In this day and age, there are definitely more than enough ways to decorate your nails. Walk into a beauty shop and you'll find nail polishes in every colour, emery boards, fake nails in different shapes and sizes, clippers, buffers - it can all seem so confusing...
And that's where I come in! Today I'm giving you an all-round guide to beautiful nails, and a few simple tips for decoration. Nails can be a good indicator of your overall health, so healthy nails will never go out of style.
- Always eat lots of protein. Perhaps this sounds simple, but great nails really do start on the inside! Nails are made of protein, so if you don't eat enough, they'll split, layer or break much more easily. Eat your protein and you'll have nails of steel. And while you're at it, you'll also get healthier hair, stronger muscles and better skin - win all-round!
- Drink lots of water & stay nourished. Again, fom the inside out! Nails tend to need the vitamins put together in vegetarian supplements, as they're found mostly in meats so vegetarians don't always get enough. Dark leafy vegetables will help with this too. And again, these will also help your hair.
- Invest in some good supplies. Prepare yourselves - the list is long! Then I'll tell you what to do with each of them.
- clippers
- emery boards/metal files
- buffers
- orange stick
- cuticle trimmer
- wooden cuticle pushers
- cuticle cream/ointment
- hand cream
- strengthening base coat
- coloured nail polishes
- acetone-free nail polish remover
- cotton wool pads
- pre-soaked nail polish remover pads
- plasters
- nail glue
- Take good care of your hands. This means washing them where appropriate using a mild handwash, and moisturing afterwards with hand cream. Especially in the winter months, the constant switching between air conditioning, radiators and cold outdoor air can take its toll on your skin. Once a week, soak them in some warm water and moisturising bath milk and use an intensive moisturiser.
- Pay attention to your cuticles. These are the little ridges where the end of your nails disappear into your fingers. They're also prone to dryness and will benefit from a soak as well. Afterwards, use a cuticle cream on them to keep them soft, and gently push them back into an oval shape with some disposable wooden cuticle pushers. At this point you should be able to see if there's much excess - too much cuticle can be ugly! If they protrude too much, you can trim them with a cuticle trimmer. This is a stick with a steel swallow-tail shaped blade on the end - it's very sharp! To use it, gently push it around in the direction of your cuticle to remove the excess skin. Be very very careful! Cuticles are important in keeping your nails healthy and too much trimming can be detrimental. Also, you should never be able to feel the blade cut - if you can, you're cutting into your finger, not your cuticle, and believe me it hurts! If you do end up with a little nick, gently wipe it clean with some warm water on cotton wool and cover with a small plaster.
- Trim your nails regularly. This might sound contradictory if you're trying to grow them, but it does help - if you have a little rough bit on the end of a nail, it can catch and rip, and then you'll end up with even shorter nails - that, or it could rip into the fleshy bit, which is painful. At home, begin by using clippers to cut your nails down to the same length and trim away any damage. Then use a nail file to smooth them into shape - always file from the outside edge towards the middle of each nail. This sounds tedious, but it really makes a difference!
- Prepare your nails. You've taken care of the skin on your hands, your cuticles, and the shape of your nails. Next, use a nail buffer to smooth away ridges on the nails and give them a healthy sheen - they may not even need polishing afterwards! I use two - I have a slightly rougher one by Icing that I use to smooth them off, and a more plasticky one from Ms Manicure to add shine. They have to be used in a certain order - sometimes they're numbered (as in the case of the Ms Manicure one), sometimes you have to feel for which side is rougher (such as with the Icing one) but mostly it should say on the packaging. These are also useful for running over the edges of your nails after filing - they can help strengthen them. Again, stroke the buffer in the same direction as you did for the filing.
- Orange sticks - useful for everything! These are little sticks with a block of soft plastic or rubber on the end, in a tapered circular shape. They can be used to push back the cuticles, to clean under the nails, or to neaten a French manicure - immediately after you've painted the tip white, use it to carefully rub away any excess and neaten the look.
- Begin to paint! Always use a base coat - they serve to protect the nail from the harsher coloured polishes, can keep the polish in place for longer, and you can buy some kinds that help to strengthen the nail and stop them from breaking off. Leaving 10 minutes between each coat of polish will give you a much better finish and make them less likely to rub off when you think they're dry. An easy way to do this is to watch TV - paint your nails in the commercial breaks and leave them to dry during the main programme. So, having left it 10 minutes since your base coat, carefully apply one or two coats of your main colour (again, 10 minutes in between if you're doing more than one coat!) and finish with a clear top coat. If your base coat is clear, you can use that. Leave it a little longer after your final coat to make sure they're dry before you do anything.
- Refresh regularly. Try to leave it a day or two between polishes - nails need time to breathe. This is where having buffed nails comes in useful! To remove, use an acetone-free nail polish remover as this is gentler on your nails. You can also buy pre-soaked pads for on-the-go usage. Afterwards, it's always a good idea to wash and re-moisturise your hands and cuticles. Also useful for when you're out and about are plasters, files and nail glue. If you happen to break a nail, it's always best to deal with it before it rips any further. If it's a little chip, you may just be able to file it down and be done with it. If it's bigger, it can be useful to apply some nail glue, used for applying false nails also, and smooth it down with an orange stick. Clean the orange stick afterwards with some nail polish remover. This is particularly useful if it's ripped into the fleshy part of your nail, where it can't be clipped or filed. When the glue is dry, or if you can't seem to be able to master the technique (nail glue takes some getting used to!) then put a plaster on it carefully to stop it from catching on anything.
And there you have it! Your basic guide to tantalising talons! One word of caution - your friends will be jealous!
"Beauty is the sole ambition, the exclusive goal of Taste."
~ Charles Baudelaire
Loves you muchly,
Your fairy godsister, Pixie Choux
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