T-Girl and Crossdresser Shopping and Tips from Kat's Dream Boutique



Giving Yourself A Basic Manicure ...... Even if you wear false nails, It is great to learn how to give yourself a manicure. A well manicured hand looks equally as well on a man, as it does a woman, and once you do it you will find that it looks and feel so great, that you will not want to go without one again. Its also a great fun thing to do with your girlfriends over a glass of wine, and since the principle of a pedicure is similar, you can surprise the special woman in your life with a great pedicure. How many Brownie Points do you think you can rack up with that trick?? We are going to focus on a Basic Manicure, but before we do, there are a few extra tips I would like to give you in regard to your nail and hand care. First of all, nobody finds bitten,chipped and DIRTY Nails to be attractive, so be honest with yourself about the shape your nails are in. Aging nails will often develop ridges over time, and especially if you smoke, the nails may have a yellow tinge, as may some of the skin around them. You may have callouses from years of hard work, and if you are a little older, you may find more hair growing on your hands than on the top of your head. So here are a few EXTRAS to consider trying either before or after your manicure. For yellowing nails and the skin around them, use lemon juice. Just pour some lemon juice into a small bowl, and let your nails soak in it. The lemon juice will whiten them, but the PH of the lemon juice will not harm your nails like a bleach. For the yellowing skin on your fingers (this is great for dark elbows and knees as well), make a paste of lemon juice and salt, rub onto and into the skin and leave it set for about 5 minutes. You may have to repeat this process a few times for deep stained skin. To Help keep under the nails clean, a great tip is when doing any kind of dirty grimy job, you can always opt to wear gloves, but if you can't, you can, before the job, scrape your nails across a bar of hand soap. Dig in and let it bury itself under the nail bed. This acts as a barrier against the dirt, and when you are done, all you need to do is use a nailbrush and wash up..that simple ! Hair on the hands is just plain unsightly, so you will either want to remove by waxing, or use a hair lightener designed specifically for eyebrows or facial hair. DO NOT USE Hair bleach DESIGNED FOR THE HEAD. Nail Ridges can be smoothed out with a silk nail block. The nail block is a very inexpensive tool that can be picked up at most drugstores, and even Ebay has then for about $1.00. They are generally a sponge block with panels on the sides for buffing the nail. The coarseness varies in each side of the block and ends with a panel of silk that buffs the nail to a deep shine that does not wash or chip away. This is an INVALUABLE tool because even if you dont have time for a full manicure, a few minutes with the nail block will brighten up the whole hand! Now lets get on to it...
Now lets get on to it... ..... First lets assemble what we will need. 1. Nail clippers 2. Emery board 3.Bowl of warm soapy water 4. A couple of small towels 5.Cuticle remover 6.Cuticle pusher or orange wood stick 7 Cuticle nippers or cuticle scissors 8.Cuticle oil or conditioner 9. Hand cream 10. Polish In spite of what you may think, nails do not need to be long to be sexy. Decide what length you would like your nails. If you want them longer regular manicures will help nail growth by increasing blood flow to the nail bed No matter what length The manicure will be the same.
1 ..... Start the manicure by trimming nails to the desired length with the nail clippers.
2 ..... Use the emery board to shape the nail. For shorter nails I suggest not trying to make them oval, but a more square across the top. When you file, you want to file in ONE DIRECTION, from the corner of the nail to the middle. Do not file back and forth across the nail in a sawing motion. This will waken the nail and it will be more prone to chips and cracks. NEVER FILE WET NAILS!
3 ..... Soak the nail in the warm soapy water solution for five minutes. Remove and pat dry with towel.
4 ..... Put some cuticle remover on the base of each nail. Some removers come in cream forms, some come in a more liquid brush on form. Follow the timing directions on the brand that you purchased.
5 ..... Run flat side of the orange wood stick or cuticle pusher gently down the nail, pressing gently against the cuticle. When the cuticle is softened, it will lift easily from the nail bed. If you have not gotten a manicure before, you may have a large buildup of cuticle, and may have to repeat this process.
6 ..... At this point, the cuticle may look a little more ragged than when you started, but not for long. Take the cuticle nippers or scissors and trim off the raggedy dead cuticle edges. Do NOT cut or trim away at the skin, cut just the cuticle you have scraped off of the nail. If you start hacking away at the newer skin and cuticle, you could end up bleeding, and that defeats the whole purpose.
7 ..... Apply some cuticle conditioner or oil to the cuticle.
8 ..... Repeat this process with your other hand. Now I know this is tricky for some. Using the underdeveloped hand to do anything can be a challenge, so I ALWAYS start with the underdeveloped hand.
9 ..... Massage your hands with hand lotion, and give it a little time to set in.
10 ..... Apply polish. Start with the polish brush at the base of the nail, in the middle of the nail, and stroke upward toward the tip. Apply more polish to the brush and use the same stroke, working out to the sides. Clean any polish that may have gotten on skin with a Q-tip soaked in Nail Polish remover A few things you may want to think about ahead of time, before polishing your nails. If your dressing, and have little time, you can buy quick dry polish. It generally does not have the durability of regular nail polish, but is great for a quick polish. Keep in mind that some polishes may stain. To avoid this lay down a coat of base polish or clear nail polish BEFORE applying Color. Removing the polish will be a breeze with no tell tale signs.
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