Nail Care
Anyone can have healthy, strong, and well-groomed nails by following just a few simple rules. Your nails, like your hair, are made of the protein keratin, and consist of dead cells. They grow quickly (about .1 millimeter per day) and protect the skin at the ends of your fingertips and toes. Nails can also be an indicator of certain health conditions or vitamin deficiencies.
White lines or spots can be a sign of a zinc or iron deficiency or protein deficiency. More rarely, these white patches or lines can signal liver, heart or kidney disorders.
Thin, flat nails may indicate a Vitamin B-12 deficiency.
Ridged nails may indicate an iron deficiency.
Brittle, dry nails may indicate a calcium deficiency.
Frequent hangnails may indicate a Vitamin C deficiency.
Yellowish or discolored nails may indicate a Vitamin B-12 deficiency, or may indicate diabetes, allergies, liver problems, or poor health.
Greenish nails may indicate infections in the nail bed.
Bluish nail beds may indicate breathing problems or severe malnutrition
Otherwise, healthy and well-manicured nails, short or long, should be smooth, without spots, hollows, or ridges. If they are unpolished they should be pinkish and clean. If they are long the ends, they should be curved and filed smooth.
Nails grow faster in young people. With age, nails may become thicker, harder, and may develop ridges. This is why caring for your nails becomes more important as you grow older.
Caring For Your Cuticles
Your nail's cuticles (the skin that surrounds the hard part of your nail) keeps your nails healthy and protects them from fungal infections. Cuticles are quite sensitive to injury. Do not cut them or pick at them; this may damage them permanently. Instead, after a shower, bath, or after soaking your nails, use a soft wooden stick to gently push back the cuticle. Over grooming cuticles may cause them to thicken so be sure to use gentle care when grooming.
Caring For Your Nails
Cleaning - If nails are dirty, use a bristled nail brush to remove debris from around cuticles or from under fingernails. Remove all polish with nail polish remover; do not pick at polish as that can damage the surface of nails.
Shaping - Nails should be gently filed with a fine emery board, never with a metal file that can cause damage. File in gentle, long strokes from corner to center; do not "saw away" at nails. Keep the emery board poised at a 45 degree angle in relation to the fingertip to prevent damaging the nail layers. Do not file deep into corners of the nail; this weakens the nail. In general, shorter nails are easier to maintain.
Protecting - Do not use your nails to scrape or lift anything, or to pull anything open. Wear gloves when washing dishes and use nail and hand lotion daily to keep hands and nails moisturized.
Polishing - You may wish to use only a ridge-filling colorless coat on your nails to give them extra shine and strength. If you polish your nails, use a ridge-filling base coat followed by color and then a protective top coat for the best results. Give your nails at least an hour to dry before using your hands.
Nail Troubleshooting
Dry, brittle nails - Moisturize often with a hand cream or oil. Eat more foods with essential fatty acids, such as eggs, meat, seeds, whole grains, and fish. Also, avoid overusing nail polish removers which contains acetone which can dry the nails and wear gloves when washing dishes.
Chipping nail polish - Use quality nail polish; cheap nail polish chips more easily. When you polish your nails, be sure to use a ridge-filling base coat, two coats of colored polish, and a protective top coat. These coats keep polish from chipping and help protect nails.
Nail infections - Nail infections may cause itchy, dry nails, blisters, and a loosening of nails. See your doctor for anti-fungal cream or tips.
Bitten nails - Biting or picking at nails can damage them permanently. If you bite nails, coating them with anti-biting liquid can make you think twice about biting.
Hangnails - These bits of dead skin next to the fingernail can be very painful. Trim the hangnail carefully, moisturize nails, and take Vitamin B and C supplements or eat more foods such as green leafy vegetables, peppers and citrus fruits.
Ingrown nails - This painful condition occurs when the nail grows into the skin on the side of the toe. Soak nails in water. Run a soft rosewood stick between the nail and skin to separate. Trim carefully if needed. If nail does not improve, see a podiatrist.
Toenail Tips
Toenails are usually easier to care for than fingernails, since they're never used as tools and thus don't crack or break as often. However, here are some tips on how to care for them:
Avoid walking barefoot in wet areas like public showers or pools to avoid fungal infections.
Change shoes, socks, and pantyhose daily.
Avoid very tight shoes and hose.
Avoid sharing towels, even with members of your family, to reduce the risk of sharing infections.
10 Tips: Keep Your Hands Healthy
Pamper your hands to ward off signs of aging.
Without our hands to create beautiful things, express our feelings, and get things done, we'd be lost. Here, 10 ways to pamper yours so they stay healthy and young-looking.
Wear sunscreen. Hands incur sun damage just like faces do. Don't forget to apply SPF daily.
Exfoliate. Use a grainy scrub on backs of hands twice a week to reveal glowing skin.
Keep cuticles neat. Cuticles function as barriers to bacteria and fungus, but they can often overgrow. Use a wooden or metal cuticle pusher after a shower to keep them in line (and you've heard it before: Don't cut!).
Release tension. Most of us hold tension in our necks and shoulders, but we can also carry the stress of the day in our hands. Give yours a daily self-massage to keep them tension-free.
Share facial treatments. Vitamin C, retinol, and alpha- and beta-hydroxyl acids benefit the skin on our hands. Apply a bit of treatment whenever you use it on your face.
Seal cuticle tears. Tiny hangnails and bitten edges can catch on almost anything, turning into deep tears and possibly leading to infection. Keep them covered by applying a liquid bandage product (try the new one from Band-Aid) as soon as tears develop.
Keep nails short. Long talons tend to look garish, and invite breaks that can be painful. File nails to a quarter-inch above your fingertips.
Give nails breathing room. Experts suggest you take a one-week break from polish every month.
Tap, tap, tap! Believe it or not, tapping your fingernails on a hard surface stimulates nail health and growth. So drum away!
Get a manicure. Sure, doing your own nails is economical and practical, but a professional manicure every two or three months is a welcome bit of pampering. What's more, pros can deal with tough problems like calluses and flaking cuticles better than you can at home.
Do-It-Yourself Nails
8 tips for a flawless manicure.
Home manicures can be great for self-pampering -- and can become frustrating when the results are less-than-polished! The following tips will help you perfect your manicures:
Tip 1: Check your polish.
Old polish can become clumpy and thick, causing uneven application and bubbles. If your polish has become thick, add a few drops of polish thinner to the bottle and shake well. (Note: Don't use nail polish remover to do this!) Or treat yourself to a new bottle.
Tip 2: Start with clean nails.
If yours have traces of lotion or cuticle oil on them, polish won't stick evenly and will chip more readily. Use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol or nail polish remover to clean the surface of nails before you paint.
Tip 3: Begin with a base coat.
A base coat smoothes out nail ridges, and allows polish to go on more evenly. A base coat also protects nails from becoming stained when you wear dark polish.
Tip 4: Watch your brush.
As you remove your brush from the bottle, carefully wipe one side of the brush along the bottle's neck. This removes excess, bubble-producing nail color.
Tip 5: Apply in minimal sweeps.
Apply color from cuticles to tips in three swipes: One in the middle, and one on either side of the nail. You may need to use more strokes, but keep in mind that the fewer sweeps of color, the more even the result.
Tip 6: Clean up as you go.
It's inevitable that you'll wind up with some polish on the skin around your nails. Use a wooden nail stick to quickly swipe away the excess as you go.
Tip 7: Finish it off with a top coat.
A top coat seals the polish onto your nails and gives a high-shine finish (which can camouflage streaks or small bubbles).
Tip 8: Allow ample drying time.
Set aside at least an hour of hands-off time for nails to dry. And remember that while they may feel dry to the touch after that time, nails can still be tacky and more prone to nicking for a few hours afterward.
The 5-Minute Manicure
No time to wait for nail polish to dry? Try this polish-free manicure for neat-looking nails in no time.
Don't have the desire, or the time, to slave over your nails? No problem! You can still have perfect-looking hands with this so-simple manicure:
Step 1: Remove the old polish and wash your hands in warm, soapy water. Use a nail brush to clean under your nails.
Step 2: Dry your hands thoroughly. Use a nail file to smooth any rough edges on your nails. Keep your nails just a bit longer than the tip of your finger. It's an easy-to-maintain length and will prevent nail breakage.
Step 3: Apply a drop of cuticle oil to each cuticle and rub it in with a finger. Then, gently push cuticles back with a wooden cuticle pusher. Don't push too hard!
Step 4: Buff nails with a chamois or three-sided nail buffer. Buff just until your nails start to shine.
Step 5: Apply a thick coat of lotion to hands, rub in well, and you're done!
Do this manicure once a week; between manicures, rub a drop of cuticle oil onto nails to boost shine.
Care for Callused Feet
Trade in calluses for soft, smooth feet.
Summer is definitely callus season! Bare sandals and an increase in activity can cause dead skin cells to build up on the bottoms of our feet, resulting in hard, discolored calluses. Here, some steps to take to prevent them:
Buy properly-fitting shoes. When shoes are too small or too big, they can cause friction against the skin; too much friction causes calluses. Have your feet measured when you buy shoes (sandals included) to get the right fit.
Switch shoes often. Wearing the same stripy sandals for days can increase the likelihood of developing calluses. Instead, wear sandals one day and sneakers with sport socks the next.
Slough calluses daily. A pumice stone or foot file is inexpensive and works wonders at keeping feet soft. Use in the shower, working in small circles against your skin.
Soften at night. A lotion containing a high concentration of alpha-hydroxyl acids adds to the exfoliating benefits of daily shower sloughing. Since wearing lotion on your feet during the day can get messy and slippery, apply a lotion such as PDF Pedi-Cream to feet at night. Cover with socks for better efficacy.
After care and maintain
Always use a basecoat or clear polish before applying a new nail color.
NEVER go without polish...The basecoat/clear helps to keep the seals down and keeps them from drying out.
Use your oil EVERYDAY - several times a day. This keeps moisture on the seals, keeps them from breaking, and in penetrated thru the acrylic right to the nail bed so that peacetime you use it, your nails get stronger and healthier. It also helps the acrylic to cure harder.
NEVER file the sides of your nails - this may break the seals. If they are getting too long, file across the tops only or call me, I will be happy to file them down for you.
Learn to use your fingertips instead of your fingernails to do things with. This may take some getting used to, but your enhancements should not stop you from doing anything!
NEVER blow on your wet nails. You breath is hot. Heat make the polish bubble and tacky.
Cold water is the best nail dryer in the world!
Use non-acetone polish remover to remove your polish. Acetone is what we use to remove the nails with. Prolonged use could start dissolving the nails!
NEVER use sharp implements to clean underneath your nails - these will loosen the
protective area underneath the nail and will eventually cause your nail plate to loosen
from the nail bed causing damage and/or fungus.
There are a few products that I recommend you purchase to properly care for your nails.
1. Solar oil and/or Solar butter 3 times per day
2. Non-acetone polish remover
3. A good base coat or clear polish
It is very important to watch the seals around the cuticle area. If you see any loosening around that area, you need to contact me as soon as possible. This would be a broken seal, and it only takes me a minute to fix it. Letting it go could cause moisture to get trapped underneath that area, and that is the perfect conditions for fungus/mold to start. Also, anything bad that can happen to a nail all start with a broken seal. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GLUE the seal down.
Glue products cause damage to your nails.
If fungus/mold should appear, do not be alarmed, but DO take it seriously, and seek treatment right away! There are two products that I recommend for this condition: They are Tinactin and Lotrimin. They should be applied twice daily until the condition clears. ALSO it is important to keep the affected area as dry as possible as moisture will only make it worse. NEVER leave the condition untreated, as it will only get worse, and it CAN and WILL spread to the other nails. This condition DOES go away if treated, but like a bruise, it will get worse before it gets better. It is NOT necessary to remove the product. However, a separate file must be used on the affected nails as not to spread it to the others. Fungus is a disorder, not a disease, and I may work over it after taking the necessary precautions myself.
After a while, nails tend to yellow a bit. This is a cosmetic problem and is nothing to be alarmed about. If you wish, you may soak in a solution of half bleach, half water for about 15 - 20 minutes until the yellow is gone. If you do this FOLLOW UP WITH TONS OF SOLAR OIL AND LOTION as the bleach is so harsh on the skin. There are also some temporary solution in special yellow-out top coats which I have available for you to purchase. They work quite well, especially for the tanners, however, they are only temporary and once removed, the yellow is back.
Excessive water and chemicals can be a danger to nails. They can loosen the seals, cause dryness to the point of breakage and also cause skin irritation and allergies. Normal hand washing is not a threat, but excessive water and chemicals can be. When ever possible, try to wear gloves...PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT!!!
Caution should be used on zippers, car doors and lighters/matches...Acrylic is highly flammable! (The Nail Doctor)
Cuticle Care
What?s the best way to care for my cuticles?
The number one reason for hangnails is that your cuticles are too dry. When you see ragged cuticles or hangnails, it?s your body?s way of telling you to apply hand cream or lotion. No one moisturizes their cuticles enough. Keep several moisturizers with pumps around the house, and whenever you come across one, use it. It's best not to cut your cuticles. The cuticle is to keep bacteria from entering your body, so it?s best to keep it where it is. But you must groom them. You need is a good cuticle remover to soften the cuticle and an orange stick. After you apply it the cuticle remover, gently push back cuticles with the orange stick. Then move the orange stick in tiny circles around the base of the nail to help remove the dead skin and debris that may be there. Do this at least three times per nail. When the debris is lifted, wipe it with a cotton ball. Then moisturize.