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 improving.

But even when avoiding water, mine never went away.

I used to use metal files to clean under my nails and sometimes was a bit aggressive. Could that have damaged my nails?

I’m including a picture of the transparency (below). I used a pink cuticle stick to show how bad it is.

Photo Used with Stephanie’s Permission

It’s like this on most of my nails and I hate it since at times it makes my nails look dirty and dingy even when they are perfectly clean. Is this something that will correct over time?

I’ve been using nail oil and have seen dramatic results in my nails already. I hope that in time, things will heal. Thanks!” ~Stephanie

ANSWER

Ok, just to warn you…I’m about to get into some very geeky nail terms.

I’m going to throw around some big words that most people wouldn’t bother publishing because they think you’re not smart enough.

But I believe, if you are truly seeking the truth about proper nail care, then you are smart enough to learn the right words.

Just like a toddler can learn that the proper name for a “binkie” is pacifier, I know you can learn the correct definition of the parts of the nail and surrounding skin. It feels empowering to “know” what you’re talking about.

I have done my best to include labeled macro shots to help you understand.

The Guardian Seals

We have four guardian seals which keep bacteria and germs away from sensitive live tissue under and around our nails.

Three guardian seals are easily seen; the two side wall lateral nail folds and the proximal fold of the eponychium (“cuticle” line).

The fourth guardian seal is under your nail where the nail leaves the skin of your pink nail bed and becomes your nail tip. This is also known as the free edge.

Mirror Images

Two of the guardian seals are very similar in structure but are opposites; the Eponychium and Hyponychium (epp-uh-NICK-ee-um and hip-uh-NICK-ee-um)

The Eponychium

CLICK FOR MORE DETAIL

What most people think of as their “cuticle” is actually the “proximal nail fold of the eponychium“.

Proximal is a medical term meaning nearest—since it is the nearest skin to your nail plate.

As you can see in the photo of my nails to the right, the proximal nail fold should be a nice tight band of skin sealed to the nail plate.

The eponychium covers the newly forming natural nail plate with a protective roof of living skin.

The matrix is where new nail cells are created and is located behind the proximal fold.

Depending on the size of your matrix, your eponychium extends to approximately 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch behind your proximal nail fold.

Extreme cuts, nicks, bruises, irritating substances, or other injuries to the eponychium can cause permanently lost or damaged nails plates.

The most common injuries I see to the proximal nail fold are “nipping” or “extreme pushing“.

It is actually possible to push your proximal nail fold so hard that it wraps under itself, causing inflammation and possible infection because it’s no longer attached to the nail plate.

It breaks my heart when I see this red irritation in nail blogger’s photos.

Since the thin skin of the proximal nail fold dries out quickly, it is easily—and incorrectly—assumed to be un-necessary.

There is nothing that is FARTHER from the TRUTH.

When this skin dries out, the best solution is to keep it moisturized with a continuous, thin layer of high quality, jojoba wax ester based nail oil. This might mean that you’re applying the oil every few hours.

The Hyponychium

CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE DETAIL

Since the Eponychium is the guardian seal on top of the nail plate, the Hyponychium is the guardian seal below the nail plate.

Please refer to the photo to the right, so I don’t completely confuse you.

The hyponychium prevents infectious germs and bacteria from getting underneath your nail. If this seal is broken, the nail plate may lift away from the pink nail bed and dramatically increase the risk of infection. [Source: Nail Structure and Product Chemistry, Doug Schoon]

Healthy VS Cleanliness

To all of my germa-phobe readers—I’m about to turn your world upside down.

In the world of nails—cleanliness is NOT next to Godliness.

Does this mean you should run around with a bunch of “who knows what” under your nails?

NO!

BUT… there is a fine line . . .

Clean VS Dirty

You can have clean nail tips by using a nail brush regularly, yet they can still “look dirty”, especially in the corners.

Personally, I deal with this every week.

The dirt of life continually “settles” into the corners of my nail tips even though I clean them with a nail brush daily.

Does this mean you and I have poor hygiene? NO!!!!!

Some people also have “off-white” nail tips. They may look yellow. Sometimes this can be caused by health issues, age, or simply genetics.

And we can’t forget the most common reason for yellowing nails—wearing nail polish. The pigments stain the top few layers. It’s no big deal, but so many people freak out about it.

Metal and Matter Don’t Mix

Digging out the dirt with metal file points puts too much pressure on the hyponychium skin and WILL cause it to recede. It’s a similar effect that nail biters experience. The more they bite the nail past the hyponychium, the more it’s forced to keep receding to protect the nail bed.

I don’t think it’s necessary to dig out the dirt if the hyponychium is going to pay the price. There are other solutions.

Stephanie, if you just recently stopped using a metal file, then your see through nail tips could be because of aggressive cleaning with the point of a metal file.

The good news is that the hyponychium will return to it’s normal position when given several months to heal by leaving it alone. Make sure you’re applying your nail oil to the hyponychium to keep the skin soft and help it heal.

Are See-Through Nail Tips Bad?

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE DETAIL

Like I mentioned in a previous article, I don’t think clear spots in tips is necessarily a bad thing.

As you can see in the image to the right of my nails, I constantly have clear spots in the inside corners of my nail tips.

Although I’m not a doctor or a dermatologist, I’ve spent a lot of time learning and thinking about what happens to our nails as we live our lives.

The inside corners (near the sidewall nail folds) of our nails take A LOT of stress.

They’re constantly getting pulled, pushed, and jammed while we open and close various doors, turn knobs, pull handles, push and pull fabric, open and close boxes, etc.

These forces can cause the nail plate to pull away from the hyponychium.

This is also the same area where we usually get hard skin calluses too.

Like I explained in a previous article, the edge of your nail is continually cutting into that skin. You can see this really clearly in my photo to the right. Any time you put pressure on your finger tips to pick anything up, that nail edge digs into the skin.

The body’s only protection mechanism is to create calluses. Nail oil is also very important in preventing the calluses from drying out.

Drying Out Takes Time

Once the nail tip has pulled away from the hyponychium, it doesn’t turn white right away.

While your nail plate is on the pink nail bed, it is being nourished with a continuous flow of moisture and sebum (body oil). This keeps the nail cells transparent.

When the nail plate leaves the nail bed, it slowly starts to dry out and become white (or off-white). Just as an autumn leaf takes time to lose it’s moisture and become crispy—so does the free edge.

Do You Wick?

The other idea, which I see more in your nails, Stephanie, is that perhaps the moisture and sebum from the nail bed is wicking out into your free edge.

Even though the nail plate has past the hyponychium, it’s possible that they are still receiving the moisture which keeps that portion clear.

This may be especially true if your nails have this clear band all the time.

If see through nail tips is a situation that just started with no apparent cause, then it might be time to visit your doctor.

Solutions

To keep your nail tips clean, use a nail brush when you feel they are dirty. It is not necessary with every hand washing, but should be done at least once a day.

We don’t have to clean our hands and nails excessively like we are a doctor “scrubbing in” for surgery.

It simply dries out your skin and nails more, forcing you to need to constantly apply more nail oil.

Dealing With the Dirt

I usually don’t notice the dirt in my corners until I remove my manicure each week. 

I have a similar problem with the corners of some of my nails collecting fine dirt. Try to use only a stiff nail brush to clean under your nails with water.

If I still have dirt in the corners, then I will use a small makeup brush or art brush saturated with water, acetone or rubbing alcohol to get into those corners. You’ll have to see which one works better for you.

I’ve found cleaning the underside with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip brand cotton swab to be very helpful when preparing to polish my nails.

Also, using the Fab 5 Polish Wrap—2 basecoat wraps, 2 color coats, and 1 topcoat wrap—really helps keep the dirt away. Dirt just doesn’t stick to polish the way it does to the natural nail.

Cover Up

Since you’ve had this your entire life Stephanie, then it’s just the way your nails are. Since we’re all different, sometimes it can be frustrating when nature hasn’t blessed us with “picture perfect nails”.

Of course you can always cover your nails with colored polish.

You can also use polishes to “recreate” the natural look you are looking for.

This is something that my Mom has started doing since she has always had “very off-white” tips. After sampling every white and french pink polish I own, she was able to find the perfect combination. That’s a good perk when you’re related to a polish nut. 😀

Ophilie at Tartofraises has created a great video showing how to do a soft french manicure to make your nails look “more natural”.

For you Stephanie, I would recommend a more solid pink tone over your basecoat, then the white on the tips.

Hope this helps! ~Ana

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The post See Through Nails – Can I Fix It? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Do you hate polish chipping within a few days of polishing your nails? Who doesn’t?

In this article, you’ll learn:

• How I discovered why my polish was chipping after showering
• Why five layers of polish can be your best friend
• The fastest way to remove polish with a minimal acetone drying effect

How to Prevent Polish Chipping

We are all looking for ways to have our polish last longer and for a polish that doesn’t chip.

For me, it started with a Google search in 2010, “How Do I Keep My Polish from Chipping in the Shower?”

The solution came several months later after I had done over 200 hours of exhaustive research. I didn’t find the answer, but I did find the pieces of information necessary to create the answer.

The quick answer is that nails absorb 1/3rd their weight in water. When water is absorbed through the underside of your nail, it breaks the polish-to-nail bond. The long answer is here:  “How Do I Keep My Polish from Chipping in the Shower?”

I created the Fab 5 Polish Wrap to help prevent my nails from absorbing water.

Does it stop my nails from absorbing water if I’m doing dishes without gloves for 30 minutes? NO!

But it does stop my nails from absorbing water in a 15 minute luxurious shower! And as a Mom to 4 active children and an entrepreneur, that’s all I need!

The result, is that I can easily wear my nail polish for 7 to 10 days without any chipping! And nail polish that doesn’t chip is especially appealing when I’ve spent a few hours creating gorgeous nail art—I want it to stick around!

The Fab 5 Wrap Overview

1. 1. Two Base Coat Wraps: Apply 2 coats of ridge filling base coat, wrapping completely to the underside of exposed nail tip. Any polish that gets on your skin will wash or peel off. (OPI ridge filler is a good base coat.)
   2. Two Color Coat: Keep an orange wood stick available to wipe polish off of skin before it dries.
   3. One Top Coat Wrap: Apply 1 coat of your favorite quick dry top coat, wrapping completely to the underside of exposed nail tip. (I normally use Seche Vite top coat.)
   4. Clean Smudges: Dip a small makeup brush or art brush in acetone to clean up polish on skin and create a clean line near your eponychium (“cuticle” line).
   5. Oil: Apply your favorite nail oil to skin and nail polish.

The Fab 5 Wrap Details

1. 1. Clean Nails: Wipe your nails with rubbing alcohol and a lint free pad as your first step. If your nails are long enough, use a Q-Tip brand cotton swab with rubbing alcohol to clean the underside of the nail. This removes the surface oils and dirt from your nails.
   2. Basecoat Wrap: Use a good base coat, wrapping it around to the underside of your nail (not just capping your tips).
      * Base coat is formulated to bond to the NAIL surface.
      * Color nail polish is formulated to bond with base coat—not nails.
   3. Color Coats: Apply 2 coats of colored nail polish.
   4. Topcoat Wrap: Completely wrap your nails with topcoat all the way to the underside.
      * A good topcoat is also formulated to bond ONLY to nail lacquer (polish and base coat) and add a high gloss shine.
   5. Clean up your polish along the eponychium (“cuticle” line) using acetone and a makeup or artist brush.

1. 1. Rehydrate your cuticle lines and surrounding skin with a high quality, jojoba wax ester based, penetrating nail and cuticle oil like Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™ hydrating oil.
   2.  Apply a new layer of topcoat daily or every-other day, wrapping it around your tips. Apply nail oil two times per day or more.
      * TIP: The ingredients that make a good topcoat bond to nail polish and have an incredible shine make it a horrible base coat! Steer away from any product labeled as basecoat AND topcoat. It will do neither one well. ~Ana

Polish Removal

After 7 days, remove your polish with acetone. Acetone is actually less drying to your nails than non-acetone because it dissolves the polish quicker.

I find that my Soak & Swipe Manicure Clips do a better job than the traditional foil wraps.

Nail Oil Mini-Hydration Cycle

1. Apply a high quality, penetrating nail oil to your nails about once an hour for the next 4 to 8 hours. 
2. Or, do an intensive mini-hydration treatment with latex gloves. I have the instructions in my hydration treatment article.

Start over with a fresh Fab 5 Polish Wrap Manicure and enjoy!

The post PREVENT POLISH CHIPPING – Fab Five Polish Wrap first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

The Nail Salon Manicure – Is It Hurting You?

ASK ANA

“Ana, I have a question that has been plaguing me for a while now.  I have had several salon manicures from several different salons.  They all have the same techniques when doing manicures.  I have noticed that they go against just about every rule I have learned (mostly from you).

They used the roughest grit files, they file the sides of the nail, they file in both directions, they don’t cap the nails or paint the underside of the nail.  It feels like I am worse off getting a salon manicure.  I always notice my nails are in worse shape than when I went in.  It goes without saying I don’t get them very often, especially not now that I know just how wrong their techniques seem to be!

So the question I have is why do they do them so wrong and what is the RIGHT way to do them at home?

Thank you so much and I am absolutely loving my Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™ hydrating nail oil!  My nails are stronger and seem thicker than ever before!  Oh, and it is only been 13 days since I have started using it!!!  My nail polish has lasted longer than ever using your wrapping technique!!  Thank you so much!” ~ Danielle

ANSWER

Danielle, thank you for this really important question. This is completely why I do what I do.

There was very little proper information when I was researching everything several years ago and I found it extremely frustrating.

The short answer is that there are very few regulations in the nail schools.

So a lot of places just teach the way they have through the decades and teach what’s necessary to pass the state board tests.

Doug Schoon’s book, Nail Structure and Product Chemistry, is not a required textbook. (I hope it will be someday).

When I asked Doug why, here is his email response.

“Ana, my book is not required in the nail school curriculum. In fact, few schools even know about my book- which I fault Milady-Cengage for entirely… and I’ve complained to them about this for years. They have done a very poor job promoting my book to anyone, let alone schools.

There is no standardized teaching, even in the US, let alone the world. The Milady Nail Standard comes the closest to achieving this and is a pretty good book. Since I am a contributor, I make sure that the key information is correct in the Standard, but it is an instruction guide.

It doesn’t focus on troubleshooting and problem solving. For a deeper understanding, nail professionals will have to read my book.” ~Doug Schoon

Shouldn’t They Know Where the Cuticle Is?

From what I’ve learned from Doug is that very few schools actually teach the Nail Structure portion of his book.

Most licensed nail techs still don’t know that the casual name “cuticle” is in fact the proximal fold of the eponychium. The cuticle is really a thin layer of skin on the nail plate.

It’s my opinion that when someone graduates from nail school, they are a Nail Technician.

When they search out more thorough education and truly understand all of the content in Doug’s book and his DVD Inside Doug Schoon’s Brain, then—and only then—can they be a “Nail Professional.” 

Many graduates and licensed techs don’t know that the acrylic enhancement technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the last 10+ years.

For example, the ingredients NO LONGER need a “roughed up surface” to create proper adhesion—but nail techs are still sanding down 1/2 the nail plate.

MMA

Acrylic nail enhancements are created with a perfect blend of monomer liquid and polymer powder.

Although banned by the FDA several decades ago, methyl methacrylate  monomer (MMA) is showing up again in nail salons in the United States.

Why?

Price—MMA is available for about $15-$20 per gallon compared with about $200 for the legal monomer.

MMA is completely safe when used in medical and dental products. It has even been safely implanted in the body as bone repair cement.

MMA monomer is fine for making bulletproof windows and shatterproof eyeglasses, but not artificial nails. There are 4 main reasons that MMA monomer makes a poor ingredient for artificial nail products:

• MMA nail products don’t adhere well to the nail plate (hence the shredding of the nail plate by over filing.)
• MMA makes extremely hard nail enhancements—if it breaks, it’s taking your nail plate with it.
• MMA is extremely difficult to remove—it won’t dissolve in acetone.
• The FDA and most state boards of cosmetology say not to use it due to the massive allergic skin reactions that consumers reported in the 1970’s. [source: Nail Structure and Product Chemistry]

Health Risks

Podiatrist Dr. Robert Spalding, author of “Death by Pedicure,” states that “at this time, an estimated one million unsuspecting clients walk out of their chosen salon with infections—bacterial, viral and fungal.”

And no matter which salon you go to, there is always a risk of infection. He claims that in his research “75 percent of salons in the United States are not following their own state protocols for disinfections,” which includes not mixing their disinfectant solutions properly on a daily basis, not soaking their instruments appropriately, and using counterfeit products to reduce costs (for example Windex substituted for Barbicide), says the doctor.

And the problem is that there is no way to really “verify an instrument has been properly soaked and sterilized,” without watching the process. [source: TotalBeauty.com]

Speed vs. Quality

Nail Tech

For most Nail Technicians, time is money. The faster they can get you out, the more clients they can service each day. They will use lower grit files (damaging), and file faster.

Nail Professional

A Nail Professional will block the proper amount of time she needs in her calendar to create the manicure you desire while having a pleasant conversation with you. She’s interested in you as a person and your life.

She’ll teach you that the cuticle is actually the eponychium. She’ll teach you that massaging nail oil into your manicure can improve the life of your manicure and keep your skin soft.

Most likely she knows your birthday and may even send a card. The relationship she creates with you is most important to her as well as giving you her best work.

She’ll be hard to get an appointment with because her loyal customers don’t leave. … and …

She won’t come cheap.

New Knowledge – Experimenting On Myself

Like many of my fans and customers, I’m a Daughter, Mom, Wife, Sister, and Friend with a passion for pretty nails and the plethora of glorious, sparkly, rainbow of lacquers available to us today.

But I also have an insatiable appetite to know, “Why?”

Fab 5 Nail Wrap

No one knows about the Fab 5 Nail Wrap because I created it. I wanted my polish to stop chipping in the shower. When I learned that nails can absorb 1/3rd their weight in water—combined with my experience of my sharp C-curve practically disappearing when my nails are soaked—I started thinking about the lacquer to nail bond.

I realized that no matter what I did to the top of my nails, the bottom of my nails were going to absorb water. This would always destroy the lacquer to nail bond.

The solution—paint the bottom too.

Inventing a Nail Oil

Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™ hydrating oil was created because I am allergic to almonds yet all cuticle oils have almond oil. My research taught me the importance of cuticle oil for keeping skin soft and that it could help brittle nails.

I studied ingredient lists of every cuticle oil on the market as well as home-grown recipes on the internet. I paid attention to the ingredients chosen repeatedly.

I also noticed how many cuticle oils contained ingredients I couldn’t pronounce, so I decided they weren’t necessary.

Little did I know—when I went to my kitchen to whip up my first batch of oil—that I was going to be creating a “nail oil” rather than a cuticle oil. I had some essential oils around my house and figured vanilla, lemon and pomegranate sounded good—so I added a few drops of them to my oil concoction.

Inventing the 3-Day Hydration Treatment

I applied the oil to my skin and nails. In 5 minutes it was gone. I reapplied. Periodically, I’d rub my nails checking if they still had a slippery feel.

When it was gone, I reapplied. By day 3 I noticed that my nails were staying oilier longer.

Unknowingly, I had created the 3-Day Hydration Treatment that would change the lives of women around the world.

The Right Way to Create a Nail Salon Manicure at Home

Nail Preparation

I will be creating a series of videos to demonstrate my steps to caring for my nails.

My hopes are that people will learn from what I publish and say, “That makes sense.” Forget the marketing and advertising—does it make sense?

But for those of you who just can’t wait for the videos….

1. File Nails before Removing Polish ~ The color will help you see your final shape better. 20 strokes with a 180 or 240 grit file will remove one week of growth.
2. Protect Skin  ~ Apply any inexpensive kitchen oil to your skin completely around your nails. (You’re protecting your skin from the drying effects of acetone.)
3. Remove Polish  ~ Use my Soak and Swipe™ technique in the video above. (Saturate that cotton! Let it dissolve the polish for 60-90 seconds if you’re wearing 5 to 10 layers of polish.When you see the color seeping into the cotton, use another piece of saturated cotton to remove the piece on your nail with one clean swipe. If there is still polish on the nail, use a new, clean, saturated piece of cotton. Yep, I go through A LOT of acetone.)
4. Wash Nails with Warm Water, Soap and Nail Brush.
5. Mini-Hydration Cycle with Nail Oil  ~ For 4-24 hours with 4 to 8 hours being the norm. (This reverses the drying effect of acetone to your nails.)
6. Remove the Cuticle  ~ Using a cuticle remover (or after a bath or shower), gently slide a cuticle removing tool across the surface of your nail plate. Polish doesn’t stick to skin.
7. Rinse Nails ~ with Warm Water, Soap, and Nail Brush. (Your nails will be filled with water and very soft if you wash too long.)
8. Apply Nail Oil ~ Continue applying your favorite jojoba wax ester based nail oil periodically until your nails have returned to their normal shape. (1 to 2 hours.)
9. Prep Nails for Manicure ~ Wipe dirt and surface oil off nails with rubbing alcohol and a lint-free wipe. Use alcohol saturated Q-tip swab to clean the underside of the nail plate.

What? No Buffing?

You’ll notice that filing down ridges IS NOT part of my nail prep regimen.

This is because ridges are the healthy portion of the nail. The valleys are the weak portion. Buffing down ridges is a HUGE NO-NO!!! I explain why in much more detail in this article.

The Fab 5 Wrap

I created the Fab 5 Wrap to help prevent my nails from absorbing water. Does it stop my nails from absorbing water if I’m doing dishes without gloves for 30 minutes?

NO!!!

But it does stop my nails from absorbing water in a 15 minute luxurious shower! And as a Mom to 4 active children and an entrepreneur, I need a little indulgence!

1. Two Base Coat Wraps: Apply 2 coats of ridge filling base coat, wrapping completely to the underside of exposed nail tip. Any polish that gets on your skin will wash or peel off.
2. Two Color Coat: Keep an orange wood stick available to wipe polish off of skin before it dries. Do not wrap the color because it’s difficult to remove.
3. One Top Coat Wrap: Apply 1 coat of your favorite quick dry top coat, wrapping completely to the underside of exposed nail tip.
4. Clean Smudges: Dip a small makeup brush or art brush in acetone to clean up polish on skin and create a clean line near your eponychium (“cuticle” line).
5. Rinse and Oil: Rinse acetone off—Apply nail oil to skin.

The Perfect Marriage

The Mini-Hydration cycle between manicures with the Fab 5 Wrap technique is a marriage made in heaven.

(Ok, well maybe not that extreme—but pretty darn close to me!)

Nail oil absorbs into your nails brilliantly but soap and water wash it away. The Fab 5 Wrap traps the oil into your nails.

Your nail bed continues to nourish your nail plate with m

oisture and sebum (body oil). Polish traps all of that wonderfulness in your nails keeping them strong yet flexible.

But then the polish must be removed and we start over. Acetone—dissolves polish and takes precious oils with it. The mini-hydration treatment—reverses the damage.

It’s simple. It takes extra time—but it works—and it’s worth it. To have healthy nails in the 20th Century, you really can’t have one without the other.

Hydrate—Protect—Dissolve—Repeat.

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The post The Nail Salon Manicure – Is It Hurting You? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Paint Nails

How To Paint Nails

Do you ever wonder how to paint nails so you can get a salon quality manicure at home?

When doing a manicure at home, it’s important to know how to paint nails. This seems like an obvious statement but there are A LOT of people who still paint their cuticle lines.

It’s not as hard as you might think and there are some phenomenal nail bloggers who demonstrate their picture-perfect techniques on video.

And in 2012, these were the women I learned from.

My Pet Peeve

I have a big pet peeve. I can’t stand blurry video or manicure demonstrations where the painting hand is blocking everything from view. You can’t see a darn thing! Grrrr.

I don’t understand why people put videos up on YouTube without actually reviewing them. I don’t understand why they don’t reshoot them. Perhaps it’s my perfectionist side and I was taught to take pride in the things you create.

So… on your behalf, I focused on finding nail art videos that are in focus where you can actually learn something.

I’ll save your time by finding the good stuff and posting it on this website for your easy reference. This way, you can learn from the best too. Be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so you stay updated everytime I post a new article.

Most Important Nail Painting Tips

• Push the Polish First

• Speed

• Fan Your Brush

Push down on the polish brush to fan it as wide as you can. This makes it so you are able to cover the nail in fewer strokes.

• The Right Amount 

As you practice polishing your nails, try learning exactly how much polish you need for each nail. The cause of flooding is having too much polish on the brush.

Touch the brush against the inside of the bottle’s neck to remove a small amount of polish. The only time you want to use the full amount of polish is when using top coat. Practice floating the top coat over the polish without touching the colored polish underneath.

• Cap Your Tips Or Wrap?

How to Paint Nails by Lucy from Lucy’s Stash

Everything Lucy does is phenomenal, including her nail art tutorials and videos.

She paints with the back of her hand on the table with her nails facing toward her.

I’m experimenting the Lucy’s painting technique. So far I’m really pleased with it but it’s difficult to change a technique I’ve been doing for 30 years—it just takes practice.

What I like about Lucy’s technique is that you can easily see both sidewalls of each nail.

How to Paint Nails by Julia from www.MissChievous.tv

Julia takes you through her entire manicure process and I don’t 100% agree with everything she does for a complete at home manicure, so I recommend starting the video at 9:20 minutes into the video.

But I wanted you to be able to see her polishing technique because she demonstrates fanning out the brush the best. You really push on the brush to force it to spread color as wide as possible across the nail in one stroke. Then finish the sides in two strokes.  Tip: Not all nail polish brushes work really well for this technique.

The color polishing starts at 9:21 minutes.

Julia paints with her hand on the table with her nails pointed away from her at a diagonal. This is the position I’ve used to paint my nails my entire life. My biggest problem has been that due to the extreme C curve of my nails, it’s hard to cleanly paint the side that is facing away from me because I can’t see it.

In Conclusion

At first, it can be tough to learn to paint your nails without making a mess. If you use the tips above, you’ll soon be able to polish your nails without ever touching your skin.

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

The post How to Paint Nails – Learn from Expert Blogger’s Videos first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.