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.

 by Doug Schoon

Peeling Nails

Trying to figure out why your nails are peeling, and how to stop it, can be very frustrating.

In this article, you will learn…

• How peeling off polish can damage the nail plate
• The proper way to remove nail enhancements
• Thirteen (13) solutions to help prevent peeling

This article about peeling nails is an excerpt from my 74th episode (available June 2017) of Face to Face with Doug Schoon video series.

ASK DOUG

My nails are very strong and healthy, and they can grow very long, but as soon as I use nail polish they become brittle and start peeling. They continue to do so until all “old nail” has grown out and the whole nail is replaced.

I have tried 5-free, 7-free and water based polish, and I have also tried different removers. But no matter what, my nails get ruined every time I use polish. Do you have any suggestions of what I should do? ~Eva

ANSWER

Eva, here are my top suggestions for addressing nail plate surface peeling.

Peeling Off Polish

Never peel nail polish from your nail plate. This will weaken the surface layers. 

These weakened surface layers will eventually peel away when they reach the free edge. It may be months later, so you might have forgotten what you did.  

For example; if you peel nail polish from your nails in May, expect the cell layers on the top-side of the free edge will peel in until September when those damaged nail cells finally grow off the free edge.

Doing this repeatedly can lead to a state of constant surface peeling.

Some nail coatings adhere to the nail plate better the longer you wear them. 

Ana’s photo to the right is a perfect example. She peeled her well bonded polish off while watching a movie.

It took 4 months for the damage to grow out.

Long wearing nail polish has greater adhesion, so these are more likely to harm the surface when forcibly peeled off. 

Proper Removal

Gently remove all nail coatings, without the use of any force, e.g. no peeling, scraping, biting, etc.

The is no such thing as gentle peeling or scraping, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you “lightly scrape” or “peel carefully”.

This is extremely important when removing soak-off gel polish.

It can take up to 30 minutes to completely dissolve the coating!

I have more electron microscope examples in my article about removing gel polish properly.

Water Damage

Keep your hands out of water.

Each time you saturate the nail plate, surface layers swell apart and separate. 

Repeated soaking and drying cycles can weaken the bond between the upper layer and lower layers.

Washing Hands 

Don’t wash your hands too often. Yes, you can wash your hands too much!

More than ten (10) times a day can be hard on nails and skin. Many wash their hands 20 times a day or more.

That’s just too much.

Soaps, cleansers and detergents can eventually strip away substances that help hold the surface cells to the underlying cells and this can lead to peeling.

The same can occur when nails are exposed to cleaning solvents.

Free Polish?

It doesn’t matter if the polish is 5-free or 99-free, that’s just “marketing” and doesn’t say how good or how safe a nail polish is.

Don’t think this is the problem or the solution to peeling nail plates.

Quality Counts

Buy high quality products.  Less expensive nail polish are less expensive for a reason. They often use inferior ingredients or are poorly formulated.

Nail Length 

Keep nails shorter.

The longer the nail plate, the more flexible the free edge, the more likely the polish will peel.  This is especially true for those with thin, flexible nail plates.

Wrap Edges 

Wrap the free edge by wrapping the base and topcoat around the free edge to the underside and give it some extra protection.

But, avoid skin contact as much as possible. Repeated contact to the tissue can cause skin irritation.

Gloves

Treat your nails like jewels. Don’t use them as tools.

Wear gloves when digging or working with your hands. This is especially important when working with cleaning supplies.

Sun Exposure

Protect nails from the sun. 

The nail plate has a high natural SPF, so the nail bed is protected from UV exposure, but that means the upper layers absorb the UV.

Long periods of excessive sunlight can weaken surface layers and cause them to come apart. 

Buffing Destroys

Don’t over file or buff the nail plate.

Too much filing or buffing thins the nail and it is much harder for polish to adhere to thin nails, than thicker nails.

Don’t try to fill away so-called “ridges”. The nail plate can’t grow ridges. The thinner, weaker part of the nail plate is the grooves.

Therefore, filing the plate smooth reduces and thins the entire nail plate to the match the thinness of the deepest groove.

That’s trouble waiting to happen—so don’t do it.

Use Nail Oil

Nail oils can help reduce surface brittleness and help toughen the bonds between the surface and lower layers of nail cells, but make sure to remove surface oils before apply any nail coating.

Nail oils also absorb into the plate to make it more resistant to excessive water absorption.

Polish Removers

Solvents can remove surface oils and may also leach out substances that help to cement nail cell layers together.

Occasional (once a week) use of solvent-containing polish removers won’t have much effect on normal nails.

But they may have a noticeable effect on plates that have weakened adhesion due to other factors described above.  

Allergies?

Peeling nail plates are never a sign of allergic reactions.

The nail plate is not living and does NOT have an immune system, so allergic reactions are not possible.  

Exceptions?

Doug Schoon, Author of Nail Structure and Product Chemistry

Eva, there are always weird things that happen that don’t fall within the norm, which means they don’t apply to most people.

It may be possible that your nail layers are barely held together and solvents (acetone) are disrupting the weak bonds that exist.

Make sure that you are following all my suggestions above and you will have beautiful, healthy nails that make you proud.

Learn More

For more nail care education, you can subscribe to my video series at www.FacetoFaceWithDougSchoon.com

To receive 25% off the subscription rate, enter “nailcarehq” in the discount code box at the bottom of the page.

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post ASK DOUG: Peeling Nails – Is Polish Causing It? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Ridges in Nails—ASK ANA

ASK ANA

Hi Ana, I am starting to get deeper ridges on my nails and I don’t like the way it looks. Is it ok to buff them down so my nails are smooth? Some people say yes, some say don’t do it. I don’t know who to believe. ~Jessica

ANSWER

I’ve got ridges too and I don’t like them either.

And you know, it’s pretty tough to find the truth, especially when Oprah’s very own beauty director, Val Monroe, recommends incorrect advice. She endorses buffing your nails smooth or covering ridges with an opaque (solid) polish.” [source: Oprah.com]

Both of these are terrible ideas!

I’ll explain why.

The Truth About Ridges in Nails

I recently finished watching the 3D DVD “Inside Doug Schoon’s Brain.”  Mr. Schoon’s book, Nail Structure and Product Chemistry is my ‘Nail Bible’. I can not tell you how exciting it was to me to finally find out “WHY” we should NOT file down ridges! *geeky girl glee.*

In this DVD, Mr. Schoon explains what’s happening with ridges by using an electron microscope photo enlarged 150 times.

You know how I say almost everything we seem to know about nails is BACKWARDS? This is true for our belief about ridges too.

Ridges in nails are actually the healthy part of the nail. It’s the concave portions that are thinner because the nail matrix isn’t working properly and at full capacity.

It is actually the dips in the nails that are the weaker portions! The thicker portions (ridges) are really the healthier, stronger nail sections.

Take a look at the photo below. It is a cross-section of the nail plate enlarged 150 times. The wavy top is the visible top surface of your nail. The bottom is the part that sits on your nail bed. It is also the same part that becomes the underside of your nail tip as it grows past your fingertip.

The higher portion is what we consider a “ridge”. The “groove” in between each ridge is typically 5% to 7% thinner than the rest of the healthy nail.

Photo courtesy of Doug Schoon, ‘Inside Doug Schoon’s Brain’ DVD

See that big crack to the right of the yellow arrow? We’ll zoom in on that crack in the next photo.

Since the grooves are thinner, they have a higher tendency to crack, like the photo below. As this crack becomes worse, the layers will start to peel away, causing your nail plate to be even thinner. This can lead to those crazy splitting nails that are so hard to deal with.

Photo courtesy of Doug Schoon, ‘Inside Doug Schoon’s Brain’ DVD

The Aging Process

This explains why ridges seem to get more pronounced with age. As we age, our digestive system does not function at the level of a young person.

We don’t absorb as many of the required vitamins and minerals for nail production. Therefore, the ridges appear more pronounced, when it’s actually the thinner, grooved areas becoming more deeper and more pronounced.

Should You File Ridges in Nails?

You probably know the answer by now. If we file down the ridges to match the rest of the nail plate, we’re actually thinning our nail plate to match the thinnest, weakest portions of the nail!

Ms. Monroe’s Flawed Advice

Now I’ll get back to Ms. Monroe’s advice. Obviously buffing and sanding is a bad idea. But what about the opaque polish?

It’s my understanding and experience that nail polish seems to be formulated to create a thin, even coating over the entire nail. It is going to create a nice, thin layer over the ridges and the dips.

When I see older women with polish over their ridged nails, the polish seems to make the ridges more obvious. Opaque polish is not a great idea either.

The Solution

The moral of the story is… you really should just ROCK YOUR RIDGES!

Along with Doug Schoon, my recommendation is to use a high-quality ridge filling base coat like OPI Ridge Filler or Seche Base Ridge Filling Base Coat to fill in the grooved areas and smooth out the surface of your nail before applying your color lacquer.

Rather than creating one thin layer like polish, ridge filling base coats are full of micro-particle ingredients that settle into the concave portions of your nail.

Using a ridge filling base coat will solve three problems for you.

1. Reducing staining
2. Creating a surface that polish loves. (Base coats are formulated to bond to the natural nail plate. Polish is formulated to bond to base coat, not the nail.)
3. Smoothing the nail surface

Hydration is Helpful!

If you’re looking to improve the overall health and flexibility of your nails, consider taking our 30 Day Challenge! Make sure you pick up a Mega Hydration Kit, and get ready to get your GLOW ON!

The post RIDGES IN NAILS —To Buff or Not To Buff? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Although this isn’t a typical “Ask Ana” article, I want to address a serious issue that happens online.

ASK ANA: Bad Nail Care Advice

Dear Ana, I’m doing a bit of head shaking here at home tonight and I’m not trying to dump an issue on you, I just needed to reach out because I’m sort of flummoxed at the moment.

I asked in a group I belong to on Facebook about suggestions for a base coat because I had some peeling issues today. All the replies were nail hardener products. 

I’ve worked over 8 weeks to get my real nails healthy, long, and flexible.  Thanks to you AND your blog I’ve learned SO much!!  I now realize just how little people know about their nails and how to take care of them! 

So I asked for suggestions that were NOT hardeners (without going into detail) along with saying I use nail oil regularly (I guess I should’ve clarified the version!) and was told I probably oil too much.  Hmmm…

Then I was told I should run rubbing alcohol over my nails before I base coat and then the same person told me to BUFF my nails!  I responded that I’d learned too much to ever treat my nails in that manner, but thank you for helping. 

Maybe I didn’t let my oil soak in completely this last time before I did my manicure, however I haven’t had the peeling issue until today.  I’m going to take it as user error and move forward, but I’m floored at what I was told. 

Bottom line, thank you for what you do, thank you for the education about nails, and thank you for working to find a new base coat.  As I type my naked first finger has Summer scent soaking in and in a bit I’ll re-base coat, polish and top coat.  Your product has been a nail saver and helped me reach that Summer goal I set.  I can’t thank you enough.  Sorry to email you in frustration. Blissette In Ohio ~Maria

The Problem

Everyone’s An Expert

No, they aren’t!

And it makes me want to smack people when they give false advice. (Garlic will NOT strengthen your nails!)

People think that what works for them, will work for everyone else.

Nope, nope, and big fat wrong!

Although most people’s nails are as dry as the Sahara Desert, did you know that there are actually people who’s nail beds produce too much oil? This causes polish to completely pop off in a day!

I’m always amazed when someone asks for help on social media. They will get tons of comments about what product will solve their problem.

Not one person ever asks questions.

How on earth can you give someone advice without getting more information?

What’s The Culprit?

If someone’s nails keep breaking, there could be 20 different reasons. Such as their job or school, their diet, an illness or medication, their stress level, their hobbies, their pets or children, or a myriad of other reasons…

• • There’s the mom with two small children, who is constantly using car seats. Long nails and car seat buckles don’t play well together.

• • There’s the student who is digging in her backpack all the time for books and pens.

• • There’s the woman who has been diagnosed with a thyroid issue and is taking a new medication, but her nails start peeling 4 months later and she has no idea why.

• • There’s the person who constantly tries to grab the dog as he tries to bolt through the front door.

• • There’s the restaurant server who is in water all the time and isn’t allowed to polish their nails.

• And there’s me, who had abdominal surgery in September of 2014. I was stitched all the way up to the middle of my breast bone. The healing process took over 15 months and I still don’t think my nails are back to pre-surgery strength.

Most likely a nail hardener/strengthener is not the solution. Although they do help a handful of people, nail strengtheners are not the solution for the masses.

To me, using hardeners on already brittle nails is the same logic as applying a coat of wood varnish to a dry leaf, throwing it against a wall, and hoping it doesn’t break!

It’s far better to naturally strengthen your nails by using a jojoba wax ester based nail oil and then figure out the ways to help prevent breaks.

MY RESPONSE TO MARIA

Thank you for writing Maria! We love our Blissettes!

As you realized, there are a lot of Facebook Groups that need to be directed to NailCareHQ.com

You are doing just fine with oiling your nails, and you’re right, hardeners are going to make them break if you have them long.

I cleanse my nails with rubbing alcohol to remove the surface oil and dust. Polish doesn’t stick to oil, so that step is important.

It’s also important to also cleanse the underside with a cotton swab before you wrap base coat all the way around the nail plate.

Photo: PeachyPolish.com

Peeling can be caused by several things, especially since our fingernails touch so many things….hence …”tip wear”.

At that point the polish has been rubbed off by life, and the tips of your nails are exposed to water. This leads to peeling.

Feeling A Bit Stressed?

Did you have anything stressful that happened about 4 or 5 months ago, surgery, medication, divorce, marriage, moving, job stress?

When this happens, the body sends less nourishment to the matrix, and we make weaker nails for a while. We don’t notice it until the weaker nail gets to the tips about 4 months later. Then our nails “suddenly” start peeling.

A Solution For Peeling Tips

If the peeling is bad, snip that part away and you can fill the gap with a little nail glue. Do not buff out the peeling unless some of the keratin cells are sticking up. Be very careful to not buff the rest of the nail.

Nail glue will help the peeling from getting worse. Then make sure you are wearing at least one layer of base coat, preferably two. And as much as you can, wear the 5 layers as explained in my Fab 5 Wrap article.

In Conclusion

I’m sure you’ve already figured this out, but when someone asks for help, please direct them to this website.

With over 50 articles to read, most likely the answer to their question is right here.

The article that will help them most to start is “How to strengthen brittle nails”

The post ASK ANA: Why Is There So Much Bad Nail Care Advice? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Does Picking at Polish Cause Damage?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words . . .

The Answer?

Uhhhh—big fat yes!

Really? I Did That?

We all have little things that we get OCD about…especially when it comes to our nails.

Whether it’s picking, biting, or nipping, it can be hard to stop. Mine is picking.

If polish starts to chip, I have to fight myself really hard to not keep working at it.

In the photo above, I didn’t win—in more ways than one.

A corner of my polish started to lift and I absent mindedly kept working on it while watching a movie.

The polish was lifting anyway—it wouldn’t do that much harm—right?

When I removed the rest of my polish I was shocked to see what I had done.

My entire nail plate had been as smooth as the right side (under the arrow) when I applied my polish. But the peeled area now felt fuzzy and it took four months for all that damage to grow out.

Only For My Readers!

I snapped this photo, thinking it might be a good illustration for an article. I just about freaked out when this image was uploaded and viewed on my 27 inch iMac screen!

There’s nothing like a ginormous photo to smack you upside the head!

The Cuticle

On a tangent, the large picture also has a great shot of the cuticle. The cuticle is the skin on the nail plate that we want to remove before applying polish, if you don’t want it to chip near the cuticle line. Remember, polish doesn’t bond to skin. I have a lot more information about the cuticle at The Cuticle — Should You Clip, Push, or Scrape?

The Solution

It seems like a no brainer—stop picking. Many times this is easier said than done.

The better solution is to remove that polish properly as fast as you can.

I carry portable polish remover pads with me everywhere. They have a pad and enough acetone in the aluminum lined pouch to remove polish from all 10 nails.

I’ve found them in US drug stores near other polish removers and OPI has some too.

In Conclusion

So many people tell me, “Well, I pick my polish off and it doesn’t do any damage.”

Hummmmm—Really?

After my brain dead moment, I did not buff down the peeling layers to make the nail smooth. That would have thinned my nail even more causing it to be weaker. Ridges are the thicker, healthier part of our nails. We want to keep them.

Instead, I applied my favorite high quality, jojoba wax ester based nail oil to help bond some of those layers down. Then I applied ridge-filling base coat to smooth out the nail.

We learn from our mistakes. All I have to do is think of this picture when my polish starts chipping.

I hope many of you will learn from my mistake and remember to treat your nails like jewels.

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 Does Picking Polish Cause Damage? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

How to Stop Breaking Nails

I’m often asked,”How do you keep your nails so long?”

I have many strategies and techniques to strengthen my natural nails, which I will share in this article.

Let me start off by saying that my nails are incredibly thin. I was not blessed with thick nails.

Sadly, this is not something that can be changed since the thickness of your nail plate is determined by the size of your nail matrix.  The nail matrix is where new nail cells are created right behind the cuticle line.

Tortoise or Hare?

The most important thing I do is—Slow Down.

There is no part of our body that is used more frequently during our life than our hands. We do everything with our hands.

Most of us wouldn’t make it through the day if we couldn’t pry, pick, or scratch with our nails. They take a lot of abuse, especially if we use them as tools.

Nails will only tolerate a certain amount of bending before they tear or snap.

A woman with long, natural nails moves through life very consciously. She pays attention to where her hands are moving at all times. I know it might sound like a lot of work, but it really isn’t.

I have found that being in a rush can be the most damaging times to my nails.

Credit: Beavotron.deviantart.com

If I’m in a hurry and I am rushing to get everybody into the car, throwing jackets and bags, and slamming doors, I’m not paying attention to what my hands are doing.

And that’s when accidents happen.

One misplaced finger on the car door handle will result in a broken nail. All because I wasn’t paying attention.

Another example; a busy, preoccupied woman will talk to a friend and blindly dig through her purse trying to find something. She’s not paying attention, and that’s how a nail tears or breaks.

When I’m looking for something in my purse,  I look inside, I carefully move things around until I find what I want.

Every move is conscious. Every move is deliberate.

Will the Guilty Task Please Stand Up?

If your nails are breaking a lot, try paying attention to how you use your hands all day long.

You might be surprised.

Are you actually using your nails to remove the frustrating, security plastic wrapping around the salad dressing bottle, or mascara tube?

Are you opening soda pop can lids with your nails?

Do you peel stubborn sales stickers off of packages?

If you do any of these things, it’s time to become friends with paring knives, scissors, handles of forks or spoons, and some brand of sticker adhesive dissolving product. (Goo Gone™, Goof Off™, Un-Do™, etc.)

And if you are in the DIY frame of mind using 2 ingredients from your kitchen, I found a great tutorial at DIYNatural.com

What You Can Do

1. Know Your Proper Nail Length

If you are a mother of small children, or have a job that requires a lot of tough use with your hands, make peace with a shorter length that looks nice.

Now that my children are older and I spend most of my working time on the computer, I can maintain a longer length.

5/2017 Update: Now I own horses. My nails are significantly shorter now since long nails and horses don’t mix.

Keep your nails the same length. Short nails can be beautiful when maintained and polished well.

2. Reduce Water Absorption

Water is the most dangerous chemical affecting your nails.

I’m not kidding.

On average, we have about 50 layers of keratin that makes up our nail plate.

Our nails also have the capacity to absorb three times their weight in water.

Where does that water go? In between every single layer and it pushes them apart.

Our nails do have the capacity to dry out, but it doesn’t take too many exposures to water for those layers to start peeling away from each other.

Polish is an integral part of blocking water absorption.

Now, for those of you who think water isn’t a chemical, you might be interested in my Chemicals – Are they Life or Death article.

3. Increase Nail Strength and Flexibility

Oil is the glue that holds our nail layers together. We wash our hands on average 20 times per day! This strips the oils from our nails and skin.

Regular use of a jojoba wax ester based nail oil will increase natural nail strength, while improving flexibility.

Strong nails bend when exposed to external forces.

If you use nail strengtheners or hardeners on already dry, brittle nails, your nails are going to be too hard and snap with any external pressure.

4. Keep Nails Polished

Polish is a resin that bonds to and protects your nails.

Even if you’re someone who doesn’t like to wear colored polish, it’s important to wear at least one layer of base coat to reduce water absorption.

Use my Fab Five Polish Wrap technique and never shower with naked nails.

For my Ultimate Nail Care Routine, click here.

5. Wear Gloves

Credit: LaylaGrace.com

“But I hate gloves! I won’t wear them.”

I hear this all the time. Especially right after I’m asked how to grow longer nails or get them to stop peeling.

I guarantee you, there isn’t one woman on the planet who loves to wear kitchen gloves, myself included.

Yep, they’re annoying.

You have to remember to put them on and you don’t get the same grip as with your fingers. You sweat in them causing them to be a pain to remove.

Gloves protect your skin and nails from the drying effects of water and soap. Gloves also help protect your nails from breaking.

I even use them when doing the laundry. I’ve broken too many nails transferring heavy, wet towels to the dryer.

Every decision we make has a natural consequence.

It simply won’t work to desire beautiful nails and refuse to wear gloves.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The few seconds you gain by rushing around only shortens your temper, increases your blood pressure, and leads to annoying chips and painful breaks.

Long, beautiful natural nails don’t just happen.

Gorgeous nails require time, care, maintenance, and just a few extra, deliberate seconds through the day.

I know you can do it! … now … go buy some gloves … slowly.

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The post How to Stop Breaking Nails first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

ASK ANA: Peeling Nails

UPDATE: Since writing this article, I have replaced the 3-Day Hydration Treatment with a faster Intensive Hydration Treatment that works in 2 to 12 hours.

“Hi Ana, every time I try to complete the 3-Day Hydration Treatment, I never get past the 1st day because my nails start to peel. I revert back to using my polish for protection. (I’ve noticed my nails do not split or peel when I have them polished). I just feel like I have not been able to get the full benefits of your oil because I am afraid of going naked. Because of this, I only have a picture of my nails polished.

Do you recommend I still do the 3-Day Treatment even if my nails continue to peel? I know you have recommended to just trim the peel portion off & not filing it down or buffing. That’s damaging.

Now, the main problem for me is after my shower. I try not to take long showers so my nails are not in water for too long. If I apply a thin layer of base coat & completely wrap my underside. Can the oil penetrate through the one layer?

Image Source: Carmen

I just feel frustrated because I am not being able to benefit completely from your oil because of the peeling so I am afraid to go naked.  Do you have any recommendations or suggestions? Should I just do the oil treatment for 3 days and then polish? How long do you oil in between your manicures? I appreciate you taking the time out of your very busy schedule to answer my questions 🙂 PS: I am taking my nail vitamins & drinking water.” ~Carmen

ANSWER

Carmen, I totally understand your desire to go back to polish for protection. It is a very important temporary strengthening product and a big component to having healthy nails.

Based on your description, 2+2 is not equaling 4 for me. Peeling usually doesn’t happen with one exposure to water . . . it’s usually several, if not dozens of exposures. But of course, everyone is different.

Never Shower Naked

One of my rules is to never shower with naked nails. Like I’ve written in previous articles, water is extremely damaging to nails.

This is why I now recommend doing a 2 to 12 hour intensive hydration treatment.

Now I must confess—I like long hot showers—so I never shower without at least one coat of basecoat completely wrapped around my tips.

The combination of hot water, rubbing shampoo in your hair, and water absorption can pull a lot of oil out of our nails.

Polish Prevents Additional Peeling

Once you apply polish, the oil is trapped in your nails. Water absorption is decreased about 99%—this is a completely non-scientific guess based on my personal experience.

Your pink nail bed also continues to pump the perfect blend of 18% water and 5% body oil into your nail plate under the polish. This is why the nail plate over your nailbed is transparent.

So in a sense, yes, polish can reduce further peeling. It encapsulates the peeling layers so that water can’t force them to peel more.

The oil you apply after your nails are polished simply prevents premature cracking of the polish. It absorbs into the surface of the polish keeping it more flexible.

Polish Is Essential!

People love learning that polish is actually a great way to keep our nails healthier! Especially because everyone they know tells them the opposite.

After people have completed an Intensive Hydration Treatment then my Fab 5 Wrap technique takes over in importance.

It’s the combination of consistent oiling and wearing polish that helps reduce nail breakage and additional peeling.

Carmen, your skin looks beautiful! So maybe you’re getting all the benefit you need. If your nails bend instead of snapping when you bang them against something, then you’re fine.

Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™ hydrating nail oil helps people who have brittle nails because they are dried out. This causes them to break all the time.

As I mentioned before, our pink nail bed provides the perfect blend of 18% moisture and 5% oil. But once the nail plate has left the nail bed, our tips are no longer being hydrated. This is where Pure Nail Oil™ helps increase strength and flexibility.

The Magic is Between Manicures

I do a mini-hydration treatment for 2 to 6 hours between manicures . . . depending on time . . . and then apply at least one layer of basecoat wrapped around my tips to reduce water absorption during a shower and hand washing.

Daily Maintenance

Many people are afraid that using a high quality, jojoba wax ester based nail oil is going to leave them greasy or is too time consuming.

From start to finish, it takes me 30 to 60 seconds to rub about one drop of oil to my nails and skin. I do that about 4 times a day.

In Conclusion

I think when all is said and done, your nails and skin are beautiful. The polish is helping prevent premature breakage and the oil is keeping your skin hydrated. It looks like you’re doing everything right.

And if you’re happy with your nails . . . then you are certainly doing everything right. Keep it up!

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post ASK ANA: Peeling Nails – Does Polish Prevent It? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

Are you constantly afraid of removing polish only to discover your nails are now a permanent unnatural color?

In this article, you’ll learn:

• How to reduce the potential of color staining
• How soaking, rather than scrubbing, is a better way to remove polish
• How manicure clips can help the process even more

China Glaze Blue Bells Ring

Polish Stain Removal Tips

You’ve just removed a gorgeous, dark blue and look down in horror—your nails are now a lovely shade of blue!

This recently happened to me with China Glaze Blue Bells Ring #1119.

Of course instead of panicking, I get all geeky! “Oooo, this will make a great article!”

Since I’ve read just about every nail blog post about polish stain removal, I thought I would share my insights gained by de-bluing my nails.

I’m also including the stain removing methods I don’t recommend and why they’re a bad idea.

My Steps For Preventing Polish Stains

1. In spite of using two coats of basecoat to protect my nails, expensive polishes can stain too.

2. It’s extremely critical to use my Soak and Swipe™ method of polish removal, using pure acetone, with plenty of soaking time—especially if you’re dissolving 5 to 10 layers.

3. Remove polish in ONE firm, clean stroke.

4. Remove any remaining polish with a CLEAN piece of cotton and A LOT more acetone.

5. If the nail plate looks stained a lighter shade of the color, use a clean cotton piece saturated with A LOT of acetone and keep wiping/scrubbing. Focus on wiping nail tip to proximal fold (“cuticle” line), since nail cells grow layered like house roof shingles, you want to go against the grain.

6. Use Q-tips saturated in acetone to get staining at the proximal fold curve.

7. Wash hands with warm water and soap.

8. Scrub nails top and bottom with a nail brush. Rinse. Dry.

9. Apply your favorite penetrating nail oil generously and rub it in. (Blue stains are all gone. 🙂 )

Soak & Swipe™ Polish Removal

Acetone saturation is very important key to remove polish quickly—and it’s extremely COLD! It feels like you’re soaking in ice because acetone evaporates so quickly.

This is why I recommend adding a moisturizing additive acetone or to coat your skin with a cheap kitchen oil before removing your manicure.

It blocks some of that numbing cold and prevents acetone from dissolving your precious body oil and drying out your skin.

I also love using manicure clips to hold the cotton on the nail plate. The clips trap in your body heat to warm the acetone which makes it dissolve lacquer faster.

I unroll a cotton ball and cut it into small pieces. Saturate the cotton with acetone, apply to the nail and soak for one to three minutes.

Then saturate a second piece of cotton with acetone to wipe off the first piece of cotton. This is an important step as well you help you get a firm grip to remove the polish in one, clean swipe.

Don’t use your soaking cotton to remove any remaining polish. You’ll start scrubbing. Just get a new piece of cotton.

In Desperation – Removing Immediate Stains

If your nails are still tinted after trying all of my tips, you may need to bring out the big guns….. or big goop.

Anutka at Wacky Laki has put together a great tutorial using whitening toothpaste for immediate polish stain removal.

Fortunately, I haven’t had to use this technique, but it’s nice to know it’s an option as a last resort.

No Buffing Please!

It’s surprising to me how many established nail bloggers recommend buffing the stain out—even though this is a horrible idea!

It’s quite understandable why they recommend it though.

Immediate polish stains usually are because polish pigment has settled into the top few layers of nail keratin.

This happens really easily with the traditional polish removal method—saturate a cotton ball and scrub the heck out of it until the polish is dissolved.

Nail Keratin Cells Under Electron Microscope

Even though our nails appear smooth, under an electron microscope, it’s possible to see that our nails are made up of hundreds of thousands flattened keratin cells.

As in the photo to the right, you can see the microscopic gaps between the cells.

Polish pigments are small enough to settle into those gaps with enough force.

The acetone is dissolving the colored lacquer, but your scrubbing action is driving the dissolved pigments into the top layers of keratin.

The traditional thinking is, “I’ll just buff the stain out, since it’s only in the top few layers.”

But like I addressed in my previous article about why buffing out ridges is actually making our nails weaker, the same holds true when buffing out stains.

You only have about 50 layers of keratin in your nails.

It’s a misconception that buffing a few layers won’t hurt. In truth, it only makes your nails thinner, weaker, and more prone to breaking.

Who’s Guilty?

The photo to the right by GirlyThingsBye demonstrates perfectly how scrubbing can even cause the pigment to be pushed into the top layers of our skin too!

This photo was taken after several rounds with acetone and she says it took several days for her skin to return to normal flesh color.

This is leads me to think . . . who’s the real guilty party with most polish staining?

You know that saying… “When you’re pointing at someone else, you have four fingers pointing back at you.”

Should polish brands be condemned for causing staining? Hummmmm.

Be Careful with the DIY Whitening Soaks

There a couple of other methods recommended by bloggers which I don’t recommend.

They are soaking your nails in hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice or denture remover tabs.

These techniques may work, but at what cost to the health of your nails?

One of the very worst things you can do to your nails is to soak them for 5-15 minutes in a water-based solution with some additives.

Even though our nails can soak up three times their weight in water, it’s very damaging to the keratin layers.

Where does that water go?

In between every single nail layer, slowly pushing the layers apart.

Our nails are resilient, but not for long. I explain this process in more detail here: https://www.nailcareheadquarters.com/How Water Damages Nails

In Conclusion

Hopefully, this clears up some confusion about polish stain removal.

The best method is prevention.

It starts with using two coats of a high-quality base coat and to completely dissolve the polish before using only one stroke to remove it.

The post Polish Stain Removal Tips – How to Remove Immediate Polish Stains 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.

Marie Claire’s Pure Nail Oil™ Challenge Results

Marie Claire’s story is a fun one. She was one of the fortunate people to win a Bliss Kiss™ Simply Pure™ hydrating oil pen during one of the random contests we host on our Facebook Page.

In January and July, I used to host a huge 3-Day Get Naked Challenge with prizes and offer a big sale to help everyone get involved. Marie Claire decided to jump in and take the Challenge.

Side Note: The 3-Day has now evolved into a “30-Day Challenge” every January and June, where we teach you skills and techniques to help you learn to acheive longer, stronger nails. This also includes an Intensive Hydration Treatment using hydrating oil, balm lotion and nitrile or latex gloves for 2 to 12 hours.

The results of Marie Claire’s peeling nails after 14 days look too good to be true. But as they say—a picture is worth a thousand words.

Marie Claire’s Thoughts

“One day, I decided to remove my manicure and I observed that my pointed finger was a tad bit bent, discolored and chipped.

Ugh, I couldn’t stand the sight of the thing! It was irritating my eyes and my heart was weak 🙁

But thank God, that Simply Pure™ hydrating oil pen arrived quickly and worked instantly.

I was AMAZED and SHOCKED to see how quickly the oil got absorbed into the nail plate and the Crisp™ scent was just heavenly. I couldn’t stop sniffing it . . . I even had the urge to lick my nails. (My Puppy was definitely enjoying it though.)

The Get Naked Challenge had a time span of just three days, and by the end of the last day, my nails looks so awesome! I’m not even kidding.

I love this Simply Pure™ oil pen! It’s amazing!!

I love Ana and I love her product!” ~Marie Claire

You can read all of Marie Clair’s Simply Pure™ nail oil Challenge results on her website: PolishedIAm.blogspot.com

Oil is the glue that holds
nail keratin layers together. ~Ana

Ana’s Thoughts

I get warm fuzzies all over when I read testimonials like Marie Claire’s! 😀

Notice Marie Claire’s massive, frayed peeling, especially on her index finger. Within 3 days it was completely gone and within 14 days, you would never know she had an issue with peeling!

Simply Pure™ has essentially helped glue those layers back together to be smooth.

I wanted to get a little more insight into Marie Claire’s experience, so I asked her a few questions by email.

“I’m really happy I won this nail oil pen from you, because little did I know it would come in soooo handy!  This thing is a life saver, I’m not even kidding.  I was sooo happy to see the results!!

OMG, I wanted to cry when I saw how ugly my nails got, it was frustrating and ugly.  After I removed my mani, my index finger went so bad and it was a bit soft. Ick.

I couldn’t stand it, so I pulled out the pen and I couldn’t stop applying the oil and I couldn’t stop observing how it worked. I have to admit, I learned a lesson.  And I’m spreading the word.”

Tell me a little more of your story. Do you do a lot of swatching? What made you interested in the oil?

“Without the Simply Pure™ oil, I still have no idea where my nails would be.  Ahaha.

I actually started getting involved in doing nail care stuff a while a back. I am newbie to blogging. I don’t do a lot of swatches, but what I do mainly is just paint my nails for fun and showcase them on my personal Facebook page.

Unfortunately, however I had to stop for a while, because of the results of terrible dry nails.

But since your nail oil rejuvenated my nails, I’m back in the ball game! I stumbled across your Facebook page, and I was more intrigued in the nail art you shared up until one day I decided to enter in your giveaway, and then I won the pen!

At first, I had no idea what it was for, until I got it and started to review other people’s post about it.  I really didn’t know that it would come in handy until THAT DAY arrived! I took off my manicure and saw how beat up my nails were.”

What was your experience while you were doing the 3-Day? Surprised, shocked, happy?

“When I ordered and first started the “3-Day Let’s Get Naked Challenge,” I had already researched some Simply Pure™ hydrating oil before and after articles, so I was really intrigued when I first applied the oil. I kept looking at it, to see how it was progressing.

I had to do chores around the house, but left it for later because I didn’t want to get my nails wet!  LOL (and I don’t like wearing gloves when doing the dishes)

All in all, it was an awesome experience and challenge to try.  I made sure I read the instructions on the pamphlet, ensuring every time I oil, to rub above the cuticle to increase blood flow. I still rub behind my “cuticle” line (eponychium) even if it’s not oiled or anything. I think it has become a habit.

It was really fun doing the “Let’s Get Naked Challenge”, because I wanted to get rid of my ugly nails.  I just couldn’t stand it.”

The Cause of Peeling Nails

Peeling nails are usually caused by too much exposure to water and acetone. The nail has the ability to absorb 3 times their weight in water.

Those water molecules are pushing apart the nails’ keratin layers. The nail is quite resilient and has the ability to rebound. The water evaporates over about 60 minutes.

Photo courtesy of the Jojoba Co.

Photo courtesy of the Jojoba Co.

A lot of water, strong soaps, and acetone strip our nails of the natural body oil that is delivered from the pink nail bed. Our body just can’t keep up.

Jojoba wax ester (photo #3) has an almost identical molecular structure to human body oil (sebum – photo #1).

Pure Nail Oil™ contains the highest percentage of Jojoba of any nail or cuticle oil on the market. It has a synergistic relationship with the other ingredients.

Pure Nail Oil™ has the unique ability to absorb into the nail plate and help bring it back to the required perfect blend of 18% water and 5% oil.

Polish Is Your Friend

The best thing to do after an Intensive Hydration Treatment is to get those pretty nails protected with polish. Polish also helps seal the keratin layers of your peeling nails and protect them.

I have step by step directions for my Ulitimate Nail Care Routine here. Polish on the top and bottom of the nail tips will restrict the nails from absorbing water.

It will also trap the moisture and body oil (sebum) that is constantly being pumped up through the nail plate by the nourishing pink nail bed.

These TWO actions— Intensive Hydration Treatments and polish manicures—keep your nails stronger and more flexible to deal with life’s boo-boos.

Acetone Is a Necessary Foe

We need acetone. It’s a necessary solvent.

Did you know that acetone is actually LESS drying than  “non-acetone” removers?

Rather than fighting the drying effect, you can use an acetone additive or apply a cheap kitchen oil to your skin before removing polish.

After removing your manicure, do another an Intensive Hydration Treatment for 2 to 12 hours. This reverses the surface drying effect of acetone. ~Ana

If you liked this article . . . please share!

The post PEELING NAILS – Marie Claire’s Pure Nail Oil™ Results first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.