How I care for my nails/hands.

I am fairly new to all this stuff, Well a year now but I started really getting into it around November 2010. I started caring for my nails in April maybe even a little later. 

Moisturizing 

First off I must say moisture is number one in caring for you hands and nails. 

Lotion is my best friend and should be yours too. I prefer lotion with SPF in it because not only does it protect your hands from the sun but SPF is great for keeping the skin looking younger. Plus some SPF lotions make your hands look a lot healthier in photographs.

E-Cream is a great way to get all the vitamin E you need. I will use this when I haven't used lotion all day or the cold has made my hands rough or dehydrated. 

Solarbalm from Creative Nail Design is another great product. However I don't like how the texture it feels against my hands. I try to use this as less as possible because it is sadly discontinued. 

Sometimes I will put lotion on and then I will put gloves on to keep the moisture in. I also suggest putting lotion on after washing hands, hand sanitizer even though I recommend not using those as much, showers, and dishes.

Cuticle care

I use Gel Cuticle Remover from Sally Hansen. I apply this to each of my nails then I will go back in and push all of my cuticles up. After those two steps are done I will go back and clean my nails with a nail brush but an old tooth brush will work too. You can get Gel Cuticle Remover for around $5 

If I have any scraggly cuticle skin left I will remove it with a metal cuticle trimmer but they aren't cutters. If their is still any left I will go back in with the gel.

J.R. Watkins Lavender Hand and Cuticle Salve is my favorite so far. I will put this on if I don't want to deal with any of the other steps. This stuff is amazing and I really need to look into the full size. Maybe a different sent like Lemon. My sister gave me this so I am not sure of the price but I know it can be found at Kroger, Fred Meyer, and I want to say ShopKo. 

Extras

When cutting my nails I make sure my nails are weaker than normal by showering or soaking your hands in water infused with oils. 

I never I repeat I never file my nails back and forth up and down and up. File in ONE direction only. Otherwise you run the chance of breakage or something else.

Once a week I love to buff my nails. After this my nails are naturally shiny but not only are they shiny they make nail polish stick a lot longer. Also if you see some peeling or what appears to be cuticle don't rip or mess with it just buff your nails and it should be fine.

I use a miracle growth serum that makes your nails grow within 5 to 7 days. I don't believe the hype but I use it because it moisturizes my nails perfectly.

I will use a pair of tweezers to kind of cut extra skin that doesn't need to be around my nails. 

A moisturizing base coat is a must. Then I top with a strengthening top coat.

I make sure that my nails are clean whenever putting a new manicure or anything for that matter on my nail. I use a pointed q-tip to clean my cuticle area.

I am very careful on my nails and I would even suggest taking biotin or hair and nails pills. Those might help with strengthening your nails. I thought I would tell you what I do to my nails to make them look semi good. I used to be an avid nail biter so I used to have the worst nails in the world.

These are just tips tell me if you try anything I have listed or what you do.



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Pam <3