The Nail Nerd

Now we're finally up to one the fun parts of this series, at home manicure! This will be as a step by step guide to walk you through a good weekly manicure routine for natural nails, but of course most of it can be implemented on artificial nails as well. I'll try and explain things along the way but if something isn't clear just ask, or maybe you can find the answer in one of the previous articles, you can find the links at the bottom of this post. Let's get started!

Preparation
Start by removing old polish, don't forget to clean under the free edge. To affect your nailplate as little as possible try not to rub while removing polish. Moisten a cotton pad or ball, gently press against the nailplate and hold until the nailpolish is dissolved then swipe towards the free edge. For nailart items, glitter polishes or other hard to remove nail polish you can wrap the finger tip in aluminium foil instead of holding the cotton down. This will prevent the remover from evaporating before the polish or nail glue is fully dissolved. Use a cotton bud or a orange stick wrapped with cotton to remove any polish that might be under your free edge.


Filing, Shaping the Nails
The aim of filing is to shape the nails without causing damage to the nailplate. Make sure you have a good file or emeryboard (you can read more about nail files in Part 3). Hold the nail file lightly between your thumb, middle finger and index finger, never apply pressure while filing, let the file do the work. Holding the nail file at a 45degree angle, leaning the bottom part towards your finger tip, start filing in one direction only, from the outside corner towards the middle. Sawing back and forth across the free edge can distrupt the nail plate layers and cause splitting or peeling. Some say the ideal shape of the nails should mirror the shape of the cuticle i.e. oval cuticle should have a oval free edge. I personally think you should pick the shape you like and feel comfortable with.
Here are the most common nail shapes:

Round Nail Shape
A round nail shape will give your nails strenght and a natural look. Start by filing the lenght down as much as you want, file off the corners to make them round and make the curve of the free edge smooth and rounded.

Square Nail Shape
A square nailshape has a straight free edge with smooth corners. This shape is fairly strong and is a popular shape. To get a square nail shape you have to file down the free edge to the length you like. Make the side of the nails straight by holding the nail file along the side wall. Finish by slightly curving the corners and smooth the free edge.

Oval Nail Shape
The oval shape is probably the most classic and elegant shape but unfortunately it makes them easier to break. To make an oval shape you start by filing the lenght down as you like. Start shaping the nail by creating an arch from the side wall to the top (middle) of the free edge. Make sure you get both sides symetrical, creating a smooth oval, egg shape.

Squoval Nail Shape
Squoval is a fairly new shape that is becoming more and more popular, especially for longer nails. It's a mix between square and oval with the straight side walls but the tip is rounded or oval instead of straight. Start by filing down the free edge to the lenght you like. Make the sides straight by holding the nail file along the side wall. Depending on how much of a rounded tip you want, start a little bit down on the side wall and start making an arch towards the top (middle) of the free edge, make sure you start at the same spot for both sides to make the curve symmetrical.

When you have achieved the shape that you want, smooth and seal the free edge by using a 3-way buffer. This will seal the layers of the free edge to prevent splitting or peeling.


Cuticle Care
There are a number of ways to remove the lose skin around your cuticles. Here are the ones I find the most gentle but effective.

Removing cuticles without a specific product.
1. Soak your fingers in warm water for a couple of minutes. Add some aroma oil or liquid soap to the water to help cleanse and relax you fingers.

2. Thoroughly wipe your hands

3. Apply cuticle cream, oil or lotion to the entire cuticle line and rub it in.

5. Use a cotton bud or orange stick wrapped in cotton. Dip it quickly in water to make it damp and gently push the cuticle back and by using circular movements removing the excess skin.

6. Wipe off excess creme.

Removing cuticles using a cuticle remover
There are various types of cuticle removers, make sure you read what it says on the product you have as the directions might be slightly different.

1.Apply the cuticle remover all around the cuticle area and soak your nails for a few minutes in warm water.

2. Remove the fingers from the soaking bowl and start removing the lose skin by pushing the cuticles back using an orange stick or a metal cuticle pusher. Do not use downward force as this might damage your matrix. Keep in mind that you only want to remove the dead skin, not break the seal between the nailplate and the nailfold or damage the live skin.

Some removers are already watered out and you do not need to soak before starting to remove the cuticles. Just apply, wait a little bit and start pushing your cuticles back and soak your fingers afterwards to clean your hands and make sure there's no product left on your fingers.

Never soak your nails for longer than 3 to 5 minutes. Soaking longer than that will fully saturate your nails causing the nail plate to swell. Once the plate returns to it's normal shape any nail polish that is applied will crack and chip.

If you have hang nail it's best to use a cuticle nipper and gently, following the curve of the cuticle, cut the dead skin off. Be careful so you do not cut any live tissue.

At this point you may want to exfoliate your skin. Gently massage your scrub product all over your hands for a few minutes. You can use olive oil and salt mixed together if you don't have a scrub or just like to do things yourself.

When you are all done wash your hands using liquid soap and a nail brush, don't forget the underside of the free edge! Moisturize using a regular hand lotion.


Buffing
If the nail plate is ridged or otherwise uneven you may wish to smooth it using a buffer. Buffing also makes your nails shiny and will seal the nail plate making it more durable if you do not wish to use nailpolish. If you're going to apply nailpolish and your nail surface already is smooth you can skip this step.

Whenever the nail plate surface is filed in any way, even with a buffer, it should be filed in one direction only. Buff from the matrix towards the free edge, by moving in the direction of nail growth you don't disrupt the nail plate layers as you would if you used a sawing motion or moved from side to side. Keep the speed under control, if you start feeling heat in your nail it's time to slow down or the nail might get dehydrated.

Once you have buffed all nails, using all 3 sides of the buffer apply some cuticle oil and gently massage in all around your cutucle area. I like to put a few drops of olive oil in an eggcup, heat it in the microwave and apply that. The warm oil feels great!


Applying Polish
Applying polish sounds easy enough, but there are a few things that are good to think about.

Start off by removing any moisture, oil or lotion left on your nails, as the polish wont adhere properly to an oily surface. Wipe your nail plate with a cotton pad damp with nail polish remover or a 'prep' product. Don't forget the underside of the free edge.

Always use a basecoat as this will prevent staining and also make the colored polish adhere better to you nails. As I've mentioned in previous articles, nail polish protects your nails from water and fully saturated nails is a bad thing. I always apply basecoat to the under side of my free edge as well, it helps them keep their shape and not curve from constantly being saturated and dehydrated.

Start applying the colored nail polish by painting a little bit of polish on the free edge, the very tip of the nail. This will bind together with the rest of then polish preventing tipwear and chips for a longer period of time.

Starting from the center of the nail, touch the brush right before the cuticle line and carefully push up the polish towards the cuticles leaving a small space, ideally the width of a hair but do more if you need to, then stroke down towards the free edge. Draw the cuticle line with the corner of the brush and stroke down towards the free edge on both sides of the middle stripe. 3 or 4 strokes should be enough to completely cover the nail, additional stroking might lift and move the enamel leaving behind streaks and/or bare spots on the nail surface. It's important that the polish do not touch the cuticles or surrounding skin as that will dehydrate the skin and block the nail folds from absorbing necessary moisture. If your hands don't feel steady or if you for other reasons have a hard time getting that little gap you can clean it up afterwards using an orange stick or a toothpick.

Repeat the previous step and do as many coats as needed for the polish to be opaque and even.

Finish off by applying topcoat! Using a slow drying top coat will make the color more vivid as slower evaporating solvents produce brighter colors. Using a polish dryer that blow air on your nails might lower the adhesion and gloss of your polish.
I'm personally a fast-dry topcoat junkie, when I paint my nails I want it to be done fast! And changing my color almost every day it doesn't matter if it would start losing brightness versus if I had used a slow drying topcoat. Some fast-dry topcaots migth cause shrinkage or cracking, it's a whole science and it has to do with how your body react to the ingredients. So try different products until you find the right one for you! Might be something to think about if you want to wear your manicure for as long as possible.

Now when you're all perfectly polished, finish up with a little bit of cuticle oil and you're good to go!


Links to previous articles in the Tip and Toe Care series:
Part 1: The Nail Anatomy
Part 2: Nail Growth
Part 3: Natural Nail Care

Time for part 3 of my nail care series. This time it's natural nail care tips and a list of good-to-have products!

Natural Nail Care
Now that we fully understand the nail structure and how the nail grow it's time for some nail care. There are a few things you can do to improve the health of your nails, some of which I've mentioned earlier. I wont be explaining much in this post as I feel much have been thoroughly explained before and some things are for an upcoming manicure post, where it will make more sense. This post is more to prepare for the real manicure.
If you have any questions just post a comment or send me an e-mail and I'll answer it as fast as possible :)

Keep your hands moisturised, the skin and nails are constantly bathed in natural oils and moisture but excessive hand washing, using cleaning detergents, weather and other every day factors will dehydrate the skin resulting in dry skin and split and peeling nails.

Wash your hands and nails regulary, using a brush, to remove any dirt or bacteria that might be under your nails or around your nailfolds. Remember to moisturise afterwards.

Wear protective gloves while gardening, doing dishes or cleaning to protect your hands and nails from strong detergents.

Regulary use cuticle oils or cremes. My own favourite is to heat up some olive oil and massage in to my cuticles, it will absorb fast into the skin and the warmth from the oil feels great.

By pushing the cuticles back you remove dead cells and make the nail plate look longer.

Use a nail file instead of clippers when trimming the nails as clippers might cause the nails to crack or weaken. To cut a bigger length off the finger nail use scissors and file the last bit. More about filing in the upcoming manicure post.

Do not use your nails as tools!

When removing polish try not to rub as that will disturb the nail plate. Moisten a cotton ball or pad with remover and gently press down on the nail plate. Hold until the polish is dissolved and swipe toward the free edge. For glitter polishes, nail art, as bullions or rhinestones, or other hard to remove nail polishes and items I soak a cotton pad, place it on the nail. Wrap the finger tip up in aluminium foil and leave it for a minute. This will prevent the remover to evaporate before the polish is fully dissolved. Then just swipe towards the free edge and the nails should be nailpolish free. And the best of all, no pesky glitter stuck on the surrounding skin!

It's important to keep the toe nails clean as bacteria are more likely to grow on the feet than on the hands.

Scrub the feet once a week to prevent skin build up and to make them smooth and nice.

If you already have build up, use a wet pedi rasp in the shower after the scrub. More about this is an upcoming pedicure post

Apply foot cream or rich body cream right after showering. The skin will absorb the moisture better while it's still a little damp.

Toe nails are harder and can often handle the pressure from nail clippers, but it's more gentle to file and it will strengthen the nails further.

Don't forget the toenail cuticles. Push them back regulary and make sure you massage the foot cream around the nail walls and cuticles, not just on the soles of your feet.

To soak your fingers and nails, softens the cuticles and cleans the nails. This can also be used for hot oil manicures. If you don't want to buy a professional contoured finger bowl (they're pretty cheap on e-tailers) you can use a regular glass bowl or dish that fits the size of your hand.

To use with the finger bowl. It's a good idea to use a soap with anti-bacterial properties.

A small brush designed to clean your nails. Use with warm soapy water and scrub the surface and underside of the nails to remove dirt, bacteria and pathogenic organisms that won't come off when only washing the hands.

Exfoliator or Scrub

Using a scrub will remove dead skin cells and make your skin look younger and fresher. I like to make my own with salt and olive oil or a rich creme.

Used to moisturise your cuticles and surrounding skin. I personally prefer oil as I refuse to use silicones and mineral oils on my skin which are common ingredients in cuticle and hand cremes, but each to their own. It's best not to listen to much to others and just try different products until you find what works best for you.

Orange sticks are used to push back the cuticles, but also for correcting imperfections when applying nail polish or cleaning under the free edge of the nails. They are normally made of orange wood, but there are also plastic ones to buy.

The nipper is used to remove excess cuticles or hang nails without pulling or harming the surrounding skin.

Nail clippers has a cruved cutting edge and are designed to quickly cut the lenght of your nail. Nail scissors have a small curved blade and are mostly designed for use on finger nails. It doesn't apply as much pressure on the nail as clippers do.

Nail files come in many shapes and sizes, for natural nails it's best to use a glass/crystal file or a emery board with a high grit number. The higher the number the smaller the grit. If you use a file with a too coarse grit you might shred your nail plate, causing it to split. Many emery boards you can find at your regular drug store have a grit of 80 which is way too coarse for use on natural nails. It's recommended to use a file with a grit number higher than 240 for natural nails.

Buffers
Same thing with buffers as files, they come in various grits. Don't use one with a lower number than 240 on your natural nails. The regular '3-way buffers' normally have a grit higher than 3600 and are safe to use on the nail plate to smooth it out and give it a glossy surface.

Used to gently remove skin build up and soften hard areas on the soles of the feet.


Links to previous articles in the Tip and Toe Care series:
Part 1 The Nail Anatomy
Part 2 Nail Growth

Sources:
My own knowledge
Marti Preuss - http://www.hooked-on-nails.com
Minnie Matsumoto - http://www.create-magical-nails.com
Various other websites where no author or sources were mentioned,
therefore I do not know who to credit.
If you recognize any of the material posted here as yours don't hesitate to contact me.

Nail Growth is a topic that is discussed quite often, especially when it comes to how fast the nails grow. There are many factors that affect the nail growth. I will try and cover it all in this post.

As you might remember from part 1, the nail plate is created by the matrix and the size, shape and health of the matrix will reflect on your nail plate. The matrix produces keratin cells which it keeps pushing forward creating the nail plate, making the nail "grow". As they grow out the keratin cells lose their inner material and become flat, hard and transparent. The oldest cells are the most compact making the nailplate harder the closer to the free edge it gets.

Many factors determine nail growth and each finger nail will grow at a different rate. It's most common that the middle finger grows the fastest and the thumb slowest, as a rule, the longer the finger the faster the plate will grow. People who use their hands a lot often experience a faster growth rate and the nails of the dominant hand normally grows faster than the non-preffered hand. As the matrix shape and size vary from person to person so will the growth rate. Heredity, health, diet, weather and age are also factors that affect the rate. The nail tends to grow faster when we're young and gradually slows down. Growth is accelerated during the summer and slows down during winter. Males have a faster growth rate than females, sorry ladies. The normal growth rate is about 0.5mm to 1.2 mm per week and around 3mm per month. Factors that will slow the growth rate could be poor circulation, malnutrition, serious infections and certain medications. There are a number of other health issues that also will affect the growth rate.
Some people believe that eating certain food or using special creams or oils will increase the growth rate but there are little evidence that eating any particular food will make the nail plate grow faster. Creams and oils are sometimes sold as growth accelerators but these claims are false. No cosmetic product may claim that it can alter or change any natural body function, only medical drugs can make such claims. Although the matrix do require certain nutrients for proper cell production and the surrounding skin, the nail folds, needs to be moisturised to fully protect the matrix and avoid infections.

The Building Blocks
As mentioned earlier the nail plate is made up of keratin cells. Keratin is a type of protein composed of amino acids. The proteins are kind of like links of a chain and they tie together as cross-links that gives the nail plate strenght. Natural oils and moisure that the body produce form the cement to hold the nail plate cells together giving flexibility to the nailplate.

Many equate nail strenght with hardness, but nails are only strong if they have a combination of strenght, hardness and flexibility. Look at it like glass, it's a hard material but since it lacks flexibility it can easily be shattered.
Hardness measures how easily the nailplate is dented or scratched, flexibility determines how much the plate will bend and strenght shows how likely the plate is to break under force. Thoughness is a combination of these three properties.

Many factors will affect the levels of flexibility and strenght. Water content will affect the flexibility of the nail, the water content of the nail plate varies between 10% to 30%. Water absorbed into the nail causes the cells to shift and sometimes to change shape. Repeated or prolonged exposure to water dehydrates your nail plate and can result in dry, split, brittle or peeling nails. Nail polish and oils will prevent both loss of water and excessive water absorbtion and encourages flexibility.
Household solvents will also have a drying effect on the nailplate, but in most cases it is only temporarly. Though during prolonged contact it's a good idea to wear protective gloves

Eat healthy food and a varied diet. Get all your proteins, vitamins and minerals!

Use nailpolish (yay!) and cuticle creams and oils, more information about this in a upcoming manicure post.

Regulary buff your nails if you don't wear nail polish, details on the proper buffing technique will be in a coming article (will link to that here when it's written and posted)

Keep your nail folds moisturised and healthy

Don't use your nails as tools! (Thanks Lucy!)

If you're a smoker you might want to consider quitting. Smoking affects your blood circulation and therefore the health of the matrix.

Wear protective gloves when doing dishes, cleaning etc.

You can improve the health of your nails and the nail growth rate, but never more than what your body naturally would produce.

The nails grow 0.5 to 1.5mm per week.

The middle finger nail grow fastest and the thumb the slowest.

There's no such thing as a "growth accelerator", it's all fake.

Nailpolish is actually good for your nailplate as it protects it!

Nail toughness is a combination of strenght, hardness and flexibility.


Stay tuned for the next part when it's time to go through some actual nail care! Woo!


Links to previous articles in the Tip and Toe Care series:
Part 1 The Nail Anatomy

According to an article in Nailpro Magazine, the desire to have long beautiful nails first began during China's Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when aristocratic women grew their nails up to 10 inches long as a sign that they performed no manual labor. To protect their nails, they often sheathed them in gold or silver. Chinese men also grew long nails as a sign of their masculinity and to protect themselves from evil.

What can you do to protect and improve the health of your nails?

I wanted to make a little guide on how to get strong, healthy and beautiful nails without going to get professional manicures. I noticed pretty early on that the guide wont be so little, there's just so much I want to fit. I decided it's best to take it apart into smaller parts and post them all seperatly, like a little nail care series. So, here goes!

The nail is more than just the nail plate. I will walk you thru all the parts of the nail.

This is where it all starts, it is the only living part of the nail and contains nerves and blood vessles. The matrix is in fact the root of the nail. This area is hidden and protected by the Proximinal Nail Fold. The matrix produces keratin cells that make up the nail plate. As more and more cells are produced the older ones are pushed outwards and flattened, all this pushing and flattening results in the cells losing their original white plumpish appearance. They eventually become transparent and become part of the nail plate.

Apart from producing the keratin cells that make up the nail plate, the matrix also determines the shape and thickness of the nail. The overall length of the matrix will determine the thickness of the nail; so the longer the matrix the thicker the nail. A short matrix produces fewer cells, as a result a thinner nail. Matrix shapes and sizes vary per person, a flat matrix will produce a flat nail and a curved matrix will produce of course a curved nail.

The matrix is the most important feature of the nail unit. Damage to the matrix can cause permanent damage to the appearance of the nail.

The Nail Folds
As mentioned previously the Proximal nail fold protect the Matrix. The Lateral nail fold is an extension of the proximal nail fold and protects each side of the nail plate. The skin does not just end where the nail plate starts it in fact folds at the edges and continues beneath. This continuing skin acts as a protective barrier, it protects and seals the matrix against bacteria and dirt.

The Eponychium
Normally referred to as the cuticle, but it isn't. It's the visible part of the proximal nail fold that appears to end at the base of the nail. The eponychium attaches closely to the nail plate and moves with it as the nail plate grows. This extra growth of eponychium is generally freed and pushed back during a manicure. The eponychium’s function is to act as a barrier seal to stop bacteria, infection from getting to the matrix.

The Ptygerium/True Cuticle
We are constantly shedding dead skin cells throughout our daily life, the nail folds are no exception. The eponychium will shed a thin, colorless layer of skin that rides on the nail plate and appears to grow from under the proximal nail fold. This needs to be removed regularly in order to prevent a build up.

The Lunula
The lunula is the opaque pale white 'half moon' at the base of the nail. The lunula is the front end of the matrix. The whitish color comes from keratin cells that have not yet been completely flattened and still have some of their content. Not everyone has visible lunula’s, it is normally more prominent on the thumbs. The shape of the lunula determines the shape of the distal edge.

The Distal Edge
The distal egde is more commonly reffered to as the free edge. It's the end of the nail plate, the part that is shaped during manicures and pedicures.

The Nail Plate
This is the visible portion of the nail that sits on top of the nail bed. It is made of keratin protein formed by amino acids. These proteins are a strong, flexible material made from many layers of dead, flattened cells. Hair and skin are also keratin protein; however, they are much softer and more flexible.

The Nail Bed
The nail bed is made of two types of tissue: dermis and epidermis. The dermis is the lower portion which is attached to the bone, while the epidermis lies just underneath the nail plate. The epidermis moves forward with the nail plate and is attached to the dermis by tiny 'rails and grooves' that allow the nail plate to move, much like a train rides on its tracks. As we age, the nail plate becomes thinner and we see evidence of the 'rail and groove' as vertical ridges in the nail plate.

The Hyponichium
This is the portion of skin at the end of the finger underneath the free edge, where the nail plate separates from the skin.

Conclusion
The matrix is the only live part of your nail and damage to that might cause permantent damage to your nailplate.
The matrix is different from person to person and can't be manipulated, but you can care for it and get the best possible nails your body can produce.
The nailplate is made out of dead cells and the only way to affect the health of it is thru the matrix.
The matrix and the surrounding skin are the most important parts to keep healthy.
The "half moons" are a a part of the matrix showing thru your nailplate, so be careful!

Whew! That was all! The most boring but also most important part is done!

Stay tuned for next time when I'll walk you thru Nail Growth.
How fast does a nail grow?
Can you make it grow faster or stronger?
You will get the answers to that shortly!

Sources:
My own knowledge
Marti Preuss - http://www.hooked-on-nails.com
Various other website where no author or sources were mentioned,
therefore I do not know who to credit.
If you recognize any of the material posted here as yours don't hesitate to contact me.