Buffing Your Nails... What You Need to Know

Quick Tip

At this point, you know how to give yourself a manicure, use an emery board and handle weak and brittle nails. Next on the agenda... buffing!

What is buffing all about?

Buffing can rid your nails of ridges, take care of jagged edges, and even encourage the nails to grow.

What do they look like?

• Discs: usually made of a very fine grade sand paper. These should be used to smooth any rough edges on your nails.
• Emery board shape
• Buffing Blocks
• 3 in One: a buffer, an emery board and a polisher

What mistakes are commonly made?

-Buffers come in different grades, so consider what grade should do what. The rougher texture should only be used for shaping and smoothing the edges of the nails... much in the same manner as an emery board.

-Buffing the nails should be done gently and in one direction only... simply to slow you down. Vigorous buffing can thin the nail and this can be painful.

What are the benefits of buffing?

-Buffing can increase the blood circulation to the nail bed.

-Buffing off the ridges also gives a smoother surface for the polish to adhere to.

-Actually buffing leaves such an attractive sheen to the nails, that you might skip the polishing step. After all, buffed nails cannot chip.

-Buffing encourages the nails to grow thanks to the improved circulation.

-This procedure also helps to remove surface stains.

How do you buff?

Apply a little buffing cream to the nails and then buff in one direction. You can use a traditional buffer or a piece of chamois. If you are using both cream and buffer, be very careful that you don't buff away too much of the nail. Too much buffing can produce a burning sensation. This technique will smooth the surface and offer a little shine as well.

For even more shine... use a little beewax applied with a chamois and buff away.