If you love nothing more than going for your monthly mani, we feel your pain in missing out on that particular indulgence during these strange times. As it stands, non-essential businesses including salons and nail bars remain closed for the foreseeable future, so if you’re one of the millions who loves to get a regular mani - be that gels, acrylics, shellac or even just a tidy-up - we’re sure you’re feeling the loss at the moment.

And like many of us, you may well leave your nail care in the hands of the experts, so might be unsure of how best to care for your natural nails at the moment. What can you do when you can’t get to the salon?

It doesn’t matter if you’re not a dab hand at nail art, or if you’re unsure on how to best care for your nails - we’re here to guide you through. We’ve spoken to some of Scotland’s top nail experts to find out the top tips on how to care for your nails during this tricky period, to keep them at their best ready for when you can return to the nail bar again…

First things first is learning the basics. We recommend having a kit of nailcare essentials at home anyway - including nail clippers, an emery board, a buffer, cuticle pusher, cuticle oil and hand cream - and now is the time to learn how to use them properly.

Remember to go gentle on your nails; clip them when necessary (and never go too short!) and file gently in one direction to create your preferred shape. Lightly buff the surface, never pressing too hard, and only push back cuticles after using an oil or cream.

Tweezerman Manicure Kit, £22.95, Look Fantastic

“My top tip for at-home nail care is cuticle oil, cuticle oil, cuticle oil!” says Tammy Koslowski, founder of Glasgow’s renowned NAF! Salon. “Not only will the ingredients hydrate and nourish the skin around your nails, they’ll help to lock in moisture and keep the product on your nails flexible for longer wear. Another bonus is that regularly rubbing the product into the base of your nails around your cuticle (the matrix) will help to improve blood flow to your extremities and rejuvenate your nails from the inside-out over time.”

NAF! Stuff Nourishing Cuticle Oil Pen, £8, Nafstuff.com

Sammy MacDonald, founder of Aberdeen nail bar The Studio Aberdeen, agrees: “My top product for keeping nails healthy is cuticle oil. People think this will make the nails oily or make nails lift, but it’s the total opposite. Using a cuticle oil twice daily keeps the nails moisturised and flexible; it can actually help gels and acrylics last longer too. If nails are dry and brittle, they will snap and break much easier. Dig out a cuticle oil and get it on - it won’t take long to start seeing a difference!”

If you had your regular manicure in the past few weeks, and are now experiencing that awkward growing-out stage, then don’t be tempted to pick at your nails. It’s essential that you remove your professional manicure properly, even if you can’t get to your nail bar, to make sure that your nails stay healthy. Many of your favourite nail bars are selling removal kits online to help you take off your manicure properly, but if you’ve missed out on the kits, you essentially need a buffer block, an acetone-based nail polish remover, tin foil cut into strips, cotton pads, a metal cuticle pusher and scraper, and some cuticle oil.

Lia Clarke, founder of Swoon in Glasgow, has provided a handy step-by-step guide over on the Swoon Instagram to help you remove your manicure safely, which we have shared below with you:

Prepare your area - lay out a towel on your table, and have your removal kit to hand.
File/buff over the surface of the nail, concentrating on the free edge to try and ‘break the seal’ between the gel and your natural nail.
Saturate a cotton pad with the acetone and place it on the nail, and wrap your foil around the pad to hold it in place. Repeat across every finger - you may need someone to help with this.
Do nothing for 20 minutes!
Remove the foils. The gel should be lifting away at this point, so use your scraper to lift any last bits off. If they don’t come away easily, they’re not ready, so repeat the process with the acetone and the foils.
Be patient! Don’t be tempted to pull off the gel before it’s ready, as you’ll damage the nail.
Once everything is removed, give your hands a wash and apply lashings of cuticle oil!

Elegant Touch Soak 'Em Off Gel Polish Remover Pads, £8.95, ASOS

If you do enjoy a regular manicure, then you’ll probably be used to looking down at your hands and seeing a fun, fabulous design or your favourite colour. There’s nothing stopping you recreating your favourite nail art at home, of course - check out our last guide to nail art designs for some inspiration to try out at home. But if you don’t feel confident making a mani masterpiece of your own, then a quick sweep of a fresh, springtime shade is the perfect alternative - here’s some of our favourites: