Easy at-home nail care: how to give yourself an expert manicure/pedicure using the secrets of professionals

There's no doubt about it: Getting your nails done professionally is worth the money--if only because of the pampering that comes with it. But for most of us, booking and keeping a regular appointment is next to impossible. So we turned to Los Angeles-based celebrity manicurist Lisa Jachno, who says it's easy to nail a good manicure or pedicure (one that lasts a week or more) at home if you allow yourself 30 minutes--about 15 minutes for prep work and application and 15 minutes for nails to dry. "You can shrink that time if you use drying aids, like speedy topcoats or finishing sprays," she adds. Here's how to score a perfect 10 (or 20).

1. Remove old lacquer using nail-polish remover and a paper towel or a cotton pad (both offer more friction than a tissue and won't shred the way cotton balls can). Or try Essie Nail Pads ($10 for 150; essie.com), synthetic pads that are virtually lint-free. And always try to use a nonacetone polish remover: "It's less drying to nails and cuticles than regular formulas," says New Orleans-based Nia K. Terezakis, M.D., a dermatologist and nail expert. Removers we like: Cutex Quick & Gentle Non-Acetone Remover ($1.50; at drugstores) and Orly Gentle Nail Polish Remover ($2.10; at Ulta beauty-supply stores)

2. File your nails while they're dry. "You'll get a better shape if you file before soaking," Jachno says. Overly abrasive files, including anything metal, will promote peeling, she says, so always choose a fine-grade emery board. Good ones to try: Revlon Emery Boards ($1.45 for 10; at drugstores) and Sephora Professional Emery Board ($2; sephora.com). The best technique: File in one direction using smooth strokes. "Sawing back and forth can break the nail," says Carla Kay, a celebrity manicurist at The Bungalow salon in West Hollywood, Calif.

3. Soften nails and cuticles in a bowl of warm water mixed with cuticle oil, olive oil or body lotion. After 10 minutes of soaking, dry off and apply cuticle cream or lotion. Gently ease cuticles back by making tiny circles against the cuticle with an orangewood stick (a thin wooden stick with a slant-edge tip at both ends; it's sold in drugstores) wrapped in cotton.

Next, rub cuticles with a warm, damp washcloth in the same gentle way. "The circular motion helps slough away that white membrane, which is dead cuticle skin," Kay says. Many salons cut cuticles to get a clean-looking result in little time, but it's not a healthy practice: The cuticle forms a protective seal between the nail and the skin (to prevent irritants from getting into the skin), and cutting it can result in infection.

You need to coddle your cuticles, says Richard K. Scher, M.D., a nail specialist and professor of dermatology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. "Avoid cutting them or pushing them back aggressively," he says. "Doing either can damage the nail matrix, the area under the cuticles where growth takes place." Our favorite cuticle/hand-care products: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Cuticle Pen ($6; at drugstores), Bath & Body Works Cuticle Oil Stick ($8; bath andbodyworks.com) and Origins Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment ($18.50 origins.com)

4. Wash away oil or lotion with soap and water, and dry nails thoroughly. Rubbing them with polish remover again (as they do at salons) shouldn't be necessary and can actually over-dry nails, Terezakis says.

5. Apply a basecoat. Many women skip it, but they shouldn't, says Shawn Bingen, a manicurist at Zano Salon & Day Spa, in Batavia, III. "Basecoat is like double-stick tape for your nails--it holds polish in place so it lasts longer." It also prevents dark lacquers from tinting your nails. Good ones to use: Orly Bonder ($6; beauty.com) and Sally Hansen Color Wear Maximum Adhesion Base Coat ($5; at drugstores). If you want to add strength to weak nails, try Creative Nail Design Toughen Up ($6; creativenaildesign.com for locations). Or, to even out ridges, apply a single coat of Lippmann Collection Ridgefiller Base Coat ($16; lippmann collection.com).

6. Sweep on polish the way they do at salons, in three strokes, from base to tip: Go up the center, then hit each side. Use one dip per nail, and wipe the brush once per dunk before applying to nail. "This helps you apply the thinnest coats possible," explains Gretchen Monahan, owner of G Spa in Boston.

7. Wait two minutes between each coat of color (base and topcoats included) to speed overall drying time. "Set an egg timer," suggests New York City manicurist Deborah Lippmann.

8. Finish with a topcoat. If you have the time, use a topcoat that's designed to be shiny and protective. "It will offer a harder, longer-lasting protective shell, with a higher shine than a fast-drying topcoat can provide," says Jan Arnold, co-founder of Creative Nail Design in Vista, Calif.

Wearing a topcoat also can keep your nails healthy: "It helps prevent water loss, so nails break less," says Scher. Good topcoats to try: Chanel High Gloss Top Coat ($17; gloss.com) and OPI High Gloss Protection Top Coat, ($7.50; opi.com).