Nail Tech Secrets

Teri, at PrettybyNature has a great post about SpaRitual’s Nail Elixirs - they are Vegan, and also free of DBP, toluene and formaldehyde. I have a renewed interest in these polishes after seeing how well they can perform! Go check out what Teri has to say about them…

There is a video online this morning, from the show, and this accompanying article, focusing on the death of Kimberly Jackson, from an MRSA infected pedicure bath.  I think the article is the transcript from the video, in case you can’t see the video - if not, it is very similar.
ABC News: Drug-Resistant Staph Tops [...]

Wrap your hands up in a towel to retain the heat for as long as possible, sit back and relax for 15-30 minutes (or as long as you feel like sitting there—the longer the better). When you are ready, just remove the plastic, the paraffin will probably slip right off with it, and throw [...]

Dip Method
If your paraffin appliance is big enough, AND IT DOESN’T GET TOO HOT, you can dip your hands in the paraffin. One hand at a time, dip slowly into the paraffin, making SURE it is not too hot. Once your hand is in, down to just past your wrist, pull it out and [...]

If you have just done your Spa Manicure, or your facial for the hands, your hands are covered in a nice lotion or moisturizer. If not, then do this right now. Use lots of lotion, rub it in, and add more if it soaks in. Massage your hands until they will not absorb any more, [...]

My paraffin instructions are geared towards the DIYer, but there are now lots of options for you to buy a paraffin unit for home use. The one pictured above is the HoMedics ParaSpa Mini Paraffin Bath, with Adjustable Temperature Control PAR100, available at Drugstore.com. You can also easily purchase the HoMedics ParaSpa [...]

Put a nice large towel or some newspaper down to cover your workspace. Paraffin doesn’t damage things too much, but it is a pain to scrape off the inevitable droplets. Using whatever appliance you have chosen to warm your paraffin, turn it on, and make sure it is on the lowest setting. Add [...]

Once again, a paraffin treatment ideally should be done at Step 5 of the Spa Manicure, but it can be done as a stand alone treatment anytime. Better to do it alone than to not do it at all. Also this can be done at the end of the Facial for the Hands, instead of [...]

If you wish to continue on with your manicure at this point, go on back to Step 6 of the Spa Manicure for instructions. If you are just giving yourself a treatment, then you are finished, let the moisturizers soak in all the way (don’t wash them off) before you get into anything with your [...]

As if you don’t feel like you have enough cream on your hands already, it is time to add some more! A moisturizer is important to combat dryness, which contributes to the “crepe-y” look of older skin. Once again, I use two, the first of which is a Vitamin C cream, and the second is [...]