Archive for December, 2005

29
Dec

Facial for the Hands: Introduction

We are going to start talking about the Facial for the Hands, which incorporates all of the special spa treatments that you are likely to find at the salons. Our main focus in the manicure was your nails, and making them look great and be ready to hold polish for 2 weeks. Our focus now is on the skin of your hands and forearms, and your goal is to get them exfoliated, moisturized and smooth as a baby’s bottom.

Generally you will begin this process at Step 5 of the basic spa manicure, although you can always just do this by itself, anytime.

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21
Dec

Going on Christmas Hiatus…

Merry Christmas!

Since we are at a good stopping point, I am going to go on to my Christmas hiatus, as my mother and brother are coming tomorrow and I have a whole (albeit, small) house to clean, and Christmas dinner to plan. Oh yeah, and shopping to do!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and I will be back with regular postings next Thursday, the 29th of December, when we will start talking about how to do the special hand treatments they offer you for big bucks in the salons, at home!

Merry Christmas to all!
Love,
Christina :)



20
Dec

The French Manicure

If you are not aware, the only difference between a “regular” manicure and a French manicure is the polish. With a French Manicure, you are going to use a flesh colored polish over your whole nail, and a one of variety of colors of white polish on the tip, and sometimes the moon. You can do this on fingernails as well as toenails. The French Manicure has been popular for a very long time on your fingernails, and is currently extremely popular for the toes.

Choose your flesh colored polish carefully, taking note of your skin color. If your skin color is warm (you look and feel your best in yellows, oranges, browns, or the lighter shades of these colors) you will want to choose something peach colored. If your skin color is cool (blues, purples, fuchsia, black), you will want a light pink shade.  You have many choices in the white department too. There are whites that are very translucent, and very opaque. There are ivories and snow whites. Generally speaking, if you are a warm skin tone, you will choose an ivory, and a cool skin tone will want a white. If you are more dramatic personality you will want a more opaque white, and if you are more subdued, a more translucent shade will suit you best. Of course, you are free as a bird to choose what you like best!   Just use this as a guide if you have not decided what you like as of yet. Here is a post from eBeautyDaily that talks a little more in depth about colors.  After applying your base coat, you want to apply two coats of flesh colored polish, using the three stroke technique I described earlier. At this point, I will suggest that you let your polish dry for about 10 minutes before you begin with the white. 

The best way to do your white tips is to really support both hands, and starting at one side of your nail, swipe the brush slowly across the tip of your nail, following the natural line where your nail separates from the tip of your finger. The most important thing here is supporting BOTH hands. I rest the finger that is to be painted on the edge of a table, and the heel of my working hand either on the table, or sometimes somewhere on the hand that is getting polished. Hold them very still with the edge of the lightly loaded brush on the starting side of the nail and gently rotate the finger that is getting polished under the brush. You might find a better way to do it, but this is what works well for me, especially when working with my non-dominant
hand. Allow the white polish to dry for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the topcoat, as the topcoat brush will often pick up some white and paint it onto the flesh color. Not pretty!

If you would like to paint the moons, start at one side, just like the tips, and with the very tip of the brush, paint a teensy moon on your nail right next to the cuticle, and if you have moons there naturally, right over them. Wait until your polish is totally dry to clean up any mess on your cuticles. Mess on your cuticles is pretty much unavoidable when painting moons!



20
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step Four: Top Coat


I am assuming you are using Seche Vite, or Out The Door. You will probably find these topcoats to be thicker than you are accustomed to; this is ok, and normal. You will be amazed at how quickly these polishes dry, even though they are so thick. They also will help dry the bottom layers of your polish.

With topcoat, you want a nice even coat, applied not so thick that it globs, and not so thin that it leaves streaks and holes. You may have to load your brush a few times to get the hang of how much polish to leave on there, but your aim is to have enough polish on the brush to cover the entire nail without re-dipping, but not so much that it wants to drip before you put the brush to the nail.

When you first pull your brush out of the polish, you will want to wipe off the brush on the sides of the rim, just like you did with the base coat and the polish, and then redip your brush to the top of the bristles. If there is a big drip getting ready to come off the brush, let it drip back into the bottle, if not, then go ahead and apply to your nail. You should be able to get your nail coated in the same “three strokes” manner as your color, but if not, that is ok. Be absolutely sure to run the brush across the tip end of your nail, this is the coat that you do NOT want to forget to do that with.

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19
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step Three: Color!

Unlike other people that might tell you to let your polish dry between coats, I am going to tell you to put it all on in one fell swoop. Polish is chemically designed to bond together, and as it all dries, it forms a coating that is much more durable if it all dries together. I promise that your nails will be dry enough to function just as quickly this way as they would be if you let your polish dry between coats.

The application of color is slightly different than that of the basecoat. Prepare the bottle by rolling it across the table, or between your palms, turning it upside down a time or two. NEVER shake your polish; this will almost definitely cause bubbles to appear in your polish. Prepare the brush the same way as you did the base coat, wiping the brush well when you first pull it out of the bottle, then redip the brush just to the top of the bristles. This time, rather than just letting that first drop go and then applying the polish, you want to slightly wipe one side of the brush against the rim, leaving just slightly less color on the brush than you did with the base coat. As you might expect, you will be putting thinner coats of color on than you did with the base coat.

Strokes to polish your nails
Starting again with the pinky of your “right” hand, apply the color in three strokes only, the first down the center, and then one more on each side. Again, always start right next to the cuticle and pull the brush straight out, all the way off the end of the nail. After you have your three strokes done, run your brush across the tip end of the nail, just like you did with the base coat. Over my 18 years of doing nails, most of my clients have told me that they have never had polish stay on like mine does, and also that I am the only manicurist they have ever had who polished the tip ends of the nails. See the connection?

Now, the polish is going to look streaky and terrible to you now, and most mistakes in polishing are made right here, when people try to make the first coat look perfect. Just let it go for now. I promise the next coat will make it look much better. Go for that second coat, just as soon as you are done with the first one. Do it exactly the same way, remembering to coat those ends! Doesn’t it look much better now? If you are doing your toenails, STOP HERE! If you are doing your fingernails, then you are ready to immediately carry on to the Top Coat step.



19
Dec

Polishing Toes

You do not need a topcoat when polishing your toenails, in fact, the extra thickness will make your polish chip easier due to the pressure from your shoes. A base coat and 2 coats of color will do it, as long as you make sure you get those ends coated! I make a mess of the ends of my toes when polishing, and let the polish on my skin just wear off, to avoid messing up the rest of it. After one shower, it is all gone. If you are doing your toes for a special event, do them a day or two beforehand, and let the polish naturally come off of your skin, and they will be perfect looking for a LONG time to come!



16
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step Two: Base Coat

You should have already chosen your treatment base coat, for dry nails, brittle nails or the elusive normal nails.

Do not shake your base coat bottle, but turn it upside down slowly just a couple of times. Pull the brush out of the bottle, wipe the brush off on the rim of the bottle, making sure there isn’t a lot of polish running down the neck of the brush, then dip the brush back in just to the top of the bristles. Let the drop of polish that will want to come off the brush come on off, but other than that one drop, you want your brush nice and loaded with polish.

Starting with the pinky of your “right” hand (your dominant hand – this could be your left hand, if you are left handed!), paint a coat of medium thickness on your nails, beginning right next to your cuticle, and pulling your brush straight out, all the way off of the end of your nail. Be sure and cover your whole nail, from side to side, and cuticle to end, always going from cuticle to end, never putting “plops” of polish down, then spreading it out. When the top of your nail is covered, take the brush and slide it right across the tip end of your nail, coating the edge with base coat. If you have any spots that want to run, wipe them off and do them over. You will get the hang of this quickly.



16
Dec

Dealing with polish bubbles!

Examine your base coat closely, even under a magnifying glass if you have one. You want this coat to be nice and smooth. You may see that you have lots of tiny bubbles on your nails when you apply the base coat. If you see this, you must remove your polish, and go back to the 4 way buffer and rebuff your nails. Your nails are made up of layers, and until your top nail layer is smooth (as opposed to looking like a microscopic cheese grater) these tiny bubbles will pop right up through your polish and you will end up with a very rough looking polish job that will have very little going for it in the way of durability. Catch this problem now, with the base coat, before you see it coming through the polish as the whole thing is drying.



15
Dec

Polish That Lasts! Step One: Clean, Clean, Clean!

Your hands and nails should be nice and clean and dry and ready for the application of Polish That Lasts now. Double check to make absolutely sure your nails are completely free of oils. This is probably the MOST important reason your polish might not wear well. If you have any peely spots on your nail, go over them one more time with your 4 way buffer, and if you did not buff your nails during your manicure, do so right now, starting with the most abrasive side and finishing with the smoothest side, being sure to cover the whole nail surface lightly. This will make a tremendous difference in the overall look of your polish, I cannot stress it enough.

Make sure you have everything you might need for the polish sitting out (don’t forget your cuticle pusher and acetone to clean up the inevitable mistakes), and anything you might need in the next two hours handy. Yes, two hours. When you are happy with the look of your nails, put some acetone on a gauze square, and go over your nails one time very well, getting into the grooves on each side of your nails, and underneath as well. This will cause any bit of water left in your nails to evaporate, and will clean off any unseen residual oils from your Spa Manicure or Treatments.

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15
Dec

Polish That Lasts! - Introduction

Polish That Lasts!
Today I will start the series called Polish That Lasts! Please feel free to leave comments or email me anytime with any questions, or any need to clarify something. It is hard sometimes to get down in words what would be much easier to show you one on one, so let me know how I can help!

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12
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Seven: Prepare to Polish

Go to the bathroom and use that scrub brush and the liquid soap and warm running water one more time. Get all of the oils off those nails, top, sides and underneath. Dry hands and nails well with a towel, pushing cuticles one more time. Check for missed cuticle as well as ragged edges and take care of these things now, as we are preparing to polish!

Take a gauze pad with just a little acetone to dampen it, and quickly go over the nails (don’t forget the side grooves and underside). Now you are ready for polish! If you are at a friends house, or you need to go somewhere within the
hour, make sure your keys are handy and everything else you need is as convenient as possible. Go to the potty (don’t laugh, that is how I mess my nails up most often, by far!).

Stay tuned to learn about Polish That Lasts!



12
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Six: Final Cleanup

When you are finished with whichever treatment you choose, take your lap towel and with your finger behind the towel, give those cuticles a push back and you will find a good deal of any remaining cuticle rubs off. Get the lotion out from under your nails and out of the groves on the side of your nails. At this point, go over the surface of your nails with your 4 way buffer, starting with the most abrasive side, using it lightly, and ending with the smoothest side, which you will use with a little more vigor. Make sure that you completely cover your whole nail surface, from cuticle to tip end and from side to side. When you are finished with this, your nails should be smooth and pink and glossy all over. This is important for your polish to look its best for the longest time, and it increases circulation in your nails which is good for their (and YOUR) overall health. With your cuticle nippers nip ONLY what is sticking up and begging to be clipped off. You may think that your cuticles are thick and ugly, but just wait until they are filled with scar tissue from live skin being cut off.



12
Dec

About clipping cuticles and cutting calluses

Whoever started the clipping all of the way around of cuticles was not thinking straight, in my opinion. Any thick cuticle that you have will slough off given a little time, and be replaced with newer, moister, more attractive skin. This goes for calluses from writing and working with gardening tools as well. A much better solution for these extremely rough and/or tough areas is to put your nail file to them, and file a little away each time, to speed up the sloughing process.



09
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Five: Treatment choices

At this point there are a couple of things you can do, or you can do them both. This is also the time where you could perform the treatments that I will talk about when we are finished with the Basic Manicure, the Facial for the Hands and/or the Paraffin Treatment. I will include these two treatments here because they are simpler, require much less preparation and mess, and go with a basic spa manicure easily. You can prepare a salt scrub by putting a couple of tablespoons of salt in a small dish. Cover the salt with your oil, and a drop of essential oil, if you wish. Massage this into your hands for several minutes. Don’t skimp on the time. A good deal of the difference between a plain old manicure and a spa manicure is the activation of your senses through touch and smell. This is the essence of a currently popular, VERY expensive treatment. The popular version smells delightful and exotic, that is the only difference (well, besides that ours cost a few pennies, theirs costs about $30 for an 8 oz jar. You can slip your hand into your warmed mitts or your heating pad if you wish here. I have mixed feelings about this service however. From what I know about chemistry (which is relatively limited), salt pulls moisture out of your cells, and that is not my idea of a great idea for more moisturized skin. Nevertheless, this treatment remains a very popular service; give it a try if you like, the salt IS an extremely good exfoliant. When you are finished, wash up one more time, using your scrub brush to get each and every salt granule off of your skin and out from your nails. My preferred treatment for almost everyone, including myself, is to rub your favorite, preferably wonderful scented, lotion all over your hands and wrists, really give yourself a good 5 full minute massage, wrap them up with a sheet of plastic wrap and slide them into the heated mitts/heating pad for about 10 minutes. There is no need to rinse your hands yet.



09
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Four: Push Your Cuticles Back

Going back to the first hand, put it back into the warm water for about 2 minutes. Remove it, dry it off, and then spray the fingertips with a spray or two of your Blue Cross Cuticle Remover. This is the best product out there (if you didn’t get that earlier—I am not a representative for them at all, just a very satisfied customer). With your metal pusher, GENTLY push your cuticles back. Spray more Blue Cross as your cuticles dry out. Watch for the cuticle skin that is very tightly attached to your nail. This is what needs to be pushed back. If this is a first time manicure, you may have a thin tough layer of cuticle grown nearly all the way up your nail. Scrape off what you can scrape off, and push back what you cannot scrape off. If you are fighting with this step, put your fingertips back into the warm water for a few minutes, then spray some more Blue Cross on them. Do not obsess about this, more damage can be done here than anywhere else in the manicure process. This skin will become trained to stay back after a few manicures, and your work here will be greatly minimized. Whatever you do, do not push back cuticles so aggressively that you cut your skin. Save clipping with cuticle nippers for later. Repeat with the other hand.



07
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Three: File Your Nails

Squoval - the strongest fingernail shape

Place the fingertips of one hand in the warm, soapy water. After about 30 seconds, remove your hand and dry it off well. With your file, file in one direction only for strength and to avoid peeling nails. I recommend a length no more than 1/3 of the length of your nail bed, and a shape that is relatively flat on top with slightly rounded edges. The ideal shape of your nails should approximate the shape of your cuticles. Turn your file on its side and do a quick scrape of the underside of your nail edge to remove “fuzzies,” then bevel the nail edge slightly by running the file lightly across the underside of the nail edge. Look at your nails from behind (palm facing you, fingertips up), and you can see much easier which nails might need to be shortened to match the others. Repeat with other hand.



07
Dec

Nail Shaping Tips

Looking from behind is the best way to ensure that your nails are not filed unevenly. Your nail bed does not always give a true guide to follow. Another helpful tip is to hold matching fingers from each hand together, nail to nail (pointing down), matching them up at the cuticles then checking at the free edge to see if their lengths match. If you would like to wear your nails more rounded, be very careful not to file away the sides of your nail - that is where the strength lies. They will be very fragile without the sides. The nails that look best rounded have longer nail beds and are more curved from side to side. A wider flatter nail does much better if left in a “squoval” shape.



07
Dec

Spa Manicure Step Two: Remove your polish

If you are doing this for the first time, you may or may not have polish on that needs to be removed. If you do not, no traces at all, then skip on to the next step. If you do:

Use the 2×2 gauze (or paper towels—remember NO COTTON BALLS) and acetone to remove your polish. Watch that furniture! Get it out completely from under your nail, and out of your cuticles and off of your skin. No stained fingertips allowed here! And get that stuff out of your cuticle area. Again, be a little aggressive here. Wash up quickly one more time to get those chemicals off of your hands. This time bring back your bowl filled with nice warm water and a squirt of liquid soap.



06
Dec

Spa Manicure - Step One: Prepare your work area

Prepare yourself and your work area

Disinfect metal implements and your scrub brush. Follow the directions on the package for strength and timing of your solution. This shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to soak them, and give them a rinse off. Gather together everything you need while they are soaking. Find a place to do your nails where there is good light, and no chance of ruining anything with acetone. As it is so handy for lots of things around the house, it is also so damaging to furniture finishes!! A kitchen counter is great, if you have comfortable seating, or I use my glass dining room table (but must watch out for the upholstered chairs). Sometimes I spread my things on my bed and bedside table and have at it while socializing with my husband at night. The light there stinks, but the socialization is great—Thank God for men who don’t cringe at the smell of nail polish! Lay a towel under your work area nice and flat, and have one in your lap. A hand towel (not a fingertip towel) is the perfect size. If you keep one for your nails, you can get polish on it, nail glue, whatever, and it just doesn’t matter. Just wash it every once in awhile—it will get dirty. Take off all hand and wrist jewelry. Scrub hands and under fingernails vigorously with the nail brush. Get some circulation going there!



06
Dec

Lighting

Lighting is IMPORTANT, most especially when you are first learning to do your nails. In fact, it doesn’t hurt ever to take a good look at your “naked nails” under a magnifying glass or through some weak drugstore reading glasses. A lamp with an adjustable neck is great for focusing right on your subject. If you happen to be a crafter or a sewer, you might have one of those full spectrum task lights. This is your very best choice (and a great thing for your Christmas list!).

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06
Dec

Keeping Supplies Together

I strongly suggest that you keep as many of your supplies together as you can, in a basket or plastic box of some sort. I keep my things in a picnic basket that is lined with cloth and has a place for 2 wine bottles. These hold my lotion and polish remover that need to be upright, and my brushes for doing art and artificial nails. The main part of the basket is filled with a goodly bit of junk, but all of my current favorite polish colors, and all other supplies. I only rarely have to risk messing up my newly done nails to go find something I’ve forgotten.



06
Dec

Basic Nail Anatomy

Before we get into the gory details of the spa manicure, I want to start by showing you a “map” of a fingernail, identifying its parts the way I will refer to them in this blog. I am not going to bother you with “proper” terminology, because those words are useless in real life. If you start talking about eponychia, parionychia and hyponychia, your friends will run, and no one but a doctor and a few educated nail techs will know what you are talking about.

Basic Nail Anatomy



05
Dec

Disinfectants

You probably don’t know this yet about me, but I am a huge stickler for sanitation, made even more paranoid about it because of my husband’s near fatal battle with MRSA last year. One of the truly great reasons for doing your own nails is the avoidance of bacteria that will thrive in a salon unless very stringent precautions are in place and followed. Did you know that the procedure for sanitizing a pedicure bath is very intensive and time consuming, and that many salons out there are not doing it properly? The jacuzzi type footbaths are nearly impossible to keep disinfected because of their plumbing. Anyhow, about disinfectants:

You can purchase your disinfectant at the beauty supply (the one you will find most readily is called Barbacide), or you can use rubbing alcohol. The advantage of the beauty supply disinfectant is that it will not cause your tools to rust, where alcohol can. Be sure and follow the directions that come with your particular disinfectant, and if you use alcohol, soak your tooks in it for 10 mnutes, and then rinse them off with water and be darned sure you dry them off completely. Then, store them in your tupperware container. Also be sure to spray your surfaces (pedicure tubs) after using them as well–let the disinfectant/alcohol sit for 10 minutes (or according to package directions) then wipe down with a clean paper towel and store. You don’t have to worry as much about your own bacteria, your body is used to dealing with it, but a good disinfecting routine will never hurt you, and might just protect you if you were to cut yourself at some point. Be absolutely sure to disinfect if you are sharing your tools with anyone, even a family member. You want to do it to protect them as much as yourself.

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05
Dec

Paraffin

Paraffin
For the paraffin treatment, purchase a block of paraffin at the grocery store for next to nothing. If you have never seen it, go to the section with the canning supplies. I will tell you how to put this all together a bit later, but use the oil from your basic spa manicure, and if you wish, go to the health food store and purchase a tiny bottle of essential oil to add to your paraffin bath to scent it. Peach and lavender are used in the salon most frequently and are the safest. If you venture out beyond these oils, make sure that the oils you choose will not be irritating to the skin. Hopefully the salesperson at the health food store will be knowledgeable enough to help you here, if not, find another store or do your own research.



05
Dec

Plastic Wrap

The new Press N Seal wrap is GREAT for this, and a whole lot less messy to work with by yourself, but any will do. You can also use gallon size plastic food storage bags. These will be used to protect your heated mitts and towels from paraffin and lotions and oils, and to keep the good stuff going into your hands and feet rather than anywhere else!



05
Dec

Facial supplies

The facial supplies are almost identical to the treatments you will receive at the spa. Use what you have lying around in your “unused beauty drawer (make sure it hasn’t gone rancid though!)”, or make this a good excuse to try something more luxurious than what you have been using. Your skin will thank you! Be sure that if you use products for acne, that you try something else for your hands, as these are medicated and not intended for the luxury moisturizing that your hands need.



05
Dec

Salt and Oils

The salt and oil are used for a scrub similar to what you receive with a spa manicure at WAY less than you pay for at the spa. More about this when we get into the spa treatments!



05
Dec

Polish color

Brand and color are your preference. I have found that if you use a quality base coat and a quality top coat, then you can use whatever brand of colored polish that you choose. My preference is Jessica or OPI, but truly, just about any of them will do. Make sure that the polish doesn’t need any more than two thin coats to look its
best. I have used the cheapest drugstore nail polishes on clients in the past with great results, but sometimes polish intended for little girls is watered down so much that to get good color coverage you need three or four coats. You want to avoid this polish completely.



05
Dec

Base and Top Coat

Jessica Nail Systems

You will need a quality base coat specific to your nail type, the color of your choice, and a top coat. Jessica Nail Systems have released their line to the public now, and in my opinion their treatment base coats are the very best. Jessica can be purchased through the link above, or at many local drugstores. Nailtiques (a professional product, supposedly available in salons only, but I find it in the drugstores almost all of the time now) is a great product too (albeit expensive!). NailTek is less expensive, but just as good as Nailtiques, in my opinion. The most important thing is to get a base coat specific to your nail type. If your nails are prone to peeling get a treatment for dry nails, if they are thicker than a normal nail and not very flexible, choose a treatment for brittle nails. Of course, if you have those often sought after “perfect 10,” then choose a base coat for normal nails. I always recommend you purchase another base coat for normal nails to use every other time you polish, as treatment base coats tend to overcorrect
if used all of the time. I also recommend Seche Vite topcoat for all nail types, if you are not willing to pay for that professional only product (again, you can find it at the drugstore most of the time), you can get Out The Door, which is pretty close, at your local beauty supply and a lot of drugstores.



05
Dec

Lotion

Choose a good rich lotion that is meant for very dry, even cracked, skin. Neutrogena makes a great one, Cetaphil cream (above, from Drugstore.com) is great for sensitive skin (and is non scented for sensitive noses). I have become a fan of Zim’s Crack Cream (which is really an oil rather than a cream) recently. My father in law swears by Neutrogena. I have always liked Nivea as well. For a more luxury experience, look for rich body creams made by perfume manufacturers in the department store. I use Calvin Klein Eternity body cream when I can get it in a gift with purchase package, or buy unscented Cetaphil cream and add some of my favorite perfume to it. Never underestimate the power of fragrance. Go with a lotion with no fragrance before you use something with a fragrance that is not soothing and sensual.



05
Dec

Blue Cross Cuticle Remover

Blue Cross Cuticle Remover

This is - bar none - the best cuticle remover on the market. Blue Cross is super inexpensive, but can, again, be a bit hard to find. Again, Sallys Beauty Supply carries it, and you can sometimes find it in a drugstore. This is an inexpensive product, and the best one made. Don’t even bother with the drugstore varieties, they are worthless and will dry your cuticles out in the long run.

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