In today’s article, I’m covering a new method to quickly help combat dry skin and nails.

As many of my loyal readers know, I like to test new things on myself before writing articles for you.

One of my best friends with really dry skin started doing an overnight hydration treatment with our Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™ oil and Simply Sealed™ lotion stick. She wouldn’t stop raving about her results. I was suddenly intrigued.

I’ve been testing this intensive treatment several times when my nails are feeling drier than normal—this winter was tough for many of us!

I have to say, I’ve been really pleased with the results. My dry skin is gone and my nails are full of oil.

How do I know? The tips turn transparent! I explain this more in my article about whether clear fingertips are healthy.

When I originally wrote this article several months ago, I titled it an “Overnight Hydration Treatment”.

I have since done the intensive treatment for shorter periods of two to four hours and have named it a “Mini-Hydration Treatment”. I usually do a mini in between manicures.

Although my tips didn’t become as transparent as an overnight treatment, I still love the results.

What You Need

• Naked nails
• An Intensive Hydration Kit
  • A jojoba wax ester based oil blend (like Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™)
  • A “balm” type of lotion (no water in the ingredient list) Simply Sealed™
  • Nitrile or latex gloves

Directions

For more detailed instructions and videos about my Ultimate Nail Care Routine, click here.

• Liberally apply nail oil to nails and skin surrounding your nails. Be sure to add a little extra to the really dry skin patches
• Apply your favorite “balm” type of lotion to your hands. You don’t want anything with water in the ingredients or it will cause excess sweating
• Apply nitrile or latex gloves
• Let your body warmth do the work to help the ingredients penetrate faster.

I often do a mini-hydration treatment for a few hours while watching a movie, gardening, doing household chores, etc. 

Many people, myself included, have done the treatment overnight. For me, the first night was a little more restless, since sleeping with the gloves was a new sensation for me.

I did not have trouble sleeping with future treatments.

What To Expect With an Intensive Hydration Treatment

The results I experienced seem kinda’ obvious, but my skin felt lovely and soft when I woke up. I expected my skin to be all wet and sweaty. And that just didn’t happen.

But more than the super soft skin, the greater surprise was seeing that the overnight hydration made my nail tips transparent. It looked similar to when your nails absorb water in the shower or bath.

But this felt completely different. Instead of my nails feeling flat, soft, bendy and in danger of tears like they would after taking a long shower, my nails felt strong while being flexible.

The transparency was only partial, starting from the tips and moving back toward the fingertip skin. Our free edge has 3 sides that absorb the oil; top, bottom and tips. You can see this in the photo to the right.

My C-curve remained the same. When your nails absorb water in the bath or shower, the nails become overly soft and flatten. When the water evaporates, your nails return to their normal shape.

With this intensive treatment, the transparency didn’t go away. Applying polish trapped the oil into my nail plate. I can continue to see the transparency if I paint my nails with only base coat.

The results for people vary. Some people see very little transparency while others will have completely transparent tips. 

Why is this? I believe it has to do with the thickness or thinness of their nail plates. Just know that your results will be great!

What Does This Mean?

From my experience and research, transparent nails after an intensive hydration treatment means that the nail plate has absorbed the oil through all of the layers.

The reason you can see your pink nail bed through your nail plate is because the nail bed is constantly pushing the perfect blend of about 18% water and 5% body oil up through the nail plate.

When your nail tips grow past your fingertips, the nail is no longer being nourished with this moisture blend. Your tips dry out and turn a white or yellowish color.

Side Note: Yellow tips don’t always mean your health is compromised or you are a smoker. For those of us obsessed with polish, we can blame our yellow staining on the wonderfully deep colored polishes we wear.

I have found the intensive hydration treatment for dry skin and nails to be really effective in getting my nails and skin back on track when I’ve been neglecting a normal oiling routine.

I’m looking forward to hearing about your results if you try this. You can email me through our contact page at http://www.myblisskiss.com/contact/

Remember, if you need more detailed instructions and videos about my Ultimate Nail Care Routine, click here. You can also join me and other amazingly supportive Blissettes in the Blissette Nail Bar on Facebook.

Here’s to your longer, stronger nails and kissing dry skin goodbye!

Featured Bliss Kiss™ Products

 [huge_it_slider id=”2″]

The post Dry Skin – Intensive Hydration Treatment first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Ask Ana: How to Stop Biting Skin

UPDATE: Since writing this article, I have replaced the 3 Day Get Naked Challenge to a quicker Intensive Hydration Treatment that can be done in 2 to 12 hours.

Hi Ana! I have been reading about your Bliss Kiss™ products and received it yesterday in the mail!!

Last night I took photos of my nails with a macro lens and was shocked at how terrible my nails were that close up!  I immediately applied the oil. then before bed I applied it again..this morning I woke up and my nails look so much better already! Thank you!!!

Even though I am in the middle of my 3 Day Get Naked Challenge, but had a couple of questions that I didn’t see on your website (if they are there, please point me in the right direction).

1-Right now, my cuticles are really thick. In the past I would pick/pull/bite them off.  What do you recommend while I am going through this naked phase?  (I pulled one off already and was so disappointed with myself.)

2-Once my cuticles are healed, what is the best method of cuticle care?

3- I am oiling my nails up to the first knuckle and rubbing the residual into my hands, but I am used to using lotion.  Can I still use lotion? Or will the oil on my fingers help the dryness of my hands? -Sommer

ANSWER

Sommer,

I’m looking forward to seeing your results!

What Biting Does

What you are biting is actually the proximal nail fold, The entire planet has been taught incorrectly that it is the cuticle. That band of skin is a required guardian seal that keeps bacteria and germs away from the nail matrix. This is where new nail cells are formed.

The body’s response to the biting damage is to grow thicker layers of skin cells so it can protect better. Essentially, your body is trying to turn that skin into calluses to protect from the wear and tear we can inflict on ourselves with our fingers or teeth.

Every time you want to bite, pick, pull, etc to that skin, these are your triggers that the skin is drying out and needs more oil. Ultimately, you want to keep a really thin layer of oil on this skin at all times for quite a while.

For me it usually means to oil every few hours. I oil A LOT more during the winter when that skin dries out really easily.

I also try very hard to not use harsh soaps to wash my hands. Over time, your body will recover and that band of skin will return to it’s normal size.

You might want to read Kimber’s story. She was a serious skin nipper and a swatch blogger—a dangerous and painful combination.

What Is The Cuticle?

The cuticle is actually a transparent layer of skin from the underside of the eponychium that sticks to the nail plate while it’s growing. If necessary, we remove the cuticle before a manicure because polish doesn’t stick to skin.

The cuticle can ONLY be removed with gentle scraping with a special tool and a cuticle remover to dissolve the skin. Removing the cuticle may be necessary when you are using regular polish and have issues with polish chipping back at your proximal fold.

Removing the cuticle is very important when applying acrylic or gel nail enhancements too. The product will bond to the nail plate better and last longer between servicing.

The best ingredients to dissolve the skin are sodium hydroxide (lye) or potassium carbonate (potash). With a pH of over 12, these substances work to soften and break down dead skin.

Our challenge is that these skin dissolving ingredients don’t care if the skin is alive or dead. If the cuticle remover gets on your live skin, it will dissolve it too.

This results in those tiny, shredded looking hangnails around the cuticle line that are painful and can bleed. It’s very important to only allow the cuticle remover to be on the nail plate.

Can I Use Lotion?

Absolutely, keep using lotion! Just apply your oil first since the jojoba actually penetrates the skin.

The ingredients in your lotion don’t penetrate, they just create a barrier that traps your body’s natural moisture and oil in your skin.

Since the first ingredient is usually water, this is why lotions rinse off so easily when you wash your hands.

I always look for a lotion or balm that doesn’t contain water. Look for wonderful oils and butters in the ingredient list. They will keep your skin soft and create a water resistant barrier for a few hand washings.

Keep up the great work! It will pay off.

In Conclusion

Besides anxiety or boredom—which is worthy of a completely separate article—we tend to bite our skin because it’s dry and hard.

When we moisturize the skin with a high quality, jojoba wax ester based nail oil, the skin will get softer, and we will leave it alone. Remember to use your biting or picking as a mental trigger to use oil. Your skin and nails will thank you.

I hope that helps! ~Ana

The post How To Stop Biting Skin first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Pure Acetone – Can I Be Allergic?

ASK DOUG

“Hi Doug, I recently attended one of your Scientist and the Geek presentations the UK where you stated that no one could be allergic to acetone.

Why is this? I would love to share this with my college class and would like more information so I could better inform them.”  ~anonymous

ANSWER

This is a great question since many incorrectly believe they are allergic to acetone.

Also, I loved that you want to share the info with others. Oh yeah, that’s what it’s all about!

So in that light, I wanted to share with you my response to her, so you may benefit as well. I hope you enjoy.

Your Body Makes Acetone!

The chemical structure of acetone doesn’t trigger the immune response largely because acetone is found naturally in our body as a by-product of food metabolism.

It would NOT be good to for our bodies to become allergic to something that is naturally found in our bodies.

Doug Schoon, Author of Nail Structure and Product Chemistry

Only certain kinds of substances can trigger allergic reactions.

Acetone and all of its closely related chemical cousins don’t cause allergic reactions, because they don’t have the proper chemical composition and shape.

Acetone can cause skin dryness, which some misinterpret as allergy. Skin dryness and flaking is likely only skin “irritation”, which is different from an “allergy”.

Allergy vs. Irritation

Skin allergies are permanent and irreversible.

Skin irritations are temporary and reversible.

So What Am I Allergic To?

Some incorrectly believe they are allergic, because they’ve had a skin reaction while removing nail coatings with acetone.

The acetone won’t cause the allergy, but they may be allergic to ingredients from the product that is dissolved in the acetone.

This is why skin contact with nail coating ingredients with acetone solvents should be minimized as much as possible.

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post ASK DOUG: Can I Be Allergic to Pure Acetone? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

 Callus Treatment

Callus or Callous—no matter how you spell it, calluses can be a nuisance.

But in this article, I’ll explain why they are a necessary nuisance and how to care for calluses.

ASK ANA

“Ana, I don’t know if you have addressed this issue before so here goes: I use your nail and cuticle oil everyday, all of my nails look great except one, my middle finger on my right hand. I think it is because I use my stylus when typing on my iPad™. I hate the crusty look and feel of this finger. I have used clippers to the point of making it bleed. What should I do?” ~Ruth Ann 

ANSWER

I actually learned something while researching this article—the importance of triangular writing utensils.

Huh? Read on… it will make sense in a minute.

All through my high school and college years, I had this thick skin on the side of my right middle finger as well and never really understood why.

Since I haven’t written a term paper in over 20 years, I haven’t had the problem. I spend more hours typing and only write on the occasional post-it note.

Pressure of writing implement on the middle finger causes a callus

Now, with the last two years of nail structure education under my belt, the answer is ridiculously obvious to me.

Don’t Rub Me Wrong

This thick skin is the first major callus that all of us develop when we start to use a pencil. In high school and college, we can spend hours writing.

The body’s protective response to any motion that is rubbing our skin is to create a callus.

Also, pencils and a lot of ball point pens are a hexagon shape which creates a sharp, angled pressure point against the skin.

Spur Me On

You may have also noticed that you have a bump on your bone near this callused skin, that is not on your other hand.

Years of writing irritation caused your body to lay down extra bone to protect your finger in this area as well. This is a bone spur. You can see this really clearly in my photo to the right.

According to WebMD, a bone spur (osteophyte) is a bony growth formed on normal bone. Most people think of something sharp when they think of a “spur,” but a bone spur is just extra bone. It’s usually smooth, but it can cause wear and tear or pain if it presses or rubs on other bones or soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, or nerves in the body. Common places for bone spurs include the spine, shoulders, hands, hips, knees, and feet.

A bone spur forms as the body tries to repair itself by building extra bone. It typically forms in response to pressure, rubbing, or stress that continues over a long period of time. [Source: WebMD.com]

Since this bone spur doesn’t create a lot of pain, it’s not a medical issue, but I’ve noticed that it can be very tender. Especially when I’m at a 2-day conference taking notes without a life-saving callus! It hurts to write.

Matrix Damage

Depending on where you hold your pencil, it may sit on your matrix (right behind the cuticle line).

If you notice that the side of that fingernail is weaker, or has a tendency to peel, it’s because the continuous pencil pressure has damaged the growing nail cells.

Cut And Regret

Since calluses are a protective, thickened build up of skin cells, they get hard and dry out.

It’s tempting to want to cut or file that skin down. Don’t do it.

The body’s response is to protect the skin from damage. Cutting the callus will simply trigger the body to build the callus thicker. It becomes a vicious cycle and often times a painful one.

Instead, keep the callused skin moisturized with regular application of a high quality, jojoba based nail and cuticle oil.

Solutions

• Try to write with triangular pens or pencils if writing for a long period of time. You can also invest in triangularly shaped pencil grips for current pens and pencils.
• Add a triangular grip to your iPad stylus or try different stylus holding positions, like in the photos to the right.
• Keep callused skin softer with consistent application of a high quality, jojoba based nail and cuticle oil.

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post ASK ANA: Callus or Callous Treatment? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

How Do I Stop the Hard, Dry Skin On Hands Around My Nails?

ASK ANA

I have a question for you from a member of a polish discussion group I am in.

“I moisturize constantly, and the skin around the tops (as in closest to my knuckles) and sides show that, but no matter what I do, the skin directly to the sides at the TIPS of my fingers is rough. Usually looks fine unless it starts to peel, but it feels terrible when I touch it (doesn’t hurt, just feels wrong) and the OCD part of me wants to pick it away. I never noticed it before I started moisturizing. I assume it was unnoticeable because the entire area was dry. Does anyone else have rough skin around the tips of their nails despite moisturizing? Is there a solution? It’s a real bummer.”

What is the cause for this? This area will sometimes harden for me as well. With use of Simply Pure Nail Oil™ it is less often, but it does happen from time to time. ~Christian

ANSWER

Christian, thank you so much for asking this! Great question.

I actually had to sit and think about this one for a minute because no one has ever asked, and it’s not in Doug Schoon’s book, Nail Structure and Product Chemistry

I get this dry, hard skin on my hands as well. My guess is that anyone with nails longer than nubbins does too. There are two reasons.

It’s Friction Baby

1. They’re calluses.

Our skin has an amazing ability to protect itself in areas that experience a lot of friction, pressure or irritation.

EVERY time we put pressure on our fingertips, we press that skin into a mildly sharp edge of our fingernail.

Try it—put 2 fingers together and press. Watch what happens to your skin—it moves up and around the outside of the nail. This means that every time we touch something or pick something up, we are putting a “cutting” type of pressure on that skin.

Nanette Silverberg, MD, a dermatology professor at Columbia University, says, “Friction strips the skin’s moisture and enhances the dryness.” [source: WebMD.com]

The body’s response is to thicken the layers of skin in that vulnerable area. I noticed that the callusing is harder on my right hand fingers than my left. This makes total sense since I’m right handed.

So in a sense—these calluses are not wrong—they’re a very good thing. We just don’t like the way they feel.

It also explains why we don’t really feel pain when nipping that skin off. It’s just hardened layers of dead skin.

But what happens when you’ve nipped that skin away? It feels really tender until that skin thickens up again!

Hum, that makes me question….what are we doing to ourselves?

Will the Real Moisturizer Please Stand Up?

2. It’s darn hard to moisturize that area.

Our fingers have a lot of trouble really getting into those small areas around the nail to moisturize with lotion.

And in reality, lotion doesn’t “moisturize” anyway, no matter what they say on the bottle. It creates a barrier on your skin that is not absorbed.

In my 45 plus years, I’ve only found one thing to help that skin stay softer— Simply Pure™ hydrating oil and Simply Sealed™ Lotion Stick.

Just like our nails, there are two things that keep our skin soft and flexible or “moisturized”—water and sebum (body oil).

Now, sebum really isn’t an “oil”—it’s a wax ester. Jojoba is a wax ester also.

It actually can be absorbed by the skin and nails. Simply Pure™ contains the highest percentage of jojoba on the market today.

Since Simply Pure™ has an “oil” consistency, it can seep down under the nail edge and soften those calluses, especially if you consistently apply the oil “under” your nail tips.

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post Ask Ana – How Do I Stop Hard, Dry Skin On Hands? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.