Keeping your nails clean and healthy is more than just mere washing with soapy water. You'll also need to use nail care tools and other products to maintain them. These tools will help you maintain beautiful nails for a long time – whether you're a nail care professional or a regular person who knows how to take care of their own nails.
These nail care tools are highly available and familiar to you especially if you frequently go to the nail salon. Professional salon staff may have more than a dozen tools and items in their manicure and pedicure kits in order to cater to their clients. If you're planning to invest on them so you'll have your own tools at home, then go for it.
Having your own nail care tools at home is beneficial especially when you need to remove peeling nail polish, remove an aching ingrown and in cleaning up your nails. Investing in nail care tools is a good move that many women have made since regular visits to the salon can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars each year.
Here are the basic tools that you'll need in taking care of your nails:
- Cuticle clipper/cutter – This is used to clip/cut dead skin from the cuticles.
- Emery board/nail file and foot file – They usually come in various sizes and grits. Keep in mind that the higher the grit, the finer the file and vice versa. It is best not to use a less than 240-grit file for natural nails and/or for shaping nail edges since this can damage the nails. Don't use metal files as well because they might also cause damage. 3-way buffer files are advisable since they provide shine and finish to the nails.
- Finger and foot bowls – They are used for soaking nails before and during nail cleaning.
- Finger stand – You'll need this resting stand when you're manicuring.
- Nail brushes – Invest on various brushes since they can be very helpful in cleaning up your nails. There are small horned, handled, round and bigger brushes that you can use when cleaning nails with warm water and soap.
- Nail clipper/cutter – This is for trimming nails.
- Orange stick or cuticle pusher – This tool is used to push the cuticle back and to gently clean the nail enamel. Investing on stainless steel cuticle pusher is better, because you can always disinfect them after use.
- Towels – You need separate towels for use in nail care. They are used for soaking excess water and cleaning out dirt while cleaning your nails. Also helps in cleaning your work area.
- Consumables – These are items that you can include in your kit such as cotton balls, nail polish, cuticle remover solution, nail polish thinner, nail polish remover and other nail care products.
Investing in nail care tools is not a bad idea. After all, you'll need them for personal usage and also if you need to save money or if you plan to build a career in nail care service.