What Is A Spa Manicure? The Ultimate Guide
Getting a spa manicure is a great way to take some time out of your busy schedule to relax and pamper yourself. It’s the perfect self-care activity that will give you long-lasting results, nurture your natural nails, and leave your hands feeling silky smooth.
Spa manicures differ from traditional manicures, though. Learn more about what spa manicures include and how you can get the best results.
What is a spa manicure (and how’s it different from a regular manicure)?
A spa manicure is a manicure, but it’s a more luxurious and involved treatment than a standard manicure. During a basic manicure, your nails are cleaned, the cuticles are pushed back and clipped, and your nails are painted with clear nail polish.
A spa manicure is a longer service where you will typically get a more involved cuticle treatment, and there’s more emphasis on the overall experience instead of just maintaining your nails.
A spa treatment for your nails includes an arm and hand massage to increase blood flow and exfoliation to remove dead skin cells before the manicure begins. Also, your professional nail technician cleans, shapes, files, and paints your nails.
Depending on the type of manicure you choose, you might also get a paraffin wax (aka paraffin dip) treatment to make your hands smooth and a hot towel wrap to keep the moisture in while your nail tech preps for the massage and manicure.
Overall, it’s a much more indulgent manicure than typical nail polish application. However,you will still need regular maintenance with this type of manicure.
Benefits of a spa manicure
There are several benefits of a spa manicure, including:
- Healthier nails
- Softer skin
- Better circulation in your arms and hands
- Relaxes you
- Gives you some time for yourself
How long do the results of a spa manicure treatment last?
Typically, you need to get a spa manicure every two weeks (at most) however, this depends largely on your lifestyle. If you work with your hands a lot, your manicure won’t last as long. If you protect your hands they will likely last a bit longer.
This is quite different than a gel manicure which typically lasts anywhere from 2-4 weeks.
How to care for your hands after a spa manicure
To make your manicure last as long as possible, it’s important to take care of your hands and nails.
- Use gloves when cleaning or doing the dishes
- Moisturize your hands throughout the day, especially after you wash them
- Apply cuticle oil to your cuticles daily
- Add a thin layer of clear top coat to your nails, especially at the tips of the nails, weekly to keep the polish from chipping
How to DIY a spa manicure
Maybe you have a special occasion coming up but just don’t have the time to get to the nail salon. No sweat.
You can easily give yourself the same treatment you’d receive at resort spas – but in the comfort of your own home!
DIY Spa Manicure Steps
The first step to a DIY spa manicure is the paraffin treatment. Once you dip your hands into the melted paraffin wax you then wrap them with plastic baggies and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Then, wash the wax off.
Once you’ve washed off the wax you:
- Push back and clip your cuticles
- Massage cuticle oil into your cuticles and the skin around your nails to keep it moisturized
- Use a cleaning tool to clean underneath your nails
- Trim your nails to the desired length with your nail clippers
- File your nails so the tips are smooth
- Buff the top of your nails so your base coat sticks well
- Apply a thin layer of base coat polish and let it dry
- Paint your nails and let them dry – you can use a UV lamp to help them dry faster if you prefer
- Apply a thin layer of top coat to your nails and let it dry
- Final step – Moisturize your hands
Does a beauty salon include a luxury pedicure included with your spa manicure?
Spa pedicure services aren’t included with a spa manicure however, you can easily add it on as an additional treatment. A hot stone massage is also something else that many people like to add on for the ultimate spa experience.
Spa pedicures are really similar to spa manicures. During the service your technician will:
- Dip your feet in warm paraffin wax
- Wrap your calves in hot towels
- Soak your feet in warm soapy water
- Remove your toenail polish
- Clean, clip, file, and shape your toenails
- Remove the dead and dry skin from your feet
- Moisturize your feet and calves
- Polish your toenails
- Add a top coat of polish to help prevent chipping
What supplies are needed for a spa manicure and pedicure?
If you want to give yourself a spa manicure at home, you should consider getting these things.
Manicure kit
A premium manicure kit includes nail clippers for both your fingernails and toenails. It might also include:
- Cuticle scissors
- Peeling knife
- Nail cleaner
- Metal nail file
- Callus remover
- Pedicure knife
- Diagonal nail clipper
- Nail stamper or nail tape for a french manicure
How much does a spa manicure cost?
This will largely depend on your location. If you are in a major city you can expect to spend upwards of $100 for a standard spa manicure. If you’re in a rural or suburban area you could potentially pay half of that (or less!).
You can always call your local nail salon to see what their pricing is and even calling a few to compare the differences is a good idea.
Paraffin wax treatment machine
Paraffin wax treatment machines warm and melt the wax for you. There are several sizes of machines available, but if you’re going to DIY your nails, you should look for an option large enough for your feet and hands.
We like the Wattne paraffin wax machine because it melts the wax in 30 minutes or less. It also has a timer so you don’t have to remember to turn it off.
Home Foot Spa
If you want a more luxurious experience consider adding an Epsom salt foot soak to the water. Once you’ve soaked your feet, dry them off and use a pumice stone to remove any dead skin from the bottom of your feet.
If you have stubborn calluses or rough feet, you might want to use the tools included in a professional pedicure tool set instead of a simple pumice stone.
Additional treatments to consider
Before you get a manicure and pedicure, you need to consider what kind of polish you’d like. If you want your results to last longer, consider choosing a gel polish manicure.
Gel polish is cured by a UV light, making gel polish manicures last longer than regular polish or a shellac manicure.
If you want longer nails or you need to add strength to your nails, an acrylic manicure might be your best bet. Of course, you’ll need to make sure the salon specializes in fake nails because some salons only give natural nail manicures.
Acrylic nails aren’t the only type of fake nails you can get either. You can also get tips with gel nails or you can add tips to powder dipped acrylic nails.
Ultimately, the type of nail treatment you want determines what type of salon you choose and whether you can complete the process yourself. If you want a professional manicure, be sure to consider whether you want a manicure for your natural nails or you want fake nails before making your appointment.
At the end of the day, a spa manicure is a pampering experience that is meant to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience. So whether you decide. todo it yourself or head to a salon is totally up to you!
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