As soon as warmer weather arrives, most women and girls start to think, “Before I can wear my sandals, I have to paint my toenails.” Painted toenails simply look great when you are wearing sandals or open-toed shoes. Although many women rush off to the nail salon to get their toenails painted, it is actually possible to do a great job painting your own toenails.

When painting toenails, you should first start by cleaning and drying your toenails. Soak your feet in a nice warm pan of water for about ten minutes. Then dry your feet thoroughly, pushing back the cuticles with the towel or a nail orange stick. Your feet and toenails must be completely dry otherwise; the polish simply will not adhere to the nail properly.

Using clippers or nail scissors, trim your toenails using a straight cut, being careful not to cut into the corners. Not only will your toenails look better cut straight across, but they will also be much less prone to ingrown nails. Then, using either cotton balls or a foam toe divider, separate your toes so that they will not be likely to smudge the wet polish.

Start with a base coat polish before applying your colored nail polish. In order to avoid the air bubbles that can occur from shaking a bottle of polish, roll the base coat bottle gently between your hands to mix. Starting with one of your big toes, touch the base coat brush to the nail slightly in front of the cuticle, and then push it back slightly towards the cuticle before pulling the brush forward to the end of the nail along one side of the nail, applying a thin coat of polish. Repeat the same process with the other side of the nail then make one final stroke up the center of the nail. Repeat until you have all the toenails painted with base coat on one foot then do the other foot in the same fashion.

Let the base coat dry for five minutes then roll the bottle of colored nail polish in your hands to mix. Repeat the painting process again with the colored polish until you have painted toenails on both feet. Remove any polish that gets on your toes with a cotton swab and nail polish remover. Let the polish dry completely then add a second coat of polish for extra durability. After the polish is totally dry, show off your painted toenails in your favorite sandals or toeless shoes.