fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2323 ]

[ SECRET POST #2323 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2323 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This might be a bit of a silly question, but how do you take care of your fingernails? I do nothing with mine and, shockingly enough, they're in pretty bad nick.

Huh. What should you have to do with your nails? I mean, I use nail polish when I feel like it, but I guess that's not really "care".

If the nails themselves are a problem, could it maybe be a calcium deficiency?

I have never taken care of my nails in any way shape or form in my life. I just bite them off when they get long enough that I can't reach my keyboard with the pads of my fingers without flattening my fingers down.

Shocker of shockers, my nails are in godawful shape too. Plus my...whatever those sections of your fingers that are right beside the beds of your nails are called...are all frayed and dried. I heartily second this request for advice.

They're called cuticles. I posted this down further, but I'll repost it for you:

Get some cuticle oil and hand lotion and apply it every night before bed. It helps if you buy some of those cotton gloves and put those on after doing this and sleep in them, they don't cost much ($2-3 for a pair). And or you might also want to oil and lotion them, then wrap your hands in saran wrap, and wrap a moist, hot towel around them for 5-15 minutes (you can also buy electric gloves w/different heat settings if you'd rather at places like Sally's Beauty Supply (oil, lotion, saran wrap, put hands in mitts for 5-15 minutes or longer). Also, you might want to get one of those cuticle oil pens that you can carry around in purse and apply during the day until you're happy w/your cuticles.

Get some cuticle remover and use according to directions. If they're in really bad shape you may want to use it more than once or twice a week to remove the dead cuticle. Cut hangnails off.

Use a towel to push your cuticles back or use a cuticle pusher (be careful w/metal ones). If you're brave and have lots of dead cuticle and cuticle nippers, you may want to try trimming them yourself--but be very careful, don't make yourself bleed, and apply antibiotic cream afterward to the cuticle area to help prevent infection. This isn't advised if you're a newbie due to cutting yourself, bleeding, and infection--just try the cuticle remover stuff first and do this as a last resort if that stuff isn't working for you after you try it several times. Also, it's much easier to do this, if you've soaked your hands till they're all wrinkly as it makes the cuticle much softer and easier to cut.

File your nails in one direction only. DO NOT go back and forth on the nail like a seesaw, this weakens the nail and it will break. Get the file at a 45 degree angle and file in one direction to the center of the nail and repeat on the opposite side until they look how you want them. If you want your hands to look really nice, try to make all of your nails the same length and shape, it makes them look elegant. Nails of differing lengths can look bad/unkempt.

If your nails are brittle, use nail polish basecoats w/moisturizers, hydrators; they don't need nail hardeners. If they're weak, thin, peeling, breaking, then use a nail hardening to get some strength into them. Taking the vitamin biotin helps.

That's all I can think of right now. HTH.

Thanks for the advice, but I wasn't talking about my cuticles, I was talking about the pads of flesh and skin on either side of your nails.

My cuticles are in kind of bad shape too though, so your advice is definitely appreciated :)

The cuticle oil and hand lotion should help w/that too. Are they calloused? You might want to try a pumice stone and/or callous remover also, if so.

Nothing except filing them once in awhile... I usually have quite long nails and they basically never break. I put nail polish on them sometimes when I can be bothered.

~~I don't use body lotion or lip balm either and I have no problems with dryness, so I might just be lucky?~~

My nails look pretty good most of the time though, so I dunno? You sure you have enough Calcium and Vitamin D/Omega 3? That is what I get told if I have any kind of medical thing: Drink milk and Fish Oil and you will feel better!

I cut mine so that the white area is about 3 millimeters long and then file them to polish the tips even. And I push the cuticles back regularly so that they won't grow very far over the nails (that helps prevent them from tearing) and use hand lotion sometimes.

Get some cuticle oil and hand lotion and apply it every night before bed. It helps if you buy some of those cotton gloves and put those on after doing this and sleep in them, they don't cost much ($2-3 for a pair). And or you might also want to oil and lotion them, then wrap your hands in saran wrap, and wrap a moist, hot towel around them for 5-15 minutes (you can also buy electric gloves w/different heat settings if you'd rather at places like Sally's Beauty Supply (oil, lotion, saran wrap, put hands in mitts for 5-15 minutes or longer). Also, you might want to get one of those cuticle oil pens that you can carry around in purse and apply during the day until you're happy w/your cuticles.

Get some cuticle remover and use according to directions. If they're in really bad shape you may want to use it more than once or twice a week to remove the dead cuticle. Cut hangnails off.

Use a towel to push your cuticles back or use a cuticle pusher (be careful w/metal ones). If you're brave and have lots of dead cuticle and cuticle nippers, you may want to try trimming them yourself--but be very careful, don't make yourself bleed, and apply antibiotic cream afterward to the cuticle area to help prevent infection. This isn't advised if you're a newbie due to cutting yourself, bleeding, and infection--just try the cuticle remover stuff first and do this as a last resort if that stuff isn't working for you after you try it several times. Also, it's much easier to do this, if you've soaked your hands till they're all wrinkly as it makes the cuticle much softer and easier to cut.

File your nails in one direction only. DO NOT go back and forth on the nail like a seesaw, this weakens the nail and it will break. Get the file at a 45 degree angle and file in one direction to the center of the nail and repeat on the opposite side until they look how you want them. If you want your hands to look really nice, try to make all of your nails the same length and shape, it makes them look elegant. Nails of differing lengths can look bad/unkempt.

If your nails are brittle, use nail polish basecoats w/moisturizers, hydrators; they don't need nail hardeners. If they're weak, thin, peeling, breaking, then use a nail hardening to get some strength into them. Taking the vitamin biotin helps.

That's all I can think of right now. HTH.

A lot of this depends on what you do during the day.

I work in an office, and on my break, I clean out from under my nails and file the edges. That's all I do to maintain them; they're unpainted, and the normal handwashing/shower routine keeps them clean otherwise. You can put a clear coat of nail polish on them to make them a little tougher, too, if you need it.

If you work a dirty job or have a really intense hobby, you kind of need to set aside a couple hours a week to fix your nails if you want nice nails. Soak them, push the cuticles back, trim them. Nails are easier to maintain when they aren't grown out past the end of your fingertips, so you can have short but nice nails if you go that route.

I trim them short maybe about once a week, preferably right after I shower.

Make sure your nails are trimmed the same length, and then filing your nails regularly.

Take control of your cuticles by soaking them in a small bowl of warm water mixed with a small amount of soap (on a really basic level; you can get a bit more fancy if you want and put in oils, sugars, and/or other ingredients) to soften your cuticles for a few minutes. Once your cuticles are softened, you can push back the excess cuticles. Or you can use Sally Hansen's Instant Cuticle Remover, which probably works faster and is less work.

You can also use a cheap toothbrush to scrub the insides of your nails with hand soap. My nails get dirty under there fairly easy so I usually scrub them when I get home from work and before I go to bed.

If your nails tend to chip or break easily but you don't like colored nail polish, you can paint your nails with nail strengthening polish.

Also, every night before bed, put on some cuticle oil onto your cuticles. I like Sephora's Brush On Cuticle Oil sticks.
http://www.sephora.com/brush-on-nourishing-cuticle-oil-P312908?skuId=1391606

If you can't be bothered to do all this, at the very least just file your nails and invest in applying cuticle oil onto your cuticles before bed every night.

Besides the nutrients mentioned above, remember that collagen is important too and not getting enough makes your nails and hair brittle and your skin loses elasticity. (Is your hair brittle too?)

Eat stuff like meat or eggs in the morning, which is when your body absorbs the most collagen out of food.

Do not do exercise before having breakfast, because that makes you lose collagen.

If you use nail polish or whatever, use the stuff that goes easy on your nails (like, if you can find something that lets your nails breathe? use that), and pretty much treat them with the same care you would the rest of your body, I guess. Nails look tough but they need care too.

Cut them short but keep them rounded so they don't dig into the skin, then file them so they end up smooth. This is once every week. About a year ago I also got a buffing block (Seacret brad) to, well, buff them, and it makes them look shiny and healthy, though this lasts a while so I don't have to do it every week. I also use cuticle oil.

Then again I actually enjoy taking care of them :P If you get cuticle oil and clip your nails often, you should be fine.

I cuit and file mine, and make sure I get calcium. Every once in a while they break, but not as often as they used to. I don't do much for cuticle care or whatever, although I should. If I REALLY need them to look all nice (like before a trip or whatever) I get some kind of manicure but that's only, like, once a year.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2323 ]

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