NAIL-CARE FACTS

Ofcourse, you care about nails and most likely you do a lot to keep them healthy and good looking but it is not an exception that people unintentionally damage their nails by doing things that are not good for them. Sometimes it is just of pure ignorance, sometimes it is just due to negligence. And the worst is when you go to a “professional” manicurist and the results of your visit are far from astonishing. The following list of activities is not exhaustive but even it is long enough to give you an idea about the traps to avoid.

Diets and malnutrition.

This might not be the most severe way to damage one's nails but probably is one of the most frequent ones. As already mentioned in the other articles, nails are a mirror of the health status of the body and of the nutrition disbalance inside it. Lack of vitamins (B, C, D, etc.) and minerals (zinc, iron, etc.) shows on the surface of the nails. Yes, very often you can hide the trails under the polish but when your nails become brittle, for example, then no polish can help.

Frequent use of nail polish and nail removers.

People are different in their reaction towards nail polish and nail removers. Some ladies can apply nail polish and removers for decades and still have strong and healthy nails, while others begin to suffer from stains and brittle nails if they use nail polish more than once a month. There is no doubt that cheap nail polishes with unidentifiable chemical composition are a real danger to one's nails but even with expensive, designer brands some people continue to experience negative effects. Acrylic nail polish removers are especially harmful and generally health experts recommend to use them at most once a week.

Nails are not an opener or another household/office tool.
Even though nails look tough enough, they are too fragile to be used as an opener (using your teeth instead is also a bad idea). Paper clips might not be that hard but sure they are hard enough to cause damage to your nails. Pinching things with your nails to pick them also sounds crazy but a lot of people do it, instead of grabbing the thing with their fingers. As you see, there is no shortage of mechanical ways to damage your nails.

Nail biting.

If you can't damage your nails enough by nail polish or in a mechanical way, nail biting is just for you. Well, the only positive aspect of nail biting as far as nail care is concerned is that nails grow faster because of the trauma you inflict them but certainly this is hardly a comfort.

Fungi and infections

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There are numerous diseases that can damage your nails. Sometimes nails are damaged by a general disease but most often a local infection, fungi or another nail disease are the reason for their poor looks. Nails are relatively difficult to infect under normal circumstances but sharing towels (or shoes, slippers, socks and other items that can in contact with the toe nail), or using not sterile instruments for manicure or pedicure pose a risk for transmitting an infection or fungi.

Cutting cuticles.

Besides towels and instruments, cutting the cuticles is another way to open the door to infections. Even a minor cut alongside your nail is enough for bacteria and fungi to sneak it and stay there for a long time. Probably because of the possible health implications, cutting the cuticles is illegal in some states.

Toxic substances.

Although it is unlikely that anybody sane will use toxic substances knowingly and willingly, it does happen that many people use them – most often without being unaware of this. Toxic substances of all origins leave trails on the nails. But it is really sad to see somebody who has damaged his or her nails in the course of beautifying them. There were times (still not over for sure), when beauty saloons used toxic substances like methyl methacrylate (MMA) for liquid monomers in artificial nails. The long-term result of these fake nails was really unpleasant for the eye. Besides toxic substances that come together with nail cosmetics and procedures, different poisons in the food, air and the body itself also leave a mark on the nails. Some therapeutic procedures (like those involved in cancer treatment) have a really devastating effect on the nails but when one's life is at stake, the look of his or her nails is of minor importance

Nail Polishes Facts

When one says “nail”, the word that most often goes together with it is “polish” because the small bottles of colored nitrocellulose can safely be named one of the symbols of the 20th century and it is more than certain that they will have their place, though probably with altered chemical composition, in this century as well. It is unknown what percentage of women regularly use nail polish but it is a safe bet that more than half of the women on Earth use it at least once a month.

Colored nail polishes were invented in the 1920s and the first nail polish was launched by Revlon. Though the chemical composition has changed over the years, the main formula is the same. Basically, a nail polish is made of nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent, to which various pigments are added. Some of the other ingredients of nail polishes include methacrylate and vinyl polymers, formaldehyde, camphor, acetone, ketone, toluene, suspending agents, etc. Since not all ingredients are harmless and some are known to cause cancer and other diseases, or are simply poisonous to breathe, nail polish manufacturers have seen pressure from the public to change their formulas.

The chemical composition of nail polishes is close to that of car paints, which constantly raises questions, but it looks that environmental issues alone are not convincing enough for consumers to stop using nail polishes. Probably the demand is too high and the fact that it is technologically impossible to make a nail polish out of natural ingredients only, make nowadays nail polishes acceptable to people.

Nail polishes come in different colors. There are manufacturers that offer more than 100 shades! There are also transparent nail polishes that only add gloss and protection to the nails. Also, there are many crazy nail polishes with huge chunks of glitter in them but they are harder to apply and often the glitter fades away after a couple of days. No matter what color you have chosen, the techniques for applying it are the same.

After that brief introduction to the history and chemical composition of nail polishes, let's get down to some interesting and useful facts, like:

To preserve nail polish for longer periods of time, keep it in the fridge. Also, avoid leaving the bottle open because this way you not only make it dry but you expose yourself to the poisonous substances it contains.

If the smell of nail polish makes you dizzy, you can go to the terrace and apply it there. When you are in the open, the smell is less suffocating. In any case, ventilate the room properly, after you have finished polishing your nails.

Even skilled manicurists spill drops of nail polish on the bottle or on the table. If this happens to you, remove the drop quickly because it will leave permanent stains on the table. If you don't remove nail polish drops from the top of the bottle, the bottle might become glued shut.

The most professional way of making manicure is to make a base coat, two layers of nail polish and a top coat. (Manicure secrets are revealed here.) Each layer must be thin and done in three strokes. Top coat can be applied daily (if the layers under it are intact, of course) and this way you can prolong the life of your manicure.

When you apply nail polish, don't mistake it with paint. Being generous is not good because the thick layer of polish might not dry out for a long time and additionally, a thick layer tends to be uneven and falls quickly.

If you want to minimize chipping, “wrap” the polish – i.e. paint a little across the edge and under the nail tip. This thickens the polish and increases its changes to stay for longer.

Don't use nail polish if it is old. The shelf life of nail polish is 2 years in general, so if you have older polishes, just throw them away.

Polished nails don't like water. So if you need to wash dishes for more that 15 minutes, rubber gloves are indispensable.

Most nail polishes are flammable, so avoid placing them, even for a short time, on things like cookers, heaters, etc.
If you are fed up with traditional (i.e. one color) nail polish, you can try nail art. Nail art combines two or more colors, arranged in a shape (i.e. vertical lines) or includes small figures painted on the nails and it can be really fun, especially for teenagers. Of course, if you are an important business lady, having hearts painted on your nails is hardly a good idea but for everybody else who can afford a crazier look, nail art is great.

Courtesy: Internet