Top 10 Nail Care Myths

Uncategorized

The Bliss Kiss™ Ultimate Nail Care Routine       Want Longer, Stronger Natural Nails in 30 Days? The Ultimate Nail Care Routine is the cornerstone of the Bliss Kiss™ 30 Day Challenge. The BEST way to get started on your journey to longer, stronger nails is just a...

NAIL ANATOMY – Different Parts of Fingernail

Curved Nails, Doug Schoon, Nail Anatomy

Nail Anatomy Authors: Doug Schoon and Ana Seidel Nail Anatomy - The Different Parts of the Fingernail Do you know where your cuticle is? Or your hyponychium? Most people don't. Not only is the general public confused about the names for the parts of the natural nail,...

NAIL ANATOMY – Different Parts of Fingernail

Curved Nails, Doug Schoon, Nail Anatomy

Nail Anatomy Authors: Doug Schoon and Ana Seidel Nail Anatomy - The Different Parts of the Fingernail Do you know where your cuticle is? Or your hyponychium? Most people don't. Not only is the general public confused about the names for the parts of the natural nail,...

Quick Tips: What are black spots on nails?

Black spots, Quick Tips

Black Spots on Nails?Have you ever had black spots or streaks show up in your nails? If so, it was probably hard to not freak out...What Causes Black Spots on Nails?Black Spots In Nails ASK ANA: Black Spots In Nails Hi, Ana! So you’ve talked about white spots on...

Quick Tips: Are Clear Nails Bad?

Clear Nails, Nail Health, Nail Problems, Quick Tips

Are Clear Nails Bad?Sometimes we get worried when our nails look different. Ana explains why clear nails from water is damaging while clear nails from oil absorption is strengthening.Are Clear Nail Tips Bad? It depends... If your tips are clear because your hands are...

« Older Entries

NAIL ANATOMY – Different Parts of Fingernail

Curved Nails, Doug Schoon, Nail Anatomy

Nail Anatomy Authors: Doug Schoon and Ana Seidel Nail Anatomy - The Different Parts of the Fingernail Do you know where your cuticle is? Or your hyponychium? Most people don't. Not only is the general public confused about the names for the parts of the natural nail,...

NAIL ANATOMY – Different Parts of Fingernail

Curved Nails, Doug Schoon, Nail Anatomy

Nail Anatomy Authors: Doug Schoon and Ana Seidel Nail Anatomy - The Different Parts of the Fingernail Do you know where your cuticle is? Or your hyponychium? Most people don't. Not only is the general public confused about the names for the parts of the natural nail,...

ASK ANA – Nail Files With Polish?

Ask Ana, Brittle Nails, Clear Nails, Cuticle Oil, Files, How to File Nails, Nail Anatomy, Nail Health, Nail Problems, Splitting

NAIL FILES Nail Files With Polish Hi Ana, I'm hoping you could give your input about a post from a well known Facebook page. I don't quite feel comfortable with the statement and it's actually put some doubt in my mind as to filing my nails. I'll be honest, I do file...

Stress Fractures In Nails

Nail Anatomy, Nail Care, Nail Problems

Stress Fractures in Nails Stress Fractures In Nails Have you ever been making the bed and bent a nail? I have. Way too many times. Simply put, a stress fracture in nails is when you accidentally bend the nail but it doesn't break. Instead, you're left with a bunch of...

NAIL ANATOMY – Different Parts of Fingernail

Curved Nails, Doug Schoon, Nail Anatomy

Nail Anatomy Authors: Doug Schoon and Ana Seidel Nail Anatomy - The Different Parts of the Fingernail Do you know where your cuticle is? Or your hyponychium? Most people don't. Not only is the general public confused about the names for the parts of the natural nail,...

See Through Nails – Can I Fix It?

Ask Ana, Clear Fingernail Tips, Clear Nails, How to Paint Nails, Nail Anatomy, Nail Health, Nail Problems

SEE THROUGH NAILS See Through Nails - Can I Fix It? ASK ANA "I have a bit of a question. I've had this transparency in my nails for years. I read your article about what can cause them to be transparent. I'm following your advice, but it doesn't appear to be...

The post Quick Tips: Are Clear Nails Bad? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

You’ll find all kinds of reasons on websites around the internet. I find that a lot of them are inaccurate and leave you with the feeling that something might be horribly wrong with your health.

The TRUTH is that for most of us, simply living life does the most damage to our nails.

When it comes to nails, there are three types of people.

1. People with zero length and they’d like them to grow longer.
2. People with 3mm+ of length and want them to stay that way.
3. People who just don’t care.

If you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume that you are in one of the first two categories.

#1 Tip Wear

The main cause can be summed up in two words—tip wear.

We use our hands all day long. No, really. All—day—long.

Watch yourself as you go through your day. When are your hands doing absolutely nothing?

Why is tip wear a big problem for those with shorter nails?

People with short nails use their hands differently from those with longer nails.

They can grab, touch, poke, scratch, etc. with the very tips of their fingers. 

My husband’s nails are very short and the skin at the very tips of his fingers has toughened with use.

The advantage is that he has precise control when he touches different screen locations on his phone. I can actually hear his fingertip skin clicking on the screen!

My nail tips range from 3mm to 10mm depending on my laziness at trimming them. The skin on my fingertips rarely touches anything.

As a result, on the rare occasion that I have a deep break, my fingertip is overly sensitive. 

It can be painful to touch things for a few days until the skin gets tougher. 

Once the nail free-edge grows to about 3mm, we start to adapt how we use our hands to accommodate for our nails “being in the way.”

Leave a Trail

I physically CAN’T pick things up with my fingertips.

I use the pads of my fingers. Basically, I leave my fingerprints everywhere!

As a result, my fingernails don’t touch everything.

Here’s where we get back to the problem with tip wear.

The free edge of shorter nails takes a lot more abuse. They get rubbed and beaten more.

Like a Book

Although this isn’t an exact analogy, pretend your nail layers are like the pages of a book. 

When the pages are new, they are flat and lay nicely together. Now imagine if you kept fiddling with the edges. You fan the pages repeatedly. Maybe you accidentally drop it in the bathtub and then rush to dry it out in the sauna. Now the pages are warped and curling. You try to smooth out the edges but that just seems to make them worse. You notice that some of the pages are starting to tear. But you need to keep reading the book. It slides off your lap and crashes to the floor. You pick it up and try smoothing the pages again, but doing so causes some of the pages to rip out of the binding. 

Our fingernails can take much more abuse than this poor little book. But they aren’t indestructible.

We scratch places that itch, oftentimes through fabric. We grab, dig, push, pry, poke, and so much more. Our hands and nails take a lot of abuse.

This abuse can cause the layers at our tips to splay out and start to peel.

#2 Water Damage

Although our nails are about 50 layers of a tough, fibrous protein called keratin, they have a major weakness—water. Think of it as Superman’s weakness to kryptonite.

Refer to the picture below. Water can travel around AND through all of the tiny holes in every nail cell.

Our nails have the ability to absorb 1/3rd of their weight in water in a matter of minutes. That doesn’t sound like much, right?

Now imagine what would happen to you if you absorbed 1/3rd of your weight in water that quickly. You’d be pretty puffed up, soft, and squishy. The same effect happens to our nails.

It takes one to two hours for that water to evaporate out of our nail tips.

But our nails need a small amount of moisture and body oil to remain flexible enough to bend when we bang them into things.

The repetitive cycle of exposure to water with evaporative drying causes our nails to become too hard and brittle.

People with short nails usually aren’t doing the techniques that help decrease nail peeling and breaks.

#3 Stress Fractures

The official label for damage from the nail tip bending repetitively is transverse fissures. I call them stress fractures because it’s a little easier to remember.

Nail layers are a hodge-podge of interlinking cells as you can see in the photo above.

If you have short nails and you’re wanting to grow them longer, the 0 to 3mm time period is a “danger zone” phase of growth.

Why?

Because you haven’t started to change your behavior when using your hands.

You don’t have nail tips forcing you to change the way you navigate through life.

As a result, you’re going along using your hands the way you always do. 

The problem is that these short nail tips keep bumping into EVERYTHING. 

Your tips are continually getting bent and you probably don’t even notice.

People with thicker nails don’t tend to have issues with short nail tips bending and fracturing. 

But if your nails are naturally thin and weak, like mine, then excessive bending is a big problem.

Although there are many techniques and practices to successfully growing your nails longer—ie: breaking them less—there are three main ways that will really help; 

1. Intensive hydration treatments with a high quality, jojoba wax ester-based nail oil
2. Short term use of nail strengtheners
3. Learning how to use your hands differently.

Let’s look at these a little closer.

Nail Oil

Water pushes our nail layers apart and nail oil can help “glue” them together. When all the little gaps around the nail cells are filled with oil, water can’t get in.

I explain the importance of nail oil to naturally strengthen nails in far more detail in another article.

The fastest way to get oil into your nail tips is to warm up the oil. This can be done in two ways; warm the oil in a bowl, or wear nitrile gloves to help contain your body heat thus warming the oil.

I don’t like the first option because it uses a lot of oil, it can be wasteful, and you are stuck with your hands in a bowl of oil for quite a while.

The second option uses 1 drop of nail oil under each nail which will also wick around to the top. Because you are wearing nitrile gloves, you can continue going about your daily tasks and even use your phone.

Click here for the full directions to the Intensive Hydration Treatment

Nail Strengtheners

I have learned that the danger zone is one period in time where nail strengtheners can be really helpful.

Strengtheners have ingredients that hold your nail layers together giving them better temporary strength than traditional polish. 

Many people think I am against nail strengtheners, but this is not true. 

I have a problem with the marketing claims. I discuss this in greater detail in my Nail Strengtheners article.

The keyword to remember is “temporary”. 

These strengtheners don’t do anything to change the actual structure and makeup of your nail plates.

As soon as you remove the product, your nails are the same as before applying the nail strengthener.

But they can still be helpful in reducing peeling.

Nail strengtheners work in a similar way that an ankle brace provides support. 

You still have the mobility of your foot and ankle, but it’s held more securely so you don’t hurt yourself again while walking. The brace doesn’t repair the ankle. It just provides support.

It is also important to remember that once your tips have reached 2-3mm, you no longer need the strengthener.

They can actually cause your nails to be too hard. They won’t bend on impact with a hard surface or object.

At this point, it’s best to shift to using 5 layers of polish using my Fab 5 Wrap Technique.

Use Your Hands Differently

Pretend you’re wearing wet nail polish all the time. 

It’s really quite simple. But I’ll be honest—it’s not easy.

You have to pretend you have longer nails in order to minimize the breakage and peeling while they are in this short phase.

It is when you have learned how to minimize the breaks and peeling that your nails will be able to grow past the “danger zone.”

In Conclusion

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.” ~ Jessie Potter

If longer nails are important to you, you’ll simply want to change the way you do things.

You’re learning new practices. 

Incorporating new ways to improve your personal care takes thought and patience. 

It can take a little time. Just know that the results will be worth the hard work.

The post 3 Reasons Why Short Nails Peel More first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Perhaps you have recovered from Covid-19 and you’ve noticed some deep horizontal grooves, called Beau’s Lines, in one or more of your nails.

If it seems like there might be no end in sight, you’re not alone.

Living through and surviving the Covid-19 pandemic has put the entire planet under more stress than we’ve experienced in decades.

Nail problems can usually be sleuthed out by looking at four categories; Stress, Health, Home, and Work/Hobbies.

A lot of times, the answer is due to one cause, sometimes two. 

But this pandemic has put ALL FOUR into play.

The Magic Question

When people ask me what’s suddenly wrong with their nails, I start with one major question.

What big thing happened to you 4 to 6 months ago? 

Why is that the magic question?

Because the nail tips you have today were created four to six months ago.

On average, the journey from creation in the matrix to where you finally see the nail at the keratinized proximal nail fold (cuticle line) has taken one to two months.

It takes about another 4 months for the nail to continue growing to the hyponychium (where the nail leaves the pink nail bed to become the free edge.) 

Let’s look at the 4 categories that have contributed to why you feel like your nails have “suddenly gotten worse” or seem like “they just won’t get better.”

Stress

Whether good or bad, stress is often the major reason for nail issues.

We’re living in a state of perpetual fear of loss; loss of income, possible loss of home, loss of connection to those we care about, and loss of freedom.

We aren’t sleeping well. 

More and more people are dealing with chronic anxiety and depression.

Divorce and substance abuse rates are rising uncomfortably fast.

Parents are now needing to support educating their children at home on top of juggling their work responsibilities from home.

Our youth have lost one of the major things that help make school more bearable—hanging out with their friends.

Health

As of this writing in February 2021, 106 million people have caught the Corona Virus while 78 million have recovered. [Source: Worldometers.info]

On the surface, that might sound positive.

But we have no idea what “recovered” actually means other than “still alive and discharged from the hospital.”

Since Covid-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, this means it affects your nose, throat, and lungs. 

Both my oldest son and best friend got violently sick at the beginning of  2020 while Covid was raging through China. It’s now 13 months later and both have a persistent cough, have frequent episodes of struggling to breathe, and several other health issues.

Although most people seem to be recovering, there’s growing concern over a new group of people, “long-haulers”, who have lingering symptoms.

Long-lasting symptoms often include: coughing, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, headaches, muscle aches, and diarrhea. But perhaps the most significant symptom that is being seen across the board in coronavirus long-haulers is fatigue. Oftentimes, this group feels very run down and tired. They can’t exert themselves or exercise and simple tasks (like walking to the mailbox) will often leave them feeling exhausted. Chronic fatigue like we’re seeing in this group can be incredibly debilitating and frustrating. Many long-haulers also report brain fog, difficulty concentrating, or feel like they aren’t as sharp as they used to be. [Source: Health.clevelandclinic.org]

We don’t know yet if we will see a significant rise in asthma or functional breathing disorders (FBD) in those who recover.

How will asthma or FBD show up in your nails? 

Oxygen and nutrients are delivered to your nail matrix by your blood. 

Your body’s survival mechanisms will focus delivery of blood flow to your brain and internal organs before your extremities like fingers and toes. 

Compromised oxygen intake will have negative effects on our nail health over time.

Home

How has your home changed over the last year?

We’re washing our hands with water and soaps significantly more. 

The global hand sanitizer market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.6% from 2019 to 2027. [Source: Grandviewresearch.com]

The active ingredient in hand sanitizers, ethyl alcohol, is very drying to hands and nails.

Are you doing more cleaning because everyone is stuck at home and making more messes than when all of you went to work and school?

Are you wearing gloves when cleaning?

Do you have young children and constantly changing diapers?

Are you responsible for chores like laundry, making the bed, or yard work? 

Hobbies/Work

Water, paper, fabric, and other materials can strip away your body’s natural oils, including the oil within your nail plate.

Since we’re spending more time at home, many of us may have dusted off neglected crafts and hobbies that can strip oils from skin and nails.

Getting Back to Normal

So many of us are grieving for the life we had before 2020. We want it back.

After my first child died of SIDS at 9 weeks old, I asked my grief counselor, “how long will it take to get back to normal.” Her response hit me hard.

“This is the new normal.”

For us to get back to life as we knew it, 75% of the global population needs to be vaccinated.

Bloomberg’s new calculator shows how long it will take states and countries to vaccinate 75% of their populations—7 YEARS! [Source: Bloomberg.com]

It would appear that this is definitely the new normal.

Lessons from History

The good news is that this isn’t the first time our planet has suffered through a pandemic. These are the top 10 worst pandemics since the death of Jesus Christ.

(1981-2012) HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC – Death Toll: 36 million
(1968) FLU PANDEMIC – Death Toll: 1 million
(1956-1958) ASIAN FLU – Death Toll: 2 million
(1918) FLU PANDEMIC – Death Toll: 20 -50 million
(1910-1911) SIXTH CHOLERA PANDEMIC – Death Toll: 800,000+
(1889-1890) FLU PANDEMIC – Death Toll: 1 million
(1852–1860) THIRD CHOLERA PANDEMIC – Death Toll: 1 million
(1346-1353) THE BUBONIC BLACK DEATH – Death Toll: 75 – 200 million
(541-542) BUBONIC PLAGUE OF JUSTINIAN – Death Toll: 25 million
(165 AD) ANTONINE PLAGUE – Death Toll: 5 million
[Source: Mphonline.org]

What Now?

So what are we going to do about it?

We could accept that our nails will be a hot mess for the next several years. I personally don’t like that option.

Or we can accept the universal truth that change is inevitable.

We need to find new ways to decrease our stress levels, improve our home and work life, and improve our health. 

Since we can’t stop washing our hands and using hand sanitizers, we need to embrace the strategies that reverse the drying effects we experience.

We need to do intensive hydration treatments with a high-quality, jojoba wax ester-based nail oil, like Bliss Kiss™ and nitrile gloves to improve the strength and flexibility of the natural nail plate.

We need to use water-free balms and lotions to soothe our overwashed and hypersensitive skin.

And the best part? 

We need to wear polish to protect our nails from damaging water absorption.

Polish provides temporary strength to help our nails survive this crazy, brave new world.

If you found this article helpful, please share!

The post Why the Covid Pandemic is Destroying Our Nails first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

by Ana Seidel, Vitaly Solomonoff & Doug Schoon

Have you ever heard the expression, “The world is getting smaller?”

It’s true.

But…

The internet has become a double-edged sword.

We learn really amazing things from people we will never meet physically. Our lives are improved immensely.

But… we also learn really dangerous and destructive things. The “Russian” manicure is a technique that could cripple the global nail industry.

In this article you will learn:

• • Why the Russian Manicure is considered a medical procedure

• • What the skin looks like microscopically after electronic bits have been used to “buff” the skin

• • Why this manicure practice permanently damages the nails of over 90% of clients who receive this treatment

• • Global statistics revealing how the popularity of this deceptive manicure process will permanently deform the nails of millions of people.

• And how to protect yourself today

The Hidden Dangers of the ‘Russian’ Manicure

By Vitaly Solomonoff – Dermatologist, Cosmetic Chemist, International Nail Judge and Author.

‘Beauty is pain’ is the well-known quote from Voltaire’s play, La Bégueule (the prude woman). This manifests when women are ready to sacrifice everything on the journey to aesthetic perfection.

The Russian (Dry, Machine, E-file) Manicure Defined

The ‘Russian’ manicure—a variation on high-speed microdermabrasion with e-files, is seen as an effective contemporary method of removing unwanted living skin as part of the preparation process of a nail service.

It is seen to negate the need for clipping, removers or wooden sticks. However, there are many concerns surrounding this method.

The Function of the Matrix

Frankly speaking, we should not remove living skin surrounding the nail plate at all. The only exception would be in cases when excessive skin or hangnails can become a source of infection.

The skin is a secure and strong guard to the most sensitive and fragile structure—the nail matrix, which is the only layer of germinative cells. This is the innermost layer of the epidermis from which new tissue is constantly formed.

The function of the matrix is to produce keratin, the main substance of the fingernail. The nail matrix is so sensitive that factors of temperature, insignificant pressure, minor injuries, and skin damage lead to inflammation. These external factors may impact the formation of the normal healthy keratin in the nail plate.

There are also plenty of internal factors, such as health and skin conditions which can influence the process too. These factors include diabetes, psoriasis, and lung disorder, just to name a few.

The incorrect synthesis (creation) of the nail keratin always results when the nail grows. Changes in shape, structure, texture, color or even separation from the nail bed (onycholysis) are all symptoms of damage to the matrix.

The sad news is that all of these results are unpredictable yet can be seen immediately or months after chemical, biological, or mechanical traumatisation.

Everything we see on our nails is the result of the matrix’s function. In fact, when we talk nails we should consider the matrix.

Three Year Study – Shocking Permanent Damage

Two years ago, my team completed the study of more than 300 cases of volunteers who regularly undertook a manicure using this technique.

The study continued for 38 months (over 3 years) before we came to shocking results.

We found 91% of volunteers suffered symptoms of a damaged nail matrix or nail bed!

Symptoms included all signs of matrix/nail dystrophy from splitting, horizontal ridges, and slow nail growth.

Extreme cases reported painful neuropathy (nerve damage) and high sensitivity.

Less than 9% of cases were determined as safe and ‘successful.’

It was also discovered that infectious inflammation is a common issue with clients who have a compromised immune system—diabetes, etc.

This type of inflammation occurs even when the manicure is performed with sterilized implements.

Immediate Damage

Microscopic cracks in the skin that are done during this type of manicure are inseminated with microflora during the few hours after the procedure. After analysis, we concluded that the source of danger from using this technique includes:

• Vibration – Even imperceptible vibration injured cells and induces the local immune response.
• Traumatisation – Damage, over filing or invisible (to the naked eye) micro-injuries even when a nail tech is sure his/her technique is controllable.

All together, vibration and traumatization induce acute or chronic inflammation and a syndrome of repetitive trauma, which leads to nail dystrophy.

Do We Need Inflammation?

Did I mean ‘inflammation’ earlier? Yes, it was not a figurative expression.

We get used to thinking inflammation is something unpleasant, painful and related to infection.

Actually, inflammation is not a symptom of infection, but a part of the human immune response and is a protective reaction. It occurs every time living cells—and sometimes dead ones—are damaged.

The injured cell releases an alarm signal in the form of special molecules—cytokines. Then immune cells get a call, and with blood flow travel to the place where the organism has been injured.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Along with the local immune cells, the cytokines begin a real battle against physical agents, chemical agents, or microorganisms.

Normally, inflammation leads to the healing and renewal of the tissue.

However, inflammation may end with either a positive or negative outcome.

• Positive effects used in many cosmetic procedures from chemical peels to pedicure initiate this reaction to renew skin.

• Negative effects include ineffective inflammation. For instance, micro-organisms overcoming the battle or when the process turns into prolonged or chronic inflammation. The two factors of inflammation, cytokines, and toxins, continuously attack normal tissue preventing tissue repair.

Acute inflammation is usually a short-term reaction accompanied by redness, itching, swelling, and pain.

Chronic inflammation may be invisible at the start and followed by deformity of the organs or tissues. Chronic inflammation can only be observed over time.

This is the case with the “Russian” manicure. The matrix area, nail bed, and surrounding skin are receiving constant, repetitive traumatization.

This repetitive trauma causes chronic inflammation does not allow for physiological tissue recovery.

The turnover cycle of skin is approximately 30 to 35 days. However, manicures can be performed more frequently.

It’s no wonder that this technique leads directly to various nail symptoms and undesirable conditions. Many symptoms are postponed and become evident only months after a single procedure.

Long Term Damage

The constant mechanical attacks performed on the top layers of skin pass alarm bell messages to underlying cells of the nail matrix. The chemical language of cytokines activates the immune system response.

Consequently, the frequent activation of the local immune system means chronic inflammation, which in turn affects matrix cells.

Education Matters

A deep understanding of the processes in live skin helps us develop correct techniques for any manicure system.

This requires special knowledge, training, and understanding of what happens to the skin and nails while under attack from the vibrating, sharp bits of e-files.

Regrettably, we have NOT found a safe mode for this technique.

E-files are magnificent tools so let’s use them for important occupations, not the manicure. In improperly untrained hands, e-files can be very dangerous.

Knowledge and advanced education are the ONLY way to make this service completely safe.

Let’s argue with Voltaire and prove it to our clients—beauty can be painless.

(Reprinted with permission from the author, Vitaly Solomonov and ScratchMagazine.co.uk)

The Russian Manicure Can Lead to Permanent Damage

By Doug Schoon, Internationally-recognized scientist, author and educator

We want everyone across the globe to be aware of the problems of the “Russian Manicure”.

Someone commented on my Facebook page about their concerns that many will not heed the warnings from experts and I agree.

Hopefully, this problem may be self-correcting.

When people who use these methods start seeing the reported problems associated with these types of manicures, hopefully, they’ll take notice and stop this dangerous practice.

Like Vitaly wrote, symptoms people will see or experience are:

• Excessive damage to the skin around the nail plate
• Excessive regrowth of hardened callus-like tissue
• Redness
• Pain
• Puffiness
• Weeping
• Water-blisters
• Itching
• Allergies

Not only can this method cause the expected hardening and rapid/excessive regrowth of tissue, but the damaged skin is also more likely to develop infections.

Product-related skin irritations or allergies are more likely as well.

Invaders beware—watch closely for these issues—and don’t blame the products.

Blame your techniques.

I’m already hearing of, and seeing these problems.

One of the biggest problems in the nail industry is that too many nail educators are teaching misinformation they learned in the past. They have NOT kept up with their education.

And… it’s getting worse, not better.

Pseudo Fame

Many people teaching this manicure preparation technique are well-known artists. Some mistakenly believe they know what they are talking about—but often they do not.

These educators are harming the nail industry with every class they teach!

Just because someone can bling out a nail, doesn’t mean they have a real understanding of the nail or using products and are following the manufacturers’ instructions.

“Internet famous” does NOT mean “knowledgeable”. It only means that they are artistically skilled.

There is a big difference! Don’t be fooled.

Sterilizing Is Not Enough

There is a potentially dangerous myth stating that sterile implements or electronic bits can’t cause infections.

What? Of course they can.

The “Russian Manicure” is considered an invasive manicure. Invasive manicures are prohibited in many states, provinces or countries because they damage skin and make it significantly more susceptible to infections.

This infection risk can last for many hours and perhaps for several days. The skin will remain susceptible to infection until the damage heals.

Cutting the skin that borders the nail plate increases the client’s risk of infections, even after they leave the salon. I recommend that you don’t do this.

Someone told me, “Well, I’ve never heard of that happening”.

Of course not! Who would openly admit they cut their clients skin around the nail plate and cause an infection? Yet, I’ve seen this occur many times!

A Medical Procedure

The use of an e-file to smooth, buff, or abrade the skin around the nail plate is considered microdermabrasion.

Many states in the United States of America restrict the use of the files to only the nail plate. Other states require special medical licenses.

In many places, nail technicians are not allowed to perform these services.

Check your local regulations and with your insurance company. This technique may not be covered by your insurance policy and can put you in serious financial risk.

Even calluses should not be completely removed from the skin due to the increased risk of infection.

Is It Worth An Arm Or A Leg?

The skin on the feet or palm of the hand is many times thicker than the nail fold surrounding the skin.

Infections in the skin around the fingernail can quickly spread to bone and result in amputation of a finger or hands.

This is not speculation!

It happens far too frequently and is a problem the nail industry must solve.

Manicures should be safe and not endanger the public’s health.

NEVER intentionally cut or abrade the skin around the nail plate. That’s trouble waiting to happen.

Permanent Allergies?

Credit: Orianasnails

It is even more foolish to place UV gel manicure products or other nail coatings directly against this damaged skin.

Damaged skin is far more likely to become irritated or develop permanent allergies to nail products. More trouble is waiting to happen. Don’t do it!

Protect the skin around your clients’ nails. Don’t invade it.

Educate your clients about the risk of any invasive procedures and advise them against letting anyone cut or abrade this thin and sensitive tissue.

Be Proactive!

I’ve published “Nail Structure and Product Chemistry”, as well as a series of three books called “Face-to-Face with Doug Schoon”, Volume 1-3.

I’m a nail scientist. My books are factual and based on scientific and medical research.

My opinion is based on over two decades of experience studying nail salons, products, services, and common practices.

Sadly, most nail technicians do not bother to read my books, which is why we are in this education mess.

The facts are there for those who want to learn them.

Knowledge is Power

In my view, if you are a nail educator, you MUST read all three of my “Face-to-Face with Doug Schoon” books or it is highly likely you’re are teaching misinformation.

This means you are part of the problem.

If you are a consumer, learn what procedures are dangerous and don’t let a nail technician hurt you. You are the best advocate for your body.

Global Access

My books are easy to read and understand, so please help to be a part of the solution and save the industry from sinking any deeper.

These books are available around the world from Amazon, iTunes, and available in the Nook and Kobo formats. They are available as both printed and e-books. They are low cost, and easy to get.

Please read them. You are responsible to provide healthy and safe manicures to your clients.

The Ultimate Test

Before you consider taking a class from ANY nail educator FIRST ask them… have you read all three volumes of “Face-to-Face with Doug Schoon”?

Reprinted with permission from Doug Schoon

Global Statistics for 2017

As you’ll read below, the most startling information is how many countries do not require licensing.

This means that ANYONE can start a nail career with no training!

Educators are going to other countries teaching nail techniques without licenses to teach in those countries.

UNITED STATES

• Market Size: $8.53 billion
• 56,386 nail salons
• 439,751 nail professionals, 31% don’t work in a salon
• Ethnicity: 36% Caucasian, 56% Vietnamese, 8% other
• Licensing: Required in all states, except Connecticut

CANADA

• Market size: $5 billion (hair and nail salons)
• Licensing: Only in Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, though outside of these jurisdictions some aspiring techs do still opt for formal education and training

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

• Market size: $138.2 billion (estimated between 2014 and 2020 for South America, Central America, and North America)
• Licensing: Varies by country, but typically minimal or nonexistent

UNITED KINGDOM

• Market size: Annual beauty spending is £876 (US$1,270) for women and £711 (US$1,031) for men
• Licensing: Inconsistent — some parts of London require licensing but each council makes its own rules; no government licensing outside of London

GERMANY  

• • Market size: €2.5 billion (US$2.8 billion)

• Licensing: None for manicures or pedicures; cosmetologists (hair and skin professionals) and podiatrists (those who specialize in the health of feet) do have licensing requirements

SOUTH AFRICA

• Market size: R25.3 billion (US$1.9 billion) for all cosmetics and personal care together
• Licensing: No government licensing; many nail schools but no standard curriculum

RUSSIA

• Market size (beauty): USD$14.6 billion (RUB 555.1 billion) in 2014
• Schooling: Certificate of Training Completion earned from nail school; no license required

INDIA

• Market size: $3.5 billion in 2015 (all professional salon services combined)
• Licensing: None required by the government; multinational organizations and nail brands offer their own certifications via designated training facilities

AUSTRALIA

• Market size: $541.2 million
• Schooling: Nail courses available at beauty schools but many nail professionals are self-taught; no government licensing

JAPAN

• Market size: 160 billion yen (US$1.4 billion)
• Licensing: Private licensing via Japanese Nailist Association and nail manufacturers; no government licensing

VIETNAM

• Market size: 931,000 VND (US$42) average annual per-woman spending on beauty services (includes hair, skin, eyebrows, nails, and other professional beauty services)
• Licensing: No government licensing; some schools issue certificates upon graduation

Statistics Source: NailsMag [https://files.nailsmag.com/Handouts/NABB2017-18stats-LR.pdf]

In Conclusion

We only get one body and it’s our responsibility to care for it through the decades.

We make choices daily that are healthy or destructive to our health and wellbeing.

And, we live in a world now where we can be educated and influenced by people all over the globe.

Primum Non-Nocere

First, do no harm…

As you’ve learned in this article, there are certain nail care and nail enhancement processes that should be done by nail professionals.

Others should only be done by medical professionals. The “Russian Manicure” is microdermabrasion and is a medical procedure.

As a nail professional, you are responsible to learn and practice safe nail care and enhancement techniques.

Your clients’ nails change over time.

As an artist, you are only as good as the canvas you prepare. Are you doing it right?

Are you adapting as new medical knowledge is discovered about nails?

Credit: artnikitina.ru

There is a phrase in medical education which often gets aired at the welcoming lecture to medical school: “50% of what we teach you over the next five years will be wrong, or inaccurate. Sadly, we don’t know which 50%”  [Source: Blog Postgraduate Medical Journal ]

Product chemistry changes over time.

Are you learning from the product manufacturers regularly? What you learned in nail school may be very out of date.

You have a responsibility to take continuing education courses to stay at the top of your field.

You owe that to the health of your clients’ nails.

Caveat Emptor

Let the buyer beware…

As a consumer, you are responsible to know what nail preparation procedures will harm your body.

Credit: Crazynails_studio

Now it’s necessary to educate yourself.

You know the names and functions of your muscles, bones, and internal organs. You need to know the names and functions of the parts of your nails.

You decide with your money.

Do not exchange your hard earned money to let someone potentially permanently damage your nails.

If it hurts, make them stop. If you bleed, make them stop.

Do not let a nail professional hurt you because you “don’t want to hurt their feelings.”

And, do not assume that they are doing things because “they have more education.” A lot of them don’t.

Since the world is getting smaller, we owe it to ourselves and each other to keep it safer. 

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post The Dangers of the Russian Manicure first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Broken Nail Repair Solution

Life happens.

Fingers slip.

Nails get caught on things and break.

Many times we look down and it’s just a chip or a minor tear. Meh, that’s ok. Our heart is saddened for a bit.

But what do we do when the break is bad? Like really bad.

Crying in pain—bloody bad?

In today’s article, you’ll learn;

• My worst nail tragedy
• Why a fiberglass wrap wouldn’t work
• My broken nail repair solution and how to be prepared

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and I can’t make any medical claims or prescriptions. I am sharing a story of my experience and giving you information so that you can use to start a discussion with your doctor.

What Happened

My last huge broken nail casualty happened in the Fall of 2016 (a little over a year ago at this writing.) I think it was the worst I have ever experienced in my life.

I was cutting some floral styrofoam late at night over a box so I didn’t cut my counter. My hand slipped hitting the edge of the box and snapping my pinky nail backward. It tore sideway across most of my nailbed.

About two millimeters of my pink nail bed was exposed. There wasn’t much blood but lots of oozing and massive pain.

Due to the graphic nature, I’ve blurred the photo of the break. You can click on the image to see it in focus.

I don’t know what hurt more—the break or cutting the remainder off in the midst of my massive sobbing from the pain.

I covered my finger with a bandage and went to bed. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep very well that night. The throbbing pain was too intense.

I knew there was no way to do any sort of typical “wrap” repair because my nail tip was gone and the bandage touching the nail bed made it hurt more.

My Broken Nail Repair

I saw only one solution—glue a plastic nail on my nail to protect the nail bed. My nail needed a hard physical barrier.

Of course, I had moved all of my nail stuff to our Bliss Kiss™ headquarters. Oye!

That 10-minute drive seemed like an eternity, but I knew the pain was about to get worse.

I had previous knowledge that doctors now use a medical grade version Super Glue™.

I also knew that nail glue also had the same ingredients.

I felt at the time that I had no other choice. The raw pain had to stop.

I trimmed the plastic nail to match the length of my other nails and filed it to be the right shape to fit the curve of my cuticle line.

Now for the hard part.

I applied the glue to the center of the plastic nail. I let that sit for about 30 seconds. I painted the glue on my nail and then placed the plastic nail on my nail.

Just like pouring rubbing alcohol on an open wound, it hurt like #!#!#*!!!!!

I applied firm pressure for a couple of minutes to the artificial nail until the glue set.

After about 10 minutes the feeling that I was going to die calmed down.

After about 30 minutes, I felt like I just might be able to survive this accident.

What really pleased me the most is that the plastic nail looked so close to my normal nails.

Once I had polish on, I asked my husband and daughter to see if they would notice the difference. They both looked at me very perplexed.

I was the only one who could tell the difference.

Taking Responsibility

While doing a bit of research about quick-drying glues for this article, I came across some really helpful information at Realfirstaid.co.uk

When treating our own injuries we take responsibility for our own actions.  When we are treating other people we have a Duty of Care to treat appropriately and cause no further harm or face the serious consequences of litigation.  For this reason we would not suggest that glue is used to treat casualties where you are in a position of responsibility be it your role within your workplace or providing opportunistic care for a casualty to have come across.

You may still be inclined to use glue to treat yourself or maybe your trusted [friend], in which case, read on:

Not All Super Glues Are The Same

“Super Glue” or Cyanoacrylate (CA) is an acrylic resin which rapidly polymerises in the presence of water. The principle component of commercial CAs (SuperGlue™, Krazy Glue™, Loctite™) is either methy-2-cyanoacrylate or ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate, the original forms of CA developed in 1942 by Kodak Laboratories™. (The discovery was made whilst investigating potential, high clarity, acrylics for the use in gun sights. Whilst not suitable for this application CA was quickly identified as a fast acting, low shear strength adhesive.)

During the Vietnam war it was used in field surgery with good effect, however, despite the promising results it was not approved by the Unites States Food and Drug Administration due to the unknown toxicity and two significant side effects during the polymerization process:

A Cheaper Alternative…Veterinary Glues

If you are looking for something for your personal first aid kit and don’t fancy spending $160 US on six 5ml vials of Derma Bond, veterinary glues are commercially available as a happy compromise; not licensed for use on humans but essentially the same stuff in a different wrapper.

2-octyl cyanoacrylate Surgi-Lock™ and Nexaband™
n-butyl cyanoacrylate VetGlu™, Vetbond™ and LiquiVet™  

As a side note: I also purchase needle-less syringes to do fluid nail art at the local feed store. Bonus!

Removal Without Damage

It’s really important to remove the artificial nail properly so you don’t damage your nail plate.

If you have a break that will take weeks to grow out, the nail may pop off around 4 to 7 days. This just means that the bond has finally broken on its own without damaging the nail plate.

Just reglue it and you’ll be good to go.

Try to not use the nail tip to poke, prod, pry or scratch. The torque will weaken the glue quicker.

If you are getting too much dry glue left on the nail plate, soak your nail with an acetone soaked piece of cotton and a manicure clip to dissolve the glue. I have a video explaining how to use manicure clips on YouTube.

You can use a cotton swab and acetone to remove the glue on the underside of the artificial nail. Just realize that acetone usually dissolves the plastic too, so only work on the bits of glue.

At some point, you may just need to start over with a new artificial nail.

If you decide you need to remove the nail, DO NOT pry it off.

File down the surface of the plastic nail and soak it in acetone. The acetone will partially dissolve the plastic. It will also work its way under the plastic to dissolve the glue.

I usually wait for it to pop off on its own when the nail has completely grown out and then soak off the glue.

The Scout Motto: Be Prepared

I hear this phrase often since I’m married to an Eagle Scout and have boys in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

Have a box of artificial nails in your drawer that match your nail shape and the appropriate cyanoacrylate glue. You can get a box of 100 fairly reasonably and it comes with several different sizes.

Be prepared.

Life happens. Fingers slip. Nails break.

Now you’re ready to do your broken nail repair and make more life happen.

The post Broken Nail Repair – What To Do When It’s Bad first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

TL:DR Article Summary

Ana tested six drugstore base coats to see which ones actually hold up.

Two stood out for durability: Nina Ultra Pro™ and Wet ‘n Wild Megalast® The Saving Base—both made it past 10 days with minimal chipping.

• Nina Ultra Pro™ Basecoat & Ridge Filler (durable, covers grooves well—but chalk white and needs polish on top)
• Wet ‘n Wild Megalast® The Saving Base (budget-friendly, long-lasting, but ⚠️ newer version may stain—check your ingredients!)

Meh performers:
Sally Hansen® Nail Rehab™, Orly®, Finger Paints, and American Classics all had durability issues or didn’t cover grooves as well.

That said, it’s important to remember: base coats, polishes, and top coats all perform differently depending on your body chemistry and daily habits. The only real way to know what works for you is to try a few and pay attention to what lasts.

One of the worst things you can do is buff the ridges off your nail plate. Buffing weakens your nails by filing the thickest part to match the thinnest part!

This is why I always recommend using a ridge filler basecoat. I’ve had many people ask me which ridge filling basecoat is my favorite. I haven’t had a favorite.

But I do now!

In this article, I will cover:

• Why you need to use basecoat
• Why I tested several popular ridge filler base coats
• My criteria to help you make an educated decision
• And who were the winners—they might surprise you

Do We Really Need Basecoat?

Many people don’t know that basecoats are formulated to bond to the nail plate.

Polish is formulated to bond to basecoat—not the nail plate. Topcoat is formulated to bond to basecoat or polish.

Why Ridge Filler?

This is one of my pet peeves—you can’t fill ridges. You fill the grooves between the ridges.

Technically speaking, these basecoats should all be called Groove Fillers. But they probably wouldn’t sell very well because people obsess about dealing with their ridges.

We all want a smooth, glossy manicure. This is how ridge filling basecoats help us achieve the look we want.

The Contenders

I usually get this question at least once per week; “What is your favorite ridge filler basecoat?”

Since I am always testing things and turning myself into my own guinea pig on your behalf, I decided to test six ridge filler basecoats that I could find in the stores where I live in the USA.

I was shocked to discover that many of the big-name brands do not offer a ridge filler basecoat. In my opinion, that’s a disservice to the nail community.

I was able to find several ridge filling basecoats at Sally’s Beauty Supply in the US, and a couple in the drugstores (like Walgreen’s and CVS Pharmacy.)

Disclaimer: I know there are many other brands around the globe who do offer a ridge filler but sadly, I wasn’t able to get my hands on all of them. Perhaps you can take my favorites and compare them with a different brand that you have.

Here’s a list of the ridge filling basecoats I tested:

• Nina Ultra Pro™ Basecoat & Ridge Filler
• American Classics Bridge the Ridge®
• Finger Paints Smooth Over Ridge Filler
• Orly® Ridge Filler
• Sally Hansen® Nail Rehab™
• Wet ‘n Wild Megalast® The Saving Base

When I decided to do this test, my first criteria was to test for durability and number of days of wear.

What I didn’t realize was that in order to perform an accurate test, I would have to essentially wear the same manicure for over two months!

To get more accurate results from a test like this, it’s important to reduce different variables that may affect the outcome of the test.

I know that some polish wears longer or shorter than other brands. Sometimes even the color can change the durability. I didn’t want a different brand, color or top coat to affect the results of my tests.

That meant I had to use the exact same polish and the exact same topcoat for each basecoat I tested.

It’s a good thing I love purple! 

Here are the polishes and top coat I used:

• Polish: Color Club Holographic “Eternal Beauty” (primary color), OPI Liquid Sand “Can’t Let Go” (accent nails)
• Topcoat: Sally Hansen® Insta-Dri™ Anti-Chip Top Coat

Test 1: Nina Ultra Pro™ Base Coat & Ridge Filler

I started with Nina Ultra Pro™ Base Coat & Ridge Filler. When applied, it was white and streaky, which I didn’t care for. With two coats it covered the grooves in my nails nicely. Surprisingly, my manicure lasted 11 days before it started to chip.

Price: about $5

Likes:

• Covered ridges in my nails nicely with two coats
• Awesome durability

Dislikes:

• White, streaky color that could affect the way polish looks, depending on the color you paint over the basecoat. This made it impossible to wear on its own.

Manicure Durability:

• 11 days before chipping

Test 2: American Classics – Bridge the Ridge®

The next test was American Classics Bridge the Ridge®. It dried quickly, and within two coats. It covered almost all of the grooves on my nails. And, it had a nice matte finish.

Two days into the manicure I decided to braid my horse’s mane. I didn’t wear gloves because I needed to get a good grip on Zeus’s thick, wiry hair. Zeus’s mane ended up looking beautiful! But the polish on my thumbnail ended up chipping.

By the next day, I had a small chip on my left middle fingernail. Three days later, my manicure showed normal tip-wear. The basecoat on the undersides of my nail tips (part of the Fab Five Wrap manicure method ) was completely gone. The manicure lasted six days with American Classics Bridge the Ridge®.

Price: about $6

Likes:

• Dries quickly
• Covered ridges with two coats
• Matte finish

Dislikes:

• Didn’t hold up well with my normal daily activities

Manicure Durability:

• Began chipping on day 3
• Manicure lasted total of 6 days

Test 3: Finger Paints – Smooth Over Ridge Filler

The next one was Finger Paints – Smooth Over Ridge Filler. It was very natural looking, but it did not cover my yellow staining much. I used two coats to fully cover my grooves. It dried quickly with a semi-matte finish.

By the seventh day, I had chipping on the right side of my right thumbnail. I also had some sidewall chipping on both index tips. I had normal tip wear and significant tip wear under my nails.

Price: between $6-9

Likes:

• Dries quickly
• Covered ridges with two coats
• Semi-matte finish

Dislikes:

• Didn’t cover my nails’ yellow staining

Manicure Durability:

• 7 days before chipping

Test 4: Orly® Ridge Filler

Test number four was Orly® Ridge Filler. It went on a very white and looked very similar to the Nina Ultra Pro™ basecoat. It even smelled the same. But when compared to the Nina, it’s obvious that it’s a different formula.

Orly® Ridge Filler covered my grooves well in two coats. Some nails were coated with just one coat and it dried quickly.

By day three, my polish started chipping a bit. I had chips on my left index finger right thumb and right middle finger. My nails showed normal tip wear and undertip wear. I had to remove the polish by day seven to prevent my urge to pick at the chips.

This brand is available for purchase on Amazon US.

Price: between $5-8

Likes:

• Dries quickly
• Covered ridges with two coats

Dislikes:

• Applied very white
• Started chipping too soon

Manicure Durability:

• 3 days before chipping but lasted 7 days

Test 5: Sally Hansen® Nail Rehab 

Test number five was Sally Hansen® Nail Rehab™. The first thing I noticed was that it had a very wimpy brush. I liked the light pink color. The basecoat was a little thin so definitely needed two coats.

By day four I had a chip on my left index fingertip. My nails were showing a fair amount of tip wear on my right hand. I did wash my horse on day three, but I wore nitrile gloves to protect my nails from water absorption. Also, the polish was starting to chip on my right ring finger nail that had the textured polish. I couldn’t go past four days with the Sally Hansen® manicure because I knew would start picking at the chips.

This brand is available on Amazon US.

Price: between $8-12

Likes:

• Light pink color

Dislikes:

• Wimpy application brush
• Thin formula
• Showed more tip wear
• Not very durable compared to other ridge fillers

Manicure Durability:

• 4 days before chipping

Test 6: Wet ‘n Wild Megalast®  The Saving Base

The last base coat I tested was Wet ‘n Wild Megalast®  The Saving Base. This basecoat had a nice application and a nice a wide brush. Two coats covered the grooves in my nails.

Surprisingly, my manicure lasted 11 days!

By day 11, my manicure showed massive tip wear, but there were no chips. I had a big nice growth line in my polish from the cuticle line. I actually probably could’ve gotten one or two days more, but I had to remove my polish for an Instagram and Facebook Live with Cory. He painted my nails and he did a great job for his first manicure ever! Click here to see the video on Youtube

Price: about $3-4

Likes:

• Light pink color
• Nice wide brush
• Awesome durability

Dislikes:

• Showed more tip wear than others, but that is expected considering the length of the manicure.

Manicure Durability:

• 11 days before chipping

09.05.2020 Update:
Since writing this article, I have discovered that there appears to be two different versions of the Wet N Wild basecoat. The formula for this test had a pink tint. When I reordered, I noticed the tint was more yellow beige. The formula stained my nails yellow and I received feedback from others who had gotten the same results. I was curious as to why this happened, so I turned to my mentor, Doug Schoon.

“Pigments are not likely to stain the nail plate. They are too large to penetrate. Dyes and Lakes are other types of colorants that are often used, and many can and DO stain the nail plate. There are three different reds and one yellow colorant that have been reported as the most likely to stain the nail plate. The reds colorants are listed on product ingredient label as Red no. 6, Red no. 7, or Red no. 34. In the European Union, all three of these red colorants would be sold under their color index number “15850”. The yellow that is reported to cause a lot of staining is Yellow #5 Lake, which in the European Union is labelled as “19140”. It is true that some grades of nitrocellulose can stain as well. But the more expensive, higher quality grades are much less likely to discolor. Smaller companies that don’t sell much nail polish often use these inferior grades, since the best grades are too expensive when purchased in low quantities and the larger companies buy up all the high-quality nitrocellulose. When it does stain, nitrocellulose tends to be a more brownish-yellow stain, while discoloration caused by colorants tend to be the light yellowish tones or other odd shades, such as green. If this base coat contained nitrocellulose and no colorants, the nitrocellulose is a possible suspect. However, a high-quality base coat should not stain the nail plate, unless its surface is damaged. Damaged nail plates are much more likely to pick up stains, even from some foods stains or clothing. Damaged nail plates will absorb stains more easily than healthy nail plates.”

Schoon, Doug. Face-To-Face with Doug Schoon Volume III: Science and Facts about Nails/nail Products for the Educationally Inclined . Schoon Scientific. Kindle Edition.

BONUS TEST:  Nina Ultra Pro™ Basecoat & Ridge Filler

I decided to re-test Nina Ultra Pro™ Basecoat & Ridge Filler to verify results since it was the first basecoat I tested. Was it really strong enough to last 11 days? Or was that test just a fluke?

Yep! It was strong enough.

The second test lasted 10 days and had only minor chipping when I removed my manicure.

Sure, it was hard (really hard!) wearing the same color of polish two months in a row. But it ended up being a really fun experiment. The most fun part was being surprised by the results and finding two clear winners:

1. Nina Ultra Pro™
2. Wet ‘n Wild Megalast®  The Saving Base

 What Made Them Winners

Durability is a big deal for me. I really like my manicures to last at least 7 days. That means my manicure is going to have to survive a bit of rough and tumble treatment during my normal daily activities.

Both of these basecoats helped my manicure last 10 days or more with normal tip wear.

I didn’t care for the chalk white color of the Nina Ultra Pro™. It’s definitely not a basecoat that you can wear on its own. It must be covered with a colored polish because frankly, it looked a bit ugly when applied. You definitely couldn’t wear the basecoat alone or for french manicures. It requires a solid colored polish to cover it.

When I add in the variables of durability and appearance, my new favorite ridge filling basecoat is Wet ‘n Wild Megalast®  The Saving Base.

What About You?

It’s always important to remember that we aren’t the same. We all have different body chemistry which can cause you to have a different experience with these ridge filler basecoats.

For my international readers, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to test some of the brands available to you. Perhaps a group of you can get together and swap the basecoats you have to do your own tests.

I hope you found this article helpful!

Summary of Ridge Filling Basecoat Challenge Results

The post Best Ridge Filler – The Basecoat Challenge first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Some are born with naturally beautiful nails and hands that just seem to stay picture perfect.

For many others (myself included) growing and maintaining healthy nails can be a challenge at times.

Did you know that there are two kinds of stress that can affect the health of your nails?

In this Ask Ana article, you’ll learn the different ways physical and emotional stress impact the health of your nails.

QUESTION

Hello Ana, I’m a very stressed person, dealing with anxiety for a long time now. I have experienced hair loss, acne breakouts and such on. Recently I’ve noticed certain lines on my nails that look like fractures. Seeing these lines made me wonder, is there any affect on the nails by severe anxiety? What are the effects that anxiety have on hair and skin? I have read your article about stress fractures. The lines I mentioned look very much like stress fractures. Could my stress fractures actually been caused by stress? ~Emma

ANSWER

Emma, this is a great question!

There are actually different definitions for the word “stress”. The main two are physical stress and emotional stress. They affect our nails differently.

Definitions of Stress

Constraining force or influence: such as

a:  a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part; especially:  the intensity of this mutual force commonly expressed in pounds per square inch

b:  the deformation caused in a body by such a force

c:  a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation

d:  a state resulting from a stress; especially:  one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium job-related stress [Source: Merriam-Webster.com]

Physical Stress

Transverse and lateral fissures usually occur when the nail is sharply bent. Transverse fissures (horizontal) are caused when the nail plate is nearly bent and small cracks form in the stress area. Lateral fissures (vertical) are often caused when the free edge is sharply impacted. ~Doug Schoon, author of Nail Structure and Product Chemistry

The fissures, which I call stress fractures, happen when you aren’t paying attention and you wack your nail against something hard. It can also happen when doing a task that forces your nail to bend.

Sometimes the stress exerted on the nail is so intense that it can cause the nail to bend but not snap. The nail layers are split too much to recover.

If you are regularly using a jojoba wax ester based nail oil, then your nails will bend. If not, the tips will be too dry and break.

I usually get a stress fracture in one of my nails when putting clean sheets on my bed. I try to get my husband, Cory, to take care of that chore as much as possible!

I used to do a silk or fiberglass nail repair over the stress fracture to preserve the damaged tip. Since I have horses and a garden that require a lot of hard work that puts more stress on my fingernails, I just file off the fracture or cut my nails shorter. The daily chores in my life just don’t allow my nails to stay long. Thankfully, the nail community has shown me that well manicured short nails can be very beautiful. 

The good news about stress fractures is that stress fractures can be filed off.

As for the second kind of stress, emotional stress, well that is a much bigger beast to tackle.

Emotional Stress

We all experience stress in our body every day. Some stresses are healthy and some are not.

Falling in love is a stress on the body but in a very good way. Your body produces chemicals that make you feel great when you’re in love.

There are plenty of other stresses that can take a toll on your body too. Divorce, moving to a new home, health issues, surgery, new medications, and school/job stresses are just a few examples.

I often get asked, “why have my nails suddenly started peeling?” Since the average nail takes about 4 months to replace itself, I ask, “what big thing happened to you 4 months ago?”

Ninety percent of the time it can be pinpointed to a big personal stress.

Why Does Stress Matter?

Our nails are constantly changing.

People want to think that they don’t change, but this just isn’t true.

Take a look at the nails of a toddler and then the nails of someone over 90 years old. Ridges become far more pronounced as we age. This is because children are in a continual growth mode.

As we get older, our digestion declines and it’s harder for the body to absorb all of the nutrients from our food. We also tend to develop more health issues as we age.

It took me 18 months to heal from my abdominal surgery in 2014. About 4 months after the surgery, my nails were noticeably thinner and were constantly peeling. They continued to stay that way for well over a year.

Why?

Because my body was in preservation and healing mode. Since fingernails and toenails are the farthest from your core internal organs, fewer nutrients are delivered to the nail matrix. This means the quality of nail cell your body creates when stressed seriously declines.

Like I mentioned before, some stresses are good. But they can be bad at the same time.

How?

Let’s look at getting married.

There’s the joy of being in love, but the thousands of decisions a couple will make for the wedding day can make both of them go a little crazy.

Or how about moving into a new home?

There’s the joy of finding your new living space and feeling like you’re starting a new stage of your life.

But, then you have to pack boxes, move all the boxes hoping nothing breaks, try to find immediate living stuff as quickly as possible, finish unpacking and decorating.

Sounds exhausting, right? Well, it is. It can take up to a year to finally feel settled in and for your body to feel more relaxed.

Work Till You Die?

Did you know that more people have heart attacks on Mondays?

According to researchers, an “outpouring” of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, occurs within working people on Mondays. These findings were substantiated in a study of 683 patients, predominantly middle-aged men with implanted defibrillators (pacemakers) and a history of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (heart attacks). The data led researchers to conclude that Monday is the most stressful day of the week when it comes to risk factors for heart attack. [Source: DrSinatra.com] https://www.drsinatra.com/heart-attack-risk-factors-rise-on-mondays

Chronic stress at work can take a toll on your body too. All jobs have stressful tasks. We can’t help that. But we can decide which type of stress it’s going to be.

If you dread going to work every morning, it’s time to start looking for a new job. Working at a job you hate could just kill you.

Self-Care

The word disease comes from Middle English (in the sense ‘lack of ease; inconvenience’) and from Old French desaise ‘lack of ease,’ from des- (expressing reversal) + aise ‘ease.’

If your body is not at ease, all sorts of problems start happening.

This is why it’s so important to do as much self-care as possible.

It starts with making sure that you are sleeping enough, making healthy food choices and drinking enough water. The new rule of thumb with water intake is to calculate your body weight and divide it in half. Use this number to determine how many ounces of water your body needs daily.

For example; someone who weighs 150 pounds (68 kilos) needs 75 ounces of water (2.21 L). Someone who weighs 300 pounds (138 kilos) needs 150 ounces (4.44 L).

Of course, as we hear so often from doctors, media, and health experts, we all should exercise regularly, even if it’s just taking a daily walk.

And it’s important to find ways to relax. Whether it’s meditating, reading, journaling, drawing or painting our nails, it’s important to find what works for you.

When your body is at ease, all of your bodily functions are able to heal and improve, including making better nail cells.

And that’s what we all want, right?!

The post Healthy Nails – The Effect of Stress first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

The post ASK ANA – Nail Files With Polish? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Often times people think that clear fingernails is a sign that something is wrong. While your fingernails are a reflection of your overall health, there are external factors that can make you have clear fingernails. By the end of this article, you will understand what things cause nails to turn clear and that it might not be an indication that something bad is happening.

ASK ANA

“Hey there! I was wondering if you could help me with one of my biggest nail problems… I’ve always had extremely transparent nails, we can actually see through them (but that’s only one part of the problem) and as you can guess they’re uncommonly weak, they tend to unwillingly easily bend and thus causing some kind of imitation of brittle nails. I’ve tried different treatments to strengthen them but nothing has ever truly worked. So my question is, would there be something to change in my diet, a keratin trouble of some kind? (since i also have very thin and weak hair) or simply does a magical product i don’t know of actually exists…? Thanks a lot in advance for your precious help! ~Calou

ANSWER

This is a topic that can be very convoluted, so I will do my best to keep it simple. There are many factors that can cause the free edge of your fingernails to be clear. But the most important thing to know is … that your nail plate is made of translucent keratin protein.

The Healthy Nail Plate

Yep, the healthy nail plate is supposed to be semi-transparent. The pink area you see on your nails is actually the life-nourishing, nail bed BELOW the nail plate. The nail bed provides a constant flow of moisture and oil through the nail plate. In fact, there are only two substances that can travel through the nail plate; water and oil. Water can travel THROUGH and AROUND the nail cells.  Certain oils with a small molecular structure can travel AROUND the nail cells. Your fingernail is produced in the matrix right behind your proximal fold, (cuticle line). The lunula (small moon) is the only visible part of your matrix. The reason the lunula is a different color is that those are the keratin nail cells that are plump and still alive. Most people can see the lunula on their thumbnails. As soon as those keratin cells pass the lunula area, they die. They dry out and lose their opacity—becoming translucent, and flatten becoming the 50ish layers of keratin cells that make up our “fingernails.” The color of the free edge that extends past your fingertips depends on how much of the inner cell material stays in the nail plate cells as they continue to grow forward on the nail plate. Usually, they are fairly clear just as they move past the fingertip, then turn white because they aren’t being ‘hydrated’ by a continuous upward flow of body oil and moisture from the nail bed.

Are White Tips Healthy?

So if your nail tips (free edge) is turning white, it’s because your nails are drying out and the whiter they are, the more dried out they are. Hypothetically speaking, this makes me wonder if we’ve got it all backward! Is the reason white tips are so highly coveted because our society has NEVER known how to properly rehydrate their nails?

Are You Average?

Genetics, your health, and natural nail thickness are important parts in determining what color your nail turns as it leaves the fingertip. The average number of keratin layers people have is about 50 layers in their fingernails (100 for toenails). A person with 30 layers may have tips that stay more transparent. A person with 60 layers is going to have more layers to keep hydrated, and if they don’t, the tips become whiter. Once you’ve properly rehydrated your nails with a jojoba wax ester based nail oil like Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™, your nails become the color they are supposed to be. Your nails could be completely translucent, be partially white with spots or bands of translucency, or fully white. All are normal.

Other Factors That Affect Color

Water

According to Dr. Bhupinder Kaur on the MedHelp website, continuous contact with water can make your nails transparent. Washing your hands not only dries out your skin, but it also strips oil from your nails. There are many microscopic channels that make it easy for the nail plate to absorb large quantities of water. A normal nail plate can hold almost 1/3 it’s own weight in water! Remember how I said earlier that water is able to pass BETWEEN the keratin cells but also THROUGH the flattened cells. Nails that have been soaking in water become overly soft, overly flexible and tear easily. Healthy nails have about 18% water. But too much moisture can weaken the nail plate by separating the keratin layers leading to serious peeling and splitting problems.

Solutions

Oil: Since we all need to wash our hands and bathe, to fight the water’s effect on your nails, rehydrate them with a high quality, jojoba based nail and cuticle oil like Simply Pure™. Gloves: Learn to love gloves. I know many of you hate them, but realize that for various reasons you have “decided” to hate them. If you want healthy, beautiful nails, then you need to decide to love gloves. Wear cotton gloves while doing dry housekeeping. Wear dish gloves for as much wet housekeeping as possible; dishes, laundry, heavy cleaning. Cut back on your contact with soaps and detergents. Polish: Nail polish is a strong protective barrier between your nail plate and water. Nail polish doesn’t eliminate water absorption but it slows it down significantly. Just make sure you are using my Fab 5 Technique and completely wrapping your base coat and top coat around your free edge.

Nail Polish Removers

I know I’m stating the obvious, but polish removers are very drying to your nails. If you love polish then you have to love removers. But most of you don’t. You fear acetone. Why? Because someone in the non-acetone industry had an excellent public relations department who brainwashed us into thinking that non-acetone is less drying. We bought into the lie. The truth is that acetone and non-acetone ingredients (ethyl acetate & methyl ethyl ketone) are solvents. They dissolve stuff that water can’t dissolve. Nail polish needs a solvent. According to scientific information, acetone is slightly safer than ethyl acetate & methyl ethyl ketone. And acetone dissolves things faster! You want the product that dissolves lacquer faster because it’s LESS drying.

Work With the Acetone

If acetone is going to dissolve nail polish, then it’s going to dissolve the oil in your nails. Acetone also evaporates extremely fast, taking your nail’s moisture with it. This seriously whitens nail tips and makes them very brittle.

1. BEFORE removing polish, cover the skin around your nails with an inexpensive oil from your kitchen. Let the acetone work on that oil instead of your skin’s oils. My new favorite method is to add Simply Soft™ acetone additive to my acetone which lets me skip the oil slathering process.

2. Use my Soak & Swipe method to remove polish in a few minutes. I’m not kidding. You can remove the polish on all 10 fingers in about 4 minutes.

The manicure clips trap in your body heat, which warms up the acetone, making it dissolve polish 50% faster.

3. AFTER removing polish, gently scrub your nails with a nail brush and warm, soapy water for one or two minutes. This will put water back into your nails.

4. Rehydrate your nails with a jojoba wax ester based nail oil. Keep reapplying oil when your nails feel dry for 2 to 8 hours.

5. When you’re ready to polish your nails again, follow the directions for my Fab 5 Polish Wrap.

When to Visit The Doctor

NOTE: I doubt there is any great medical significance here, but there are three minerals that should be checked to make sure you are not deficient in them.

• Zinc
• Calcium
• Magnesium

These are checked on blood tests but are not done routinely so you will need to ask your General Practitioner to check for them specifically.

Deficiencies in these can cause discolored, brittle or white spots on nails. Make sure you are eating a good diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables.

In Conclusion

There are lots of reason for having clear fingernails. For most people, it has nothing to do with health issues. But, if you tried all of my solutions and are still having issues, it might be worth a trip to the doctor. Most likely they will set your mind at ease by telling you that there is nothing wrong.

The post Clear Fingernails & Health Issues first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

ASK ANA: Yellow Nails – How To Remove Nail Polish Properly

ASK ANA

Hi Ana! I have a question that’s been bugging me. I have semi-stained nails, they’re not as yellow as the one you’ve posted in your Yellow Nail – Is There a Basecoat that Prevents It? article, but if you place my nail next to someone else’s nails who hasn’t used nail polish, there’s a clear difference that hers are whiter. One of my friends told me that I should be letting my nails ‘regrow’ so the yellow will go away…? So I should stay away from any nail polish until the nail regrows and it is back to its normal state. Does this work and is this true? I’m very confused. I’ve also tried everything to get rid of the remaining stain…. from lemons to whitening toothpaste to whitening cleanser and nothing seems to work! ~Lucy

ANSWER

The short answer is if you love nail polish, you’re going to have stained nails.

Embrace it.

Getting Up Close

Nail Keratin Cells Under Electron Microscope

The long answer is that we need to understand how dyes and pigments work in nail polish. We also need to to understand how those ingredients affect the nail plate with our removal technique. Our nail plates are made up of about 50 layers of keratin. The cells are layered like shingles on your roof. The layers on your nails grow from your cuticle line to your tips.

Polish Pigments

“Pigments are the heart of the polish. They provide the color and covering power. A white pigment called titanium dioxide is frequently combined with colored pigments to increase coverage or produce pastel colors. Other pigments, such as bismuth oxychloride and the mineral mica, are coated with a thin layer of titanium dioxide or other colorants to create many beautiful iridescent shades. Dyes are also occasionally used to modify the color. What’s the difference between pigments and dyes? Pigments do not dissolve in the nail polish formulation. They’re finely ground solid particles of color. But even when ground into tiny particles, the pigments are still far too large to penetrate the nail pate plate and cause staining. Dyes are soluble and dissolve in the formulation. Food coloring see used to color Easter eggs are examples of soluble dies. Notice how easily the dice oaks into the surface of the egg to stain it?” ~Doug Schoon, author of Nail Structure and Product Chemistry

Stop Using Polish? Say It Ain’t So!

Yes, if you never wear polish again, you will have beautiful clean looking nails. In essence your friend is correct. Her advice is boring. I, like you, love all the pretty colors, glitters, chromes, holographics, etc. My life would be just too dull without polish.

No Scrub-a-Dubbing Allowed

Most people soak a cotton ball with polish remover and start scrubbing side to side, then back and forth. Just keep working at it until it’s dissolved. Right?

Wrong.

There’s a Better Way

Over the years, I’ve tested just about every method of removing nail polish—especially stubborn ones like glitter, UV gel, and thick multi-layer manis. The one I keep coming back to is what we call the Soak & Swipe™ method. It’s based on proven principles that protect your nails and skin while effectively removing polish.

Here’s what makes it different:

• Acetone works best when fully saturated and allowed to sit on the nail. This gives it time to dissolve polish—without the need for rubbing or scraping.

• Cotton acts as a delivery system, but most people don’t realize it needs to be completely soaked with acetone to be effective. Not damp. Soaked.

• Your body heat matters—it helps acetone work faster. That’s why we recommend using clips to gently hold the soaked cotton against the nail.

• Acetone is extremely drying to both skin and nails. Before applying the clips, I always rub cooking oil (like canola or olive oil) onto the skin around my nails. This simple step helps reduce the harsh drying effect. (Another way to reduce the drying effects of acetone is adding our Simply Soft™ Acetone Booster to 8 oz of Acetone.)

One more important tip: when you remove the clip, use a fresh acetone-soaked cotton pad to “swipe” away the old polish in one clean motion. No rubbing. No peeling. Just polish that slides off easily when you give acetone the time and setup it needs to work.

This technique not only saves time—it helps preserve your natural oils and prevents unnecessary damage to the nail plate and surrounding skin.

If you’re trying to grow stronger, healthier nails, how you remove your polish really matters. Soak & Swipe™ is about removing polish without removing the health of your nails in the process.

Knowledge Is Power

Combining this technique with the understanding of the nail plate’s structure, it’s easy to see that this is the best way to remove polish. By completely dissolving the polish first, and sliding it off in the same direction as the keratin cells grow, it helps reduce yellow stains. Notice I said reduce? Depending on the amount of dyes in a polish’s formulation, you just won’t be able to completely stop the yellow stains.

The formulation of the polish determines performance, not the brand name.

I have used several salon quality, more expensive polishes that have stained just as well as the inexpensive drug-store brands.

Steps To Success

Do Not Buff Out Yellow Stains

And for that matter, don’t buff ever.

Since you’ve only got about 50 layers of keratin. Each time you buff, you remove a layer or two.

No big deal?

It takes about 4 months for your nails to completely replace themselves from cuticle line to tip.

If you buff your nails every week, then you’ve shaved down 16 to 36 layers!

Then you wonder why your nails are thin, peeling, and breaking?

Yes, it’s a big deal. I explain this more in Ridges In Nails – To Buff or Not to Buff?

Ditch the Whitening Ideas

As I mentioned in my “Polish Chipping in the Shower” article, nails can soak up 3 times their weight in water.

Water pushes the nail layers apart. This leads to peeling.

It’s damaging to soak your nails in a whitening solution or scrubbing them with toothpaste.

Always Use Base Coat

Since you don’t know how much dyes are in any polish, it’s best to create a barrier layer.

A good ridge filling base coat does just that. It prevents the dyes from having direct contact with the nail plate.

Remember, base coats are formulated to bond to the nail plate. Polishes are formulated to bond to base coat. And topcoat is for a durable high gloss shine.

Any product that claims to be a base and topcoat combined will do neither function well. 

In Conclusion

Using two layers of a pink ridge filling base coat and proper polish removal technique will reduce a large amount of yellow staining. The pink tint does a great job of concealing the staining.

If you end up with the crazy blue, green, or pink stains, Polish Stain Removal Tips article.

Yellow stains are the consequence of lacquer lust.

As for me, I’m going to keep lusting and polishing.

Have a Question You’d Like Ana to Answer?

If Ana features your question in an “Ask Ana” article, you’ll get an email from us within a week asking you for your shipping address. Woohoo! This is our way of thanking you for asking a great question and helping deliver more value to our NailCareHQ readers, Blissettes and the Bliss Kiss™ community. Info@MyBlissKiss.com

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post ASK ANA: Yellow Nails – How To Remove Nail Polish Properly first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.