Nail Care Routine

In the spirit of the new year and the fact that many of us are currently being snowed in, I have decided to share with you my nail care routine. I am currently regrowing my nails practically from scratch due to a habit of picking at them. This routine can be applied to both fingernails and toenails. It is essentially the same routine with a few tweaks.

The first thing you need to do is remove any excess nail polish. I only had a treatment on so this didn't take very long.

Bare Nails

L-R Essie Millionails Strengthener, Butter London 

Horse Power Nail Fertilizer,  OPI Nail Envy

These are my favorite nail strengtheners. OPI's Nail Envy is probably the best overall. There are several different types you can get. I have the one for soft and thin nails. I usually prefer the Butter London Horse Power Nail Fertilizer. The only thing is that for an intensive treatment, this has to be reapplied daily for 7 days, completely removed and starting over every week for one month. You can see why I wouldn't do a full manicure with this although it says you can use it as a basecoat or topcoat. Essie Millionails Treatment is also very good and is also the most affordable.


When it comes to polish remover there are two different types, Acetone and Non Acetone. Acetone polish works wonders for removing last weeks manicure quickly but it dries out your nails. If you only have a clear coat, treatment or bare nails, I highly recommend using non acetone to prevent unnecessary damage. Keep in mind that Acetone polish remover often comes in different types too, ones for natural nails and ones for acrylics. Please use the one for natural nails (unless you have acrylics) as the acrylics version will dry out your nails too much and cause peeling and brittleness. I am using non acetone polish by Equate. The Beauty Secrets brand is my favorite but I ran out.

Equate Non Acetone Nail Polish

If you need to shape your nails, do so before soaking them. Trying to use a file on softened nails can damage them. This is not necessarily the same for toenails, you can soak them first and make sure you use a straight edge nail clipper to prevent ingrown toenails. Since I am growing my nails out, there wasn't much for me to shape yet.

Files and Nail Clipper

Next, soak your fingers in warm water for a few minutes. I usually mix a bit of soap or lotion into the water. This will help soften the cuticles and make it easier to push back.

Nail Brush and Pomegranate Cleansing Sugar Glow

Be Natural Cuticle Eliminator and Butter London
Melt Away Cuticle Eliminator
and Orange Wood Stick

After I soak them I use cuticle remover. Let it sit for about one minute, then use a cuticle pusher or orange wood stick to push back the cuticles, yes, even on your toes. Wash your hands (or toes) thoroughly to remove the cuticle remover and clean under the free edge of the nail. You can also use this opportunity to scrub your hands and nails to get any extra dead skin off. You can use a hand or foot scrub, a nail brush or even just a towel.

Toe note: If you don't have a foot bath or large bucket, apply cuticle remover to your toes, let it sit and get in the shower. Use a foot scrub and once you get out, push back the cuticles and apply a foot cream. My favorite one is the Julep Mint Pedi Cream.

Le Couvent Des Minimes Soothing Night Hand Cream,
Butter London Cuticle Oil, and California Mango Cuticle Oil

If you are doing both your toenails and fingernails, start painting your toenails first. That way you won't risk ruining a fresh manicure. Apply cuticle oil and hand cream to your hands for this process. If you are just painting your fingernails, it might be better to wait until the polish is on and dried but that is more of a personal preference. Keep in mind that you should swipe your nails with more polish remover right before you apply polish, especilally if you applied cuticle oil or hand cream. This keeps the polish on longer. And use toe separators!

Please excuse the poor polish job, it was late

Apply polish. I used Butter London's Nail Foundation Base Coat, Hardwear P.D. Quick Top Coat and the color Yummy Mummy on my fingernails. On my toenails I used Butter London's Horsepower Nail Fertilizer as a base coat and the color Queen Vic. Use base coat, two layers of polish and the top coat. If you are a sloppy polish painter, like me, you can use a small brush dipped in polish remover to clean up around the edges. You could also use a cotton swab but beware of ill behaved cotton pieces! ELF's small concealer brush works great for this. I put this brush aside specifically for nails; do not use a brush you use on your face unless you plan on never using it for makeup again.

ELF Concealer Brush

Butter London Polishes L-R
Top: Queen Vic Polish, Hardware P.D. Topcoat
Bottom: Nail Foundation, Yummy Mummy Polish

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Finally apply (or reapply) hand cream and cuticle oil. This is an important thing to remember in order to keep your hands and nails healthy and moisturized. Especially during the winter months.

And you are done! 

This is my fresh manicure! I would love to see pictures of your new manicure. I have links to my facebook and twitter accounts on the right.

Butter London Yummy Mummy Polish Swatch

Well that was my entire nail care routine. I would love to hear recommendations on anything from products to any tips or suggestions you may have.

Butter London Polishes are available at Ulta, Sephora and Butterlondon.com.
I recently bought this cute Butter London gift set that includes mini versions of the base foundation, quick dry top coat, matte top coat, nail strengthener, cuticle oil and cuticle remover. This is perfect if you want to try everything and those products are expensive full size!

Disclaimer: None of the links above are affiliated and I am not getting money by you clicking on them. They are for convenience only.