Gardening and Nails

Gardening and Nails

There are many of us who enjoy getting our hands dirty in the soil of the earth. I am one of them. Yardwork is fun and relaxing. Harvesting the fruits and vegetables of our hard labor is very rewarding, but what lives in the dirt can be very bad for our nails. Many people get nail funguses from working in their yard. Simply because they are not wearing gloves and fail to clean their hands thoroughly. Especially under their nails. The soil that is left under the nails after handwashing  must be cleaned out, or  the area under the nails will act as an incubator for germs.

After garden work. Look familiar?

If this goes untreated your nails may start to look like this.

This the begining stage of a nail fungus, that has gone untreated. This can be avoided by simply wearing gloves and keeping those hands and nails clean. Follow these simple steps to keep this from happening to your nails.

Easy steps to  keep nails healthy.

1. Thoroughly wash  hands in warm water and antibacterial soap.

2. Use a nail brush or a clean old toothbrush to clean under the nails.

3. Rinse and repeat, be sure that the nails are clean after each rinse.

4. Dry you hands thoroughly. This is very important.

5. At this point you can take an alcohol pad and clean the around the nails, or purchase thymol solution for the nails. This helps kill p germs.

6. Apply cuticle oil to each nail to prevent drying and cracking of your cuticles, as alcohol is very drying.                      Message the oil into the cuticle area.

7. Finish with a good quality moisturizing lotion.

Do this everyday if you work in your garden daily. 

You can have a beautiful garden.........

And beautiful hands.

Before You Put on Those Sandals.....

Please, Please! Before you put on those brand new sandals that you got a great deal on...
 GET A PEDICURE!


Spring and Summer is the time for for open toe shoes and sandals. Men and Women both need to get a pedicure before we show off our feet. There is nothing worst than seeing someones crusty feet and polish-peeling-toes out. I have handed my card to people to get them to come to me if they need a nail tech to correct those crusty feet.  A pedicure can be the most relaxing and satifying experience in the nail salon. If you are one of those people that can't stand to have your feet touched. Do the pedicure yourself. I have always advised my clients to have a foot file in their shower so they can remove the dead skin off their feet and heels in-between salon visits. Just a simple filing of the heels and soles of your feet while in the shower, and applying a good quality moisturizing lotion immediate after you dry off. Trim your nails and file them.
 (Having a good at home manicure kit is essential in good nail maintenance.)
Apply a base coat and polish your toe nails with your favorite color, let dry and your ready for those brand new sandals. Simple! Your at home pedi should last you at least 2 weeks if you followed those simple steps. If you notice a chip, just touch it up.

Now that I've sounded off on those ugly feet. Let me show some photos of the perfect pedi's and nail art. Please ladies and gentlemen get those feet done before you bare them to the world.

Wedding Season is Upon Us.

Yes that's right. Wedding season is here once again. Now that you have your venue, dress and shoes. What are you going to do with those nails. There are so many options. You can do the traditional plain Jane french manicure or you can jazz it up a bit.
As ususal, I have searched the internet for you to find some beautiful nail art for the occasion. From the french manicure to the blinged out bride nails. The choice is yours. Check out these beauties, and decide which bride you want to be. Some of these photos are very simple and you can do them yourself, or simple copy the image and take it to your nail tech and ask if they can do the design for you. Good luck on your big day and have gorgeous nails.

                                

                                          

                     

                       

2013-Brings in Changes to the Gel-Polish Industry

I'm sorry for being missing and not keeping you up to date on the latest products. There is plenty of new stuff this year for our nails, and I'm going to make sure you all are up on it.

The makers of all these gel-polishes have all found out that the gel-polishes are not as damage free as they have advertised. The problem with gel-polishes is the removable. You have to soak off the polish with full strength acetone, which makes the nails weak and thin. Especially for those of us who have to keep our nails looking good. The bi-weekly soaking and removable process takes a toll on our very sensitive nails. Most salons will take time to let the polish lift off by itself, but there are those that rush the process and damage clients nails by pushing or filing the polish off. With that in mind CND (and a few others) have introduced  new lines of gel-polish that do not need soaking, it removes just as easy as regular polish. Just a swipe and it's gone. No UV or LED lights to set it either, for those of us who are worried about skin cancer (even though it has been proven that the lights do not emitt enough UV rays to be dangerous).  CND has made a new polish that will stay on the nails for 1week without chipping, with easy removable. This is great for clients that do not like being stuck with one color for 2 weeks as well. They can change it up and still have long wearing shine and durability. Way to go CND.
The new polish is called Vinylux. This well be a salon only product. Maybe in time it will be available to the public, but we will have to wait and see.

Essie Spring 2013 Nail Polish Collection (Google Affiliate Ad)Essie Grow Stronger Base Coat Polish (Google Affiliate Ad)

OPI Does it Again

OPI recently released their new version of gel-polish, called Gelcolor. I couldn't wait to try it. There was a very long wait to try it though. The released date was pushed back several times.
I finally received my first kit in February and it was very good. I didn't purchase their LED light though. That light is very expensive, retailing at $500. That's too much to put out on one light.
Now OPI has just released their version of MINX. Those nail appliques that self stick to the nail surface. They work with Gelcolor for long-lasting wear and are available in some very pretty designs.
I can't wait to try those out on my clients.

Spring is Coming!!!

Yay!!! Spring is fast approaching. If you live in the south, Spring has really begun for you. Here in North Carolina, we've been having very Spring like weather.
 Pedicures are back! More and more people are wanting to get their Winter dry and cracked skin off of their feet. Time for sandals. For my clients that kept up with their pedicures through out Winter, I applied shea butter to their feet so they wouldn't have a problem with dry, cracked skin. Those people are sandal ready now.
It's never to late to take care of your feet.
Get to your favorite CLEAN salon and get those feet ready for the Spring and Summer sandal weather. Remember to make sure their are using clean implements and a clean tub or bowl.

C.E. Classes

I recently took my C.E.(continuing education) class. Renewal time is fast approaching for North Carolina so do not wait till the last minute. There are many classes going on. Plenty throughout the state.

My class was with an Young Nails educator, and I really enjoyed learning the new techniques and practicing with the products. I'm usually not one to promote one particular product, but I do love the ease of application and the consistantcy of the acrylic.

Prices are good as well. The pro-starter kit is incredible and you receive EVERYTHING you need to do 50 full sets for just $100. Full size containers of acrylic powers, monomers, protein bond, glue, 100 forms, their rose oil cuticle oil, SWIPE their nail bed cleaser,acrylic brush and much more.The Pro- Gel kit is the same price as well.  Awesome deal. Check it out at www.youngnails.com.

They only sell to licensed nail professionals. You will not find their products in any store where anyone could buy them.