Hand and Nail Care

Hi guys! I have been really busy and preoccupied, so I haven't gotten a chance to do a manicure. But I am absolutely loving my natural nails and I figured, since they look really nice at the moment, I would show them to you and talk about products that I use.

My hands are very small. My fingers are also pretty stubby, so I have really been enjoying growing my nails a little, instead of cutting them super short. This makes my fingers look longer and slimmer. So, first of all, I will tell you about something that makes my natural nails look a lot nicer when I don't have polish on. A base coat. When I wasn't using one my nails got so stained and I wouldn't ever want my natural nails to be seen. The base coat that I really like is Essie Protein Base Coat:

Taking care of my cuticles is what makes me really like my nails. I am not one of those people with naturally perfect, pushed back cuticles. Mine will grow up and peel if I neglect them. The thing that made the biggest difference for me is Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. This stuff is great! I apply it on my cuticles before going to sleep and if I watch TV before bed I put on some cotton gloves and cuticle cream.

Something else that I always do is use lotion. I also apply hand lotion along with the cuticle cream before putting on cotton gloves if I am watching TV in the evening. I don't apply hand lotion much throughout the day because I use my hands so much and I don't like feeling greasy. I always apply it before going to sleep, though. My favorite brand of hand lotion is Camille Beckman. The lotions smell so nice and they are very moisturizing. I think the black tube is for men, but I love the scent! They can be hard to find, but there is a website you can buy them off of.

Something else that I have done for years to help my cuticles is to gently push them back with my bath towel after I take a shower. After you are in water for a while, your skin gets soft, making it easier to push back your cuticles. Something that has helped my cuticles even more, though, is a cuticle pusher. I got a Sally Hansen one from Walmart. I don't use the cuticle trimmer. That is to scrape that old dead cuticle off of your nail. When I tried to use it I took slivers of my actual nail off! The cuticle pusher is so good because it is gentle on your cuticle and you can use it even when your nails are painted because it is rubber and won't scratch your manicure! I'd highly recommend getting one! They are only a few dollars!

My nails have been peeling for some reason. It could be because I would use a very old diamond nail file and it wasn't the most gentle on the nails, so I got a new crystal file! I got it from Sally's Beauty Supply for only a bit more than $3. Crystal and glass files are supposed to be the best for your nails because they are gentle.

Something you can use to get rid of the peeling layers of nail is to use a nail buffer. The one I have has three sides. There are numbers on them so you can know which order to use them in. This gets rid of the peeling layers very efficiently and smooths out any ridges!

You can give your hands a treat by using a hand scrub. I made my own. I got the recipe from Cutepolish on Youtube. It is a lemon sugar hand scrub and it is so nice! You just mix 3/4 of a cup of sugar with 1/4 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. I mixed this in a separate bowl before putting it into a mason jar. You just massage it all over your hands and then rinse it off and your hands will be so soft! I made mine months ago and it is still fine.

So, these are some things I use to keep my hands looking nice. Nice hands also depend on where you live and how much you do with them. When the weather gets dry here my hands suffer. When it is humid my hands are super nice. When I used to be a cashier at a grocery store I barely ever did my nails because the manicure would be ruined right away because I was so rough on my hands. You have to figure out what works best for you! And never get worried about little imperfections. Nobody can notice that but you! If you have any questions, leave a comment!