Getting Your Manicure to Last

When I decided to start painting my nails again (after the removal of my acrylic's, this was necessary, they were weak, brittle and splitting in several places) I had to come up with a solution to get them to last at least 5 - 7 days, otherwise I was not going to bother. So I bought the gel manicure system, which was probably a good place to start, as the curing does aid in making the nail feel stronger, but if you read my other blog on this: "Nailed It'. I know I promised pictures, I will see if I can do them during the break. You will know that removing this is less than satisfactory to me. It is the scraping, I cannot abide the scraping, my nails hate it.

If you read Loodie Loodie Loodie, which I recommend you should, she is all about healthy nails. And I agree 100% start with healthy nails and your manicure will last far longer than on sad nails, which is where the gel is good because it will still last on sad nails. But having to cure the gel top coat in the morning instead of at night was getting to me, and the scraping, oh the horrors.

So, once you have attained your healthy nails through OPI Nail Envy, Essie's Grow Faster, Essie's Grow Stronger, Wtichcraft, Trind, or any of the Sally Hansen nail growth systems, and my personal favourite base coat with minced garlic added you are on your way to success. That and starting with clean nails that are free of oils, so start to paint right after you have removed your old polish, don't run your hands through your hair, or moisturize...wait and do the moisturizing at the end. If you are going to file and buff your nails. File your nails before the old polish comes off, then remove polish, buff nails and then re-acetone your nails before the polish application. I have used OPI's chip skip, and it is doing the same thing as the acetone, just with a brush instead of a cotton pad, your choice really. Buffing aids in removing any splits or imperfections in the nail and also gives the nail a slight grittiness, you cannot feel it, which gives all this polish a place to grab onto.

Currently because I live in Calgary and it is so dry here the process is:

1. Garlic base coat,
2. One of my base coats that is creamer looking, I have convinced myself they are moisturizing, one of them must be because it is working. Let all this dry.
3. Paint the free edge of my nail, underneath my nail, and then the top 1/2 of the front of my nail, do this on all fingers then let dry. 
4. Apply polish to the full nail, free edge and back of nail, the back of the nail is only really necessary if 
1. you have nails that are longer than your finger ends,
2. it really bugs you to see the the white colour of your nails, which it does for me and I find polish lasts longer when I do this, so I keep doing it. Then let that dry 
5. Repeat step 4. Let this dry a little bit longer than the last coat.
6. You now should have perfectly covered nails. Then finish with your top coat, right now I am using a CND in a large round bottle. Remembering to cover the free edge 
7. Repeat step 6. 
8. Once your last top coat has dried for a tiny bit, grab your favourite cuticle oil or an olive oil and brush it over your cuticles allowing the excess to run down to the tip of your nail from the cuticle. This creates a barrier between your nails and some of the outside world. It is also at this point that I will carefully apply a moisturizer to the rest of my hands. 

Then I read for about 20 - 30 minutes and then pass out with my hands clasped together hanging over the edge of the bed to prevent sheet marks. I do all of this while sitting in bed, it saves moving later on, and I have m laptop in there with me so I can watch a DVD or something on you tube, it helps the time to pass and makes the process feel a touch less tedious.

Also yes you did read that correctly. We are at about 7 layers of nail polish. Now if you have a really thick formula you might just need to do 2 coats, but I usually do very thin coats so it has always worked. Then If you want to keep your nails looking shiny, you can after three days add a layer of top coat, but stay thin. This way I can do my nails on a Sunday and by Saturday evening they are still in a condition where I feel that I can go out without people, and ten remove and repeat.

On the left hand side of the screen is a picture of my nails finished, after I did them Saturday morning. The picture on the right is a picture of them 6 days later. The only wear is on the pinky, and that is because if I am having a stressful week it is the only nail I will allow myself to gnaw on, so if it weren't for this then they would be perfect. Also I was going for a turquoise stone effect, whether or not I achieved it is debatable. I could not get water, hairspray or rubbing alcohol to form veins n the water bath to dip my painted nails into.



See you

-A