No nail polish or fake nails: the Japanese manicure focuses on polishing, nourishing, and hydrating to reveal their natural shine.
Strong, shiny, natural nails—it’s a dream for all of us! It’s possible with a very particular care method. The Japanese manicure unfolds in several precise steps, from thorough cleansing to a shine treatment, including an intense hydration phase.
The Japanese manicure, all-in-one!
You may have heard of layering? This ritual way of taking care of your skin with meticulous care from Japan has been popularized by social media. Layering involves applying different treatments in layers (layer in English) successively, to cleanse, nourish, and protect the skin. The Japanese manicure follows this same principle.
Nails deserve our full attention too!
If we pamper our face and body, it happens that we overlook our nails a little. And it’s indeed very unfortunate to ignore them, because they teach us a lot about what’s going on inside us:
Moreover, piling on more layers of nail polish and frequent soaking with remover isn’t ideal for nail health. In fact, there are many substances that nail polish hides.
As you can see, when people talk about the Japanese manicure, it isn’t simply nail makeup. This method aims to deeply clean the nail, but also to nourish it, hydrate it, and give it a shiny appearance.
So go ahead and get a Japanese manicure if your nails are particularly damaged, yellowing, prone to breaking, or splitting!
How a Japanese manicure works?
The first step is to prepare the ground: push back the cuticles and smooth the nails to an even length.
In the second step, you use a multi-faced block to buff the nail. This key moment allows for a deep cleaning by removing dead skin. The buffing has the effect of opening the scales, like hair, so that the treatments can penetrate better.
In the third step, you apply the nourishing nail treatment. In salons, the nourishing paste used is often based on beeswax or vegetable oil like jojoba. We also commonly use the ylang-ylang essential oil, particularly effective for repairing and strengthening nails.
For the fourth step, you use the other faces of the buffing block to smooth and seal the scales. This mechanically stimulates blood circulation. Well-irrigated nails will regain their natural color!
During the fifth step, you take care of the beauty of the hands by performing a gentle exfoliation.
Finally, the sixth and final step consists of giving the final shine with a powder made of provitamin A, well known for strengthening nails, and minerals. A quick buff with the brush and you’re ready with strong, shiny nails that look natural!
Taking care of your nails at home
Without performing the Japanese manicure every week, you can easily and quickly look after your nails at home.
To do this, try to avoid wearing nail polish every day of the year. The nail, like the skin, needs to breathe. If wearing polish is a habit you have trouble giving up, opt for natural nail polish and, in any case, make sure to take breaks between applications!
After washing your hands, activate blood circulation by gently brushing the tips of your fingers.
Then, don’t forget to protect your nails. Like the rest of the hands that become fragile with hard water and other external aggressors, nails are exposed too. It’s necessary to keep them well hydrated.
Finally, as usual, make sure to maintain a good diet which is the foundation of overall health and, by extension, of your nails! Vitamin or mineral deficiencies have a direct impact on nail health and resilience. Since nails are made of keratin, a balanced diet that covers all needs for protein, iron, and vitamins will show on your nails as strong and shiny.
