Some Quick Nails Care Advices

• Removing Fake Nails In order to get rid of fake nails, you have to soak your nails in an acitone based nail polish remover until the fake nails peel off. If you try to get rid of them other ways, you may ruin your nails. Using fake nails will damage your nails but removing them incorrectly will make the damage much worse. Soaking is the only solution!
• Removing Fake Nails
• Ii is always suggested to go to a nail salon and have them soak the artificial nails off. They use acetone or a nail polish remover that has acetone in it. The technician can watch to make sure that you don’t soak too long and help you remove the nails. If you must do it yourself, then I suggest you purchase a polish remover that has acetone and a conditioner. You will need to soak them for a while and then gently peak the product off your nails.
• Artificial Nail Help
  If you consistently wear artificial nails it is recommended that you remove them and let your real nails breathe every three to six months. Your real nail is damaged and experts agree that they need at least one week to breathe.
• Feet Pampering
  After a long day on your feet they can ache. An inexpensive at home remedy is to soak your feet in a specially formulated foot soak. You can purchase this item almost anywhere. From Wal-Mart to your cosmetic store. Bath and Body Works has some excellent scents to choose from and they often have coordinating products to compliment your choice of foot soak.
• Quick Fix For Torn Nail
• Occasionally I will get a small tear in my natural nail and until recently I thought there was nothing I could do but kiss my nail goodbye. I found a quick fix brush on nail glue specifically to mend and repair small tears in nails. It is applied like nail polish and can not be seen under even clear nail polish or over nail polish either. It bonds the tear so your nail can keep growing without tearing off. This is a nail kit must.
• Dry Hands
  If you have dry hands try this moisturizing trick. You will need a pair of inexpensive rubber gloves and a creamy rich lotion (glycerine based are very good). Cover your hands in lotion (don´t be stingy), rubbing it in and put the gloves on. The gloves will make your hands slightly warmer and the longer you wear the gloves the more moisture your hands receive. I usually leave them on for thirty minutes then rub in what lotion I can and remove the rest with a towel.
• Applying Multiple Coats
  When you apply multiple coats of polish it is a good idea to wait thirty minutes for each coat to dry before applying the next coat. Even if it is advertised as a 2 minute dry time polish. This allows each coat to set and bond with the previous coat. It is especially important for the first coat to bond to your nail.
• Fill In Tip
  When you go to have your fill-ins, while your nail technician has your polish off it is a good idea for you to look and see if there is any discoloration under the artificial nail. There have been many cases where women did not know that there was a nail fungus underneath their fingernails until serious damage had been done. Always check, nail fungus can cause serious problems and cause infections in your nail bed if left untreated.
• Stregthening Nails
  To strengthen your nails, there are a couple of products out there: SCIENTIFIQUE and Natural NailTM Protein Treatment. You apply it to your nail tips and it helps bond nails and strengthens them. I haven’t tried them personally but I have heard good reports.

Some more of useful advices

Biting Your Nails Makes The Grow Faster

Nails Tip
Not that this will help with your nail biting problem, but I thought that I would share this little bit of information out of interest if nothing else... Apparently biting your nails makes them grow faster. You don't realize this obviously as the biting seems to ruin the effect...

A Few Things That Will Help
*Short Nail Beds

We are born with the nails that we have, there is nothing you can do about it... to a point. I happen to have short nail beds and the best colors for my nails are soft colors. Lavender makes them look longer, so be sure to stock up on this gorgeous color.

*Removing Polish

First of all, look for an acetone-free polish remover, which by the way, will not dry out your nails. Saturate a cotton pad and then press onto the polished nail.
several seconds and then draw the pad to the tip of the nail. Polish should come off with one stroke. The few seconds we give the polish remover is long enough to dissolve the polish and you are done in half the time.

*Saving The Nails

It is really easy to pick up some bad beauty habits and some of them might be costing you pretty nails. For a day, keep track of how often you use your nails as tools. Chances are you do so more often than you realize. Keep your list in front of you so that you will slowly begin to break the habits. It can be done... but you have to know about them first.

*Is This What Your Nails Are Craving?

If your nails are weak, splitting, fragile etc, the problem could be traced back to an inadequate water intake. Most people don't drink nearly enough. How much water do you really drink over the course of a day?

Trimming Your Baby's Nails

Although cutting your baby's nails can be a bit unnerving, especially at first, keeping nails short is important to your little one's safety. Because they lack muscle control, infants can easily scratch and cut their own delicate skin while happily waving their hands and feet. It's especially important to keep babies' nails trimmed once they start interacting and playing with other children who could be scratched, especially in child care.

Even though many babies are born with long nails, it's best to wait until they've hardened a bit before trimming them for the first time. Some parents find it easier to accomplish the nail-trimming task with a partner: one person holding the baby to keep the little one from squirming and the other trimming the nails. First, find a good position that allows you easy access to your baby's hands. This may mean placing your child in your lap, sitting with him or her in a rocker, or even waiting until your baby's asleep.

Hold your baby's palm and finger steady with one hand and cut with the other. You should cut your baby's nails with special baby nail scissors, which have rounded tips for safety, or baby clippers. Many baby nail-care kits also come with nail files or emery boards, but if you cut your baby's nails short enough and make sure to keep the nail edges rounded instead of jagged, it isn't necessary to use these. However, if you're hesitant to try baby nail scissors or clippers and your baby will sit long enough to cooperate, you can use an emery board to file the nails down without the risk of giving your little bundle any nicks.

If you accidentally draw blood a common occurrence with fussy, fidgeting babies, don't worry. Using a sterile gauze pad, gently apply pressure to stop the bleeding. But don't put a bandage around the tiny cut - babies will inevitably put their fingers in their mouths and can dislodge the bandage and choke on it.

Because babies' nails tend to grow quickly from infancy to toddlerhood, they may need to be trimmed as often as once a week.

SOME INTERESTING POINTS ABOUT NAILS

• White Spots on the Nails
  If you have white spots appearing on your nails, they are more than likely, the result of a trauma to the nail and are very common. Occasionally they may indicate a zinc deficiency or in some cases they can also indicate liver or kidney disease. In most cases, you simply injured the nail and it will disappear as the nail grows out.
• How to Do a French Manicure
  Paint the naturally white tip of the nail with an opaque white or beige polish. In traditional French manicures, this white strip is straight across the nail, however, if you let the polish curve with your natural nail, your nails will appear longer
• Color of Your Nails
  Did you know that the color of your nails can indicate health problems? If your nails are:
  -half pink and half white... it could indicate kidney failure
  -yellow... could point to diabetes, fungal infection or even heart disease
  -black flecks... an injury to the nail or a blood clotting disorder
  -black or blue spots... an injury to the nail
  -green... fungal or bacterial infection
  -white... anemia
  -white spots... trauma to the nail bed
  -Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a new tip!!
• Oil Those Nails
  Nails take quite a beating all winter long so here is a little tip for keeping them at their best. Every few days, brush them with cuticle/ nail oil. There are several on the market today and some are even scented.
• Nail Growth and Diet
  Nail Growth TipThe speed of nail growth is increased if you enjoy a healthy diet. It's a proven fact. Illness however, can slow it down.
  I'm including some foods that can easily be worked into your diet.
  -An egg salad sandwich that has lots of spinach in place of lettuce and just a little salad dressing.
  -A veggie salad complete with dressing that contains lots of chopped garlic.
  -A wholesome cereal (not the sugary stuff, sorry) along with two slices of whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter. Did you know that there are peanut butters on the market with no added sugar or salt!
  -An omelette with cheese and tomatoes.
  -Grilled chicken on a whole wheat bun.

Toes Nails Care

Caring for the nails on your toes is much the same as caring for those on your fingers, says Hansen. Again, she recommends keeping cuticles soft and well-moisturized. She suggests getting into the habit of gently pushing the cuticle back (a cotton swab should do the trick) after showering and applying a penetrating oil at this time.

She does note that extra attention have to be paid to cleanliness of toe-nails. This is because when feet are trapped in the dark, moist environment of shoes all day, or, if you're wearing sandals, exposed to dirt, etc., they may be more susceptible to fungus. Thus, it is important to wash feet and dry them thoroughly daily. When choosing socks, cotton/polyester or polypropylene choices are best. (One-hundred percent cotton socks absorb too much moisture to be effective.)

A treatment for toenail fungus is to, after washing and drying the feet, apply tea tree oil or a combination of it and lavender oil on the affected area two to three times a day. If direct tea tree oil is too strong, then dilute it in a base of jojoba oil or another carrier oil. In addition to tea tree oil, James A. Duke, Ph.D., in his book, The Green Pharmacy, recommends these antifungal herbs for preventing, or treating, athlete's foot: garlic, lemongrass, arrowroot, licorice, chamomile, echinacea, goldenseal, cinnamon, ginger and turmeric.

Hair and nails are an indicator of our health, just as our skin is. They are also an important part of our appearance. Taking the time to maintain healthy hair and nails and ensuring adequate rest and nutrition will not only reflect in the way we look, but also in the way we feel about ourselves.

How to get great hair & nails - naturally - includes list of 20 top supplements for hair and nails - Health & Beauty Aids

As with skin, the beauty of nails and hair begins with good nutrition, adequate rest, and good personal grooming habits. And, although a beautiful head of hair and well-manicured nails are not necessarily essential to good health, when they look good, we feel good.

Sometimes, in our efforts to beautify our hair and nails, we may do more damage than good. Here, let us take a look at how we can make our tresses and tips look great, gently.

In an interview with Better Nutrition, Karen Hansen, a cosmetic-marketing consultant to the natural products industry, said that if you choose to paint your nails, it's especially important to keep your cuticles well moisturized. Both nail polishes and removers are very drying, so she recommends applying natural, penetrating types of oils which are thin in consistency to keep your cuticles moist.

As far as fake nails are concerned, Hansen's recommendation is to avoid them. "They're horrible. Not only do they weaken your own nail bed, but they can cause fungus infections to develop in many people, as well."

Basic nail care is the same for both men and women, according to Hansen. She advises investing in a few basic "tools" to keep nails looking good:

1) A good nail brush: First and foremost, nails should be kept clean.
2) Moisturize: Use a good hand cream and/or oil to keep your hands and cuticles moist.
3) File, emery board, scissors, clippers: Use one or a combination of these tools to trim and smooth nails. Just as the ends of hair need to be trimmed, overly long nails can look "scraggly," too.

Nails Art

Click on the pic to see its full size. Very beautiful art!!!

Nails Health diet

I take a cocktail of drugs for a heart condition and for this reason I can’t take ginkgo biloba, even though it apparently can help to improve poor circulation (my hands and feet are a particular problem). I eat healthily and drink a glass of red wine every day, but wonder whether there are any specific foods that I should eat more of, or indeed cut out.


You’re right to avoid ginkgo biloba, because it cannot be taken with heart medication (it is always advisable to check with your doctor before taking any remedies and to make sure that any unusual symptoms are not related to your medication).
I just wonder if your circulation problems are linked to your arteries being a little clogged up with fat? If so, there are foods that may help to reduce this damage and, indeed, to protect the other blood vessels from hardening. Red wine is a good start, even if you are allowed only one glass a day, as it is rich in antioxidants such as flavonols and athocyanins, which help to reduce the likelihood of fat depositing in your blood vessels; you are better off being a drinker of one glass a day than of none at all.

Fresh garlic, which is in the shops and markets now, is rich in allicin, an antioxidant that can prevent fat from being deposited in the blood vessels. I’d include as much fresh garlic (it’s even better for you raw) in your diet as possible — the alternative, if your partner demands one, is to take a garlic supplement. The only really effective garlic supplements on the market are those known as real allicin products; look for brands such as Alliforce and Allimax (recommended dose about 180mg of allicin powder, usually one capsule per day). I think that garlic oil, aged garlic extract and garlic powders are inferior products with few healing properties.

All fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants (including vitamin C, beta-carotene and selenium), which keep the arteries healthy, so make sure that you have your five portions a day. Your diet should be high in wholegrains (so plenty of muesli, porridge and wholegrain bread), as these are good for your heart. But you don’t need highly processed cereals; I’d choose a plainer, less salty and sugary option such as Weetabix, Shredded Wheat, porridge or a simple no-added-sugar muesli.

Include up to four portions of oily fish a week (a portion is 140g of the fish). Oily fish contain omega oils, which are great for helping to keep our blood fat levels in check (they increase the production of good high-density lipoprotein — HDL — which in turn keeps the bad low-density lipoprotein down, the end result being that our hearts and blood vessels are happy). Choose from herring, mackerel, sardines, salmon and fresh tuna.
You should really avoid fatty meats such as sausages and bacon, unless these are exceptionally lean and you grill them. Cheese, butter and creams, along with pastries and baked foods containing butter and other saturated fats, aren’t great for the arteries, but a little treat now and then is fine, I’m sure.

Vitamin E may help to maintain a healthy circulation but there is no need to take supplements — studies show that vitamin E in the diet is more effective. So take olive, safflower, corn and wheatgerm oil (watch the quantities if your weight is high, as these are also high in calories). Sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, hazelnuts and avocados are other good sources of Vitamin E.