Beauty: How To Have Beautiful Nails Without Polish?

If you're tired of chipped polish and the fumes from nail polish remover, follow the new no make-up trend! There is indeed a return to natural nails, provided they are smooth and shiny. Here are 5 beauty tips to adopt for beautiful nails without polish and without having to wait for them to dry.

1- Remove the streaks with a polisher

Ridges on nails generally occur with age. Even though it is not possible to make them disappear completely, it is quite easy to lessen them by buffing the nail surface.

To do this, equip yourself with a buffer and quickly run it over each nail when it is completely dry. Do this gently to avoid overly weakening your nails: the buffer is very effective at smoothing the nail surface but can also thin it... In fact, you should not buff your nails at every manicure to avoid weakening them. The roughest side of the buffer should be used at most once a month.

Before moving on to the next step, rinse your hands to remove the fine particles produced by buffing.

2- Push back the cuticles

As warm water helps soften cuticles, soak your hands for ten minutes in a bowl of lukewarm water before pushing back the cuticles with an orange stick. You can also soften the cuticles by massaging your nails with a special oil or a simple vegetable oil: it can only do them good!

This step of the manicure helps to give a prettier shape to the nails and make their contours clearer. But be careful: go gently to avoid hurting yourself with the orange stick!

It is strongly advised not to cut the cuticles with scissors, as this increases the risk of infection and makes the cuticles even harder.

3- Polish to make shine

Yes, it is possible to have beautiful shiny nails without polish as long as you have some manicure tools. Some buffers have a specific side that brings shine to the nails by polishing them.

You will find this type of 4-Sided Buffer Block at Yves Rocher (for only €2.95) or at Sephora (4-Step Buffer, €4.95). Their use is very simple since the 4 sides are usually numbered and serve successively to file, smooth, polish, and shine the nail.

Here are the correct steps to follow at each stage:
1- To file your nails, always use the file in the same direction (from the outer side towards the center) to avoid potential splitting of your nails. File the free edge of each nail according to the shape of its cuticle.

2- To smooth, make a back-and-forth motion from the outer side towards the center of the nail.

3- To polish, make quick back-and-forth movements on the surface of the nail.

4- To shine, make light rotations on the surface of the nail.

This last step does not damage the nail but stimulates blood circulation and thus growth. You can therefore use the shining side as often as you wish!

There are even electric nail buffers (battery-operated) like the Shine Addict buffer from Revlon (€25 at Darty or on Amazon). Easy to use, it gives your manicure a shiny look that lasts 4 to 5 days.

4- Hydrate to nourish the nails and skin

To perfect your natural manicure and have beautiful nails without polish, don't forget to keep your hands well hydrated! Your nails benefit from the effects of your hand cream, so take the time to massage each nail with a specific cream or oil.

Castor oil is particularly recommended for strengthening nails. Since its texture is viscous, I advise you to dilute it equally with another vegetable oil or apply it to your nails with a brush, like a polish.

This gesture helps to strengthen the nails, make them shine, and prevent cuticles from hardening and splitting into painful little skins.

5- Remove stains with natural tips

When you keep your nails natural, without polish, they can get stained from contact with plants, fruits, or vegetables when gardening or cooking.

Fortunately, there are several tips for removing stains from nails such as:
• making a paste by mixing baking soda and water and rubbing your nails with this whitening paste.
• rubbing half a lemon on your nails to clean and whiten them.
• mixing the juice of half a lemon and a tablespoon of baking soda in a bowl of warm water, then soaking your fingers for three minutes in this homemade whitening mixture.

Thanks to all these natural beauty tips, your nails will be whiter, stronger, and in a word, more beautiful!