BudgetBeauty

4.28.2011

Step-by-step Nailrescue

Don't you girls hate it when your nails finally look long and pretty and then they just break? I sure as hell do and I have a good solution for that. I do have to apologize for the picture quality, I took these at the end of the day so halfway through it, it got dark. And if that wasn't sucky enough, my camera just wouldn't focus at all. I tried to edit the pictures as much as I could to make them look more usable, but next time I do this routine again I will take new pictures and upload this post again.This will be a very picture heavy and long post! But nail care is a thing that needs to be taken seriously (:


This is.. disgusting!
So to keep your nails from looking this bad and to refrain from nail biting, I have a bunch of tips for you (:

First I will show you what to do when your nails are splitting, breaking or are just really weak.


Remove old polish or failed nail art attempts, make sure you take everything off. As you can see my middle finger nail already broke, that was the whole reason I did this routine again. I almost cried when that happened!


This is what you will need: Nail repair pads, silk wraps or and empty tea bag. I never tried the tea bags though, but I've read that it works the same. A pair of scissors, nail glue, a buffer file, nail oil/nail growth serum, cuticle remover, hand cream. (That hand cream is a miracle worker for super dry hands/skin!) 


Take one of the repair pads/silk wraps or the teabag. I put my finger next to this one so you can see the size. These were designed to "fit your nails" but they don't! So you will have to make them fit yourself. You do this by cutting the desired piece and length for the nail you need. With one strip you can do more than one nail, so cut carefully.


This is still a little tricky to do, since these things have glue underneath already. So it might just be a little bit easier with a piece of tea bag, but I'm not sure of course. Be sure to place the silk wrap on top of a break or on top of a very weak nail. You do this so they won't break and have more change to grow. Once you have them in place you add a layer of nail glue, so the silk wrap becomes more invisible.


And then it got dark...
The silk wraps don't get completely invisible yet. The next step is to take your buffer file and just buff the silk wrap out. Not too much, because then it won't be strong enough, but not too little because then it'll show through your nail polish. Since you're using the buffer file, make sure you do this once a month. If you buff your nails too much they get weak as well and that's exactly what we don't want!


When you are all done with the silk wraps, nail glue and buffer file you wash your hands. Just to get the nail dust and other nasties off. After that you put on some cuticle remover or anything else you use for your cuticles. Let it sit for a few minutes and star pushing back your cuticles with an orange stick. Or any thing else you use for that of course (: This is very important because it'll make your nails grow just that much faster. Remember that your cuticles are one of the most important things to take care for!


After you take care of your cuticles you take something like a nail oil. I used Sally Hansen's Maximum Growth nail & cuticle treatment. It's just really easy to use and it smells really nice. But a nail oil will work just as good! You just brush that onto your nails and cuticles. I let it sit for a few minutes and then I start to rub it into my nails and cuticles. Kinda like a mini massage (: The more often you do this, the quicker it gets and the more you don't mind doing it. Good nail care is the absolute key to long, strong and beautiful nails!!


And last, but not least. Use a nail hardener as a base for every other polish. I use my home made one, with garlic. If you want to know how to do that, feel free to ask (: After the nail hardener dried I use a ridge-filling base coat, to even out the bumps from the silk wraps. I use two coats because that works best. After this you can either leave your nails like that or add a colored polish on top. I do have to warn you that the silk wraps can only take so much nail polish remover before they become weak and useless. If you switch polish a lot, it's best you use one without acetone.

And final, I have a few tips for you to quit nail biting. Or to at least do it as little as possible.
  • Wear nailpolish!! Every day! Make sure you use a good base- and topcoat so it stays on long enough. I don't bite my nails when I wear nail polish, only when I'm REALLY stressed out. Because nailpolish just isn't a nice taste.
  • Chew gum when you're nervous. You will already have something to chew on so the chances are you won't need to bite your nails. Besides, what if that piece of nail gets stuck in your gum? Ewwww!!
  • Tell the people around you you want to stop nail biting. Whenever they see you do it, they are allowed to slap those fingers out of your mouth. It makes the biting even more annoying and you will try not to do it around others.
  • Write down a list why you don't want to bite you nails. Anything to motivate you! And keep those things in mind every time you catch yourself biting. 
  • Have a nail care routine for yourself. Whether you do it on a daily basis or just every time you change your polish, just make sure you treat your nails and cuticles with love. If you do so, they will give you that love back with lovely looking nails. 
  • You will need shitloads of discipline and strength not to bite your nails, especially when you've done it for years. I myself barely bite anymore, but every time I have a chipped nail it's really hard not to. I just remember all those pretty polish blogs and those girl's lovely nails. I remember myself how much more gorgeous most polish looks on longer nails. 
  • And most of all, you just have to keep those hands away from your mouth as much as possible.
I really hope this post will help out some of you (: If you have any questions, leave them in the comments! Oh and if you have any good tips against nail biting, be sure to share those as well!!
What do you like best, long or short nails?

xoxo
Nana


Oh and PS:
I would really, really appreciate if you guys would check out the Benefit Cosmetics NL Facebook page!! And please like the page and be sure to like my picture!!! I entered their give away and the more likes I get the more chance I have of winning. And the more likes Benefit gets, the more prices I can win! (: Check out my picture!!! I'm doing this contest for myself and Wickedskakid, since I really like her blog (: Just please remember to like the Benefit page first, 'cause else you can't like my picture.