Is there a woman out there that doesn’t like to be pampered? A show of hands please! No? Not a hand raiser, or are you mortified over the state of your manicure? For the majority of us, we really like to pamper ourselves with the little self care rituals that make us feel confident and beautiful. 

My pamper moment is a manicure. Before the pandemic, I would regularly go to the nail salon for the SNS dip polish manicure. Unfortunately, we have been in a state of isolation. A choice had to be made, naked nails or get to educating myself on self manicure. I know that true nail art isn’t something that can be learned overnight, there is education and experience to consider. But the basic 101 of a mani is possible. I learned to give myself a manicure using the same product, Kiara Sky SNS dip polish. It seems so complicated at the nail salons; but with the detailed instructions that come with the nail kit, it’s actually pretty easy to do!  I must admit, I am a little obsessed with doing my nails and I’m getting pretty darn good at it now. 

I am very hard on my nails. This product lasts on average about two weeks for me depending on how much digging I have done in the garden. I really like that I don’t have to take the time away from my kids to go get my nails done. It gives me a little down time after the kids are in bed, and I find the focused attention very relaxing. 

Follow the detailed directions on the kiarasky.com website

They have some great videos to also help guide you through the process.

This is my process of removal to color change

Step 1. Prep the nails ( taking off the hard shell of the dip powder) 

Fill a medium bowl halfway with water, warm it in the microwave for about a minute

Fill a smaller bowl with acetone (regular nail polish remover is fine) then place that bowl into the larger  bowl of warm water

Soak your fingertips for a while; it really helps to soften the harder shell. 

After soaking the tips for a while, the color will come off

When the color comes off,  you can file off the top clear layer on your nails

Soak, file, repeat. It may take 20 minutes for the process – about as long as it takes in a salon.

Confession Time

 I used to be a really bad nail biter. This manicure/polish type helps me to keep from chewing my nails and cuticles. It’s a really bad habit, and so far it is the only thing that has helped me keep my fingers out of my mouth. I would rather have nice nails and by doing them myself, it really has helped me from having hamburger hands. I can raise them, wave them, and wiggle my fingers with pride. So come on y’all… get em up!  

Content Contributors: Amber Cochran Gilbert, Kerri Whitbread, Lyn Sengupta