MANICURING is the art of treating the nails of the hands to protect and improve their health and to beautify them accord ing to the current standards of fashion. In the days of Salome and Cleopatra, women stained their nails with henna, and this vogue persists among some primitive peoples to-day. Under the social regime of the Chinese Empire, finger nails worn several inches long, and covered with gold cases, were a symbol of the aristocracy who did not have to work with their hands. The present mode is to shape the nails like the finger-ends and pink them to emphasize or suggest their healthy colour.
These rules, almost the same as those for a professional mani cure, should be followed in the home manicure: The nails should be thoroughly cleaned with a nail brush and warm soap suds. They should then be filed and shaped. Extreme points or blunt nails are not natural or in good taste. The tip of the nail should conform to the curved shape of the cuticle at the base of the nail, when this is normal.
When the filing is completed, immerse the fingers in soapy water for about three minutes to soften the cuticle. Then use a
cuticle solvent with an orangewood stick (the end of which has been wrapped in a bit of cotton) around the base of the nail, under the edge of the cuticle surrounding the base of the nail, and under the free edge of the nail at the tip of the finger. Gently remove the accumulated loosened cuticle with a blunt pointed cuticle knife, holding the blade of the knife flat against the cuticle at the side of the nail, and wipe off with the end of a small towel.
A little bleach may be applied under the nails to whiten them. Then rub in a little nail cream around the cuticle to nourish the nail and keep the cuticle from becoming dry and cracking or ' forming hang-nails. Remove any loose bits of cuticle with a nipper or manicure scissors.
If a powder polish is used, first apply a bit of nail burnish cream to the nails and then the powder. Polish each nail with a chamois-covered buffer, using long strokes from left to right until the desired gloss is secured. (D. Co.)