printing nails bright and unnatural colors. Since the base colors of a French manicure are very pale or colorless, the style is suitable for every kind of occasion whether it’s work or play. You can wear a French manicure at your work desk wearing a business suit or at a restaurant in your evening dress.

The French manicure is basically a polishing style that takes several steps to complete. The nail is painted a light pink or natural color and the tip is painted white. There’s an obvious demarcation between the nail tip and the rest of the nail. A guide is normally used in order to create a uniform white tip on each nail. The polish and white tip are then covered with a clear sealer. It’s an ideal polishing style for shorter nails.

You can do your own French manicure, or you can have a salon polish your nails. If you do your own, the easiest approach is to purchase a French manicure kit which contains the pale pink and white polishes, the nail tip guides and the top sealer.

Of course, we live in a world of innovation today and some women now decorate their French manicure with nail art. Nail art is a decoration added to one or more nails. Nail art should be chosen carefully in order to not dilute the sophisticated and elegant styling of a French manicure.

A French manicure is a beautiful style of nail polishing that has endured in the fashion world since the 1970s. Its versatile look makes it practical for every kind of dress which is one reason why it has been an enduring nail polishing style.

Over the past 20 years, new developments have made teeth whitening more affordable, practical and popular.  Benefits include increased oral health, decrease in appearance of age, and increased self-esteem, which can help with interpersonal relationships, employment searches, and other socio-psychological concerns.

There are three basic forms of teeth whitening:  bleaching/whitening products, abrasive agents, and micro-abrasion.

• Bleaching products are available either through a dental practitioner or over-the-counter.  Tough there has not been time to adequately study the long-term effects of these agents, current studies show that most products on the market are effective in whitening teeth.  In the latest teeth whitening products, the most common active ingredient is peroxide, which serves as a bleaching agent.  Different methods for applying the bleach include:
  – Trays.  The user inserts the product into a dental tray (or uses a pre-loaded tray) and wears the tray for a period of minutes.  This process is repeated over several weeks or months, depending on the severity of stains on the teeth.
  – Strips.  Over-the-counter whitening strips, coated with a peroxide gel, are applied to the teeth for a prescribed number of hours.
  – Films.  Paint-on films work similarly to strips and trays with a peroxide solution.  However, rather than placing an additional foreign object into the mouth, the peroxide mix is painted onto the teeth and left there for a few hours to bleach the teeth.
• Abrasive products that are available over-the-counter are those found in toothpastes.  When a toothpaste is advertised as having a “whitening” agent, the active ingredient is an abrasive that helps scrub build-up off the teeth, thus restoring the original whiteness of the teeth.  The toothpastes also help to polish the teeth and give them a shiny appearance
• Microabrasion is a procedure performed by dental professionals.  This process is sometimes used when there are isolated locations of discoloration that are a result of fluorosis (excessive exposure to fluoride).

Both bleaching and abrasive techniques are safe when performed at home, microabrasion is a safe technique when performed under the supervision of a trained dental professional.

The most common side effects of all teeth whitening procedures is mild tooth sensitivity and mild gingival (gum) irritation.