Start of my Nail Journey...

With Christmas fast approaching and all the hustle and bustle of the season, I have really been neglecting my nails. So the first entry to my new Beauty blog will be about my nail regimen. I am fortunate that because of my genes, if I take some care, my nails don’t have any trouble growing to extremely long lengths (equivalent to a 5-6 on a Tami Taylor nail form). My mother’s nails have always been long and strong. So last night I sat down and gave myself a manicure and will continue to document my progress with pictures included. I found my high school graduation picture (25 yr+ ago) and you can see from that picture that I had long natural nails.

My regimen may seem a bit extensive, but again, as the name suggests, “For me, it works.”

Nail Regimen (approximately every 2 weeks or as needed)-Updated on 1/6/2011:
• Soak nails in warm soapy water to soften cuticles
• Apply cuticle remover, and let sit for 4-5 minutes
• Push back cuticles, being careful to clip, not pull any imperfections
• Buff and shape nails using buffer and crystal file.
     o Buffing the nails, helps remove ridges, but be careful not to over buff, it could thin the nail
     o Crystal files seal the edges of your nails whereas the old school emery boards leaves the edges raged and prone to tearing
• Oil cuticles; do a quick hand scrub/exfoliate
• Careful to remove excess oils from nail beds
     o Oils on the nail beds, prevent polishes from adhering to the nail bed
• Apply 2 coats of Nail treatment (Nail Life), let dry - Available at Sally Beauty
• If applying polish, apply Base Coat (Gripper), let dry - Available at Sally Beauty
     o Base Coats help prevent deeper/darker polishes from staining your nail beds
• Apply two coats of polish, let dry about 4-5 minutes
• Apply top coat, let dry about 4-5 minutes
• Apply Nail dryer - Seche Vite Fast Top Coat, my new love. Drys my nails super fast!
• Nightly, before bed, apply cuticle cream/oil and hand lotion
     o Cuticle cream helps to maintain soft cuticles
     o For Cuticle Oil, I mix my own, Jojoba, Almond, & Vitamin E oils, mixed with Peppermint & Lemon Essential oils
     o The nightly massage helps with the circulation of blood and increases growth