Nail Tech Secrets

Keep an eye on your fingernails like you keep an eye on the rest of your body for signs of bad health. Nails will often show disorders or at least will give you clues before something really bad happens. Look out for these things from Cybernoon.com:

Your fingernails hold clues to your health. Learn to recognize the signs that might indicate a health issue. Some nail conditions are harmless. These include vertical ridges, which may become more pronounced as you age, and white lines or spots. Spots usually result from injury to the nail plate or nail bed. In time the white spots will grow out.
Other nail conditions can indicate disease. For example, yellow or green discoloration in your nails may result from a respiratory condition, such as chronic bronchitis, or from swelling of your hands (lymphedema). Indentations that run across your nails, called Beau’s lines, appear when growth at the area under your cuticle is interrupted. This might occur because of an injury or severe illness, such as a heart attack.
If you have a nail problem that persists or is associated with other signs and symptoms, make an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out. The doctor’s visit typically includes an examination of your nails along with other observations and tests to make a diagnosis.

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From USA WEEKEND Magazine:

Here are the signs of a fungal nail infection — just remember the word YUCK:
Y Yellow discoloration of the nail bed
U Under the nail bed, a buildup of skin
C Cracking of the nail
K Keratinization, or thickening of the nail

You are always best advised to go to the doctor. However, the treatment for nail fungal infections is medication that is extremely harmful to your liver and you will need to have your liver checked periodically if you choose to take the medicine. It is also a long term medication that you often must take for nearly a year. Some home remedies that I have used for fungal infections are Lotrimin cream, Vicks VapoRub and Tea Tree Oil. Use each twice a day. And if the infection gets worse, go to a doctor immediately.

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This is an article which is in response to a BBC reader/watcher’s question about why her fingernails are turning green. In a situation like this, ALWAYS go see your doctor. This is probably a fungal infection, but you need to be seen by a doctor. No questions asked. Go.

BBC - Health - Ask the doctor - Fingernails - green
If your nails are getting very soggy from being in damp conditions, then the natural defences of the nail become weak and more easily breached by fungi or even moulds. These are present throughout the environment but normally can’t penetrate the barriers of the body’s immune defence system.

However the usual picture is for infection to start away from the nail bed, rather than in the bed or base of the nail as in your case, and to then cause a brittle, distorted, creamy/grey/yellow nail. The fungal infection (known as onychomycosis) is usually caused by the same sort of fungus which causes ringworm in the skin (mostly a group known as the dermatophytes).

Onychomycosis is common and often accompanies a fungal infection elsewhere in the body. It’s very difficult to cure - you’ll need to take antifungal tablets for at least six weeks to get high doses into the growing nail until the infection has grown out (although there’s a new treatment which is in the form of a nail varnish which you paint on).

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Essie has the pastel trend all wrapped up this spring with the launch of their Wedding collection, 6 shades for the perfect french manicure or the sweetest full color nails!

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OPI has been my favorite nail polish since Jessica sold out - but really, as I have said before, you can use just about any nail polish color as long as you use an exceptional base and top coat. This is their Mexico Collection, for Spring and Summer 2006:

You can buy OPI polish and other treatments at drugstore.com

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Julyne, the beauty guide at About.com (do you love About like I do??), wrote a little bit about nail polish for the spring. Via Allure magazine, Julyne reports that the hot colors are pastels, with women from different parts of the country having different preferences:

Women in big cities like New York & Las Vegas are buying pink for spring (try Revlon’s ‘Blushed’ or Chanel’s ‘Natural Pink), while girls in the South opt for purple (a light purple — try Wet ‘n’ Wild’s ‘Lilac Champagne’ or Sephora Girl in ‘Blackberry Purple’).

Those of you who have gotten to know me will probably realize that although I am a Southern gal, I do loves my pink - raaaaally I do!

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I am finally back - I have been gone due to an extraordinary amount of work with my “real” job with b5media. Things are moving like wildfire over there and between writing eBeautyDaily and PittWatch and my job as the channel editor for the Lifestyles and Women’s channel (approximately 40 blogs and their respective bloggers) at b5media, my free time has been at an extreme minimum.

I have joined Glam.com over the weekend - if you are not familiar with Glam, you should be - it is an awesome network of fashion (and now beauty) related blogs from all over. Some of my favorite blogs are members (Tia Williams’ Shake Your Beauty, for instance), and there is so much to see at Glam, I am discovering new things all the time. I am super excited that they wanted me to join, so here I am, and welcome to any new readers who may have found yourself here from Glam!

Time to get back to the nails, there are new spring colors everywhere (including from all of the nail companies!)!

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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 Group’s ‘Hit List’

Once again, PLEASE make sure that if you are getting salon pedicures, to make sure your nail tech is not using a tub with plumbing, and make sure that whatever they are using is properly santitized.  To learn more about MRSA and antibiotic resistant infections, see my other web sites at MRSA Resources, MRSA Forum, MRSA Blog, and you can read our personal story at MRSA Story.

Also, antibiotic resistant bacteria can be picked up easily from athletic facilities and simply from contact with other people.  To protect yourself, follow basic hygiene rules:  Wash your hands frequently, do not share personal items, and cover your wounds and avoid contact with other peoples wounds.  Also, eat right and get plenty of rest so your immune system stays in tip top shape and visit your doctor regularly for checkups and routine bloodwork that can give you a heads up if you have any immunosuppressant illnesses that will give this bacteria an opportunity to thrive in your body.

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Just like on your hands, you must make sure that all of the lotion is off of your toenails before you even begin to think about polishing them. Use a towel to get most of it off, pushing down your toenail towards your cuticle just like you did with your nails. Get into those grooves! When you have rubbed off all of the lotion you can get with your towel, take your cuticle nippers and only cut off what is sticking up and BEGGING to be cut off. Remember scar tissue, and only cut off what is necessary. Just like your fingernails, you cuticle will quickly become trained to stay back, and any thick parts will respond well to your treatments and slough off fairly quickly.

Take some acetone on a gauze pad and wipe off your toenails, again, being careful of your painted fingernails. Now, here is a trick that I love. You are going to use a paper towel to separate your toes for polishing. Take one full sized paper towel and roll it up tightly into a long cord. Weave this cord in between your toes, beginning underneath the big toe and bringing it up through the space between that toe and the one next to it. Weave it all the way through your toes (on one foot only, please), ending under the pinky toe. Both ends of the cord should be under your foot, so they wont accidentally get into your polish. This works a lot better than the manufactured “toe separators,” which have a tendency to move around and eventually get in the way of polishing, or even worse, mar a finished polish job.

You are now ready to move on to the Polish That Lasts section, but remember, unless you go barefooted A LOT, do not use topcoat. And, let those toes dry for a LONG TIME before you put shoes on them!

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Put each foot back in the bath for a moment, and wash off the leftover salts. Dry your feet off, then get out your favorite good smelling lotion or cream. Give yourself a great foot massage. You think someone else can give a good foot massage, well, you are the best. You know where it feels good, so do it! Gently pull on your toes, and massage your muscles in your toes. Dig your thumbs in to the arches of your feet, and push up towards your toes and see how good that feels. When you are finished, with the first foot, make sure there is still some cream on it, and wrap it in plastic wrap and stick it in between your heating pad for about 15 minutes while you massage your other foot.

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