Beauty Bash Discussion: Nails

I’m not a big nail person. For one, I’m completely inept at doing my nails (see my earlier blog, Doing My Own Nails) and have been getting professional manicures and pedicures for most of my adult life. Life with Lola (my 10 month old baby girl) has changed all that. These days, my nails are showing signs of neglect, and I’ve been forced to take matters into my own hands. I just don’t have time to schedule a manicure! Another reason that I’m not a nail person is that I wear mine relatively short, no more than about a quarter inch past the nail bed. They are also naturally strong and healthy, so I’ve never had to worry about growing them out. It’s a non-issue. But not everyone has such an easy relationship with their nails. One of my girlfriends asked for advice about treating weak nails that refuse to grow. I gave her a tip from my book, Secrets of the Beauty Insiders, which was given to me by Skyy Hadley, a celeb manicurist. She recommends a coat of Trind Moisturizing Nail Balsam (a Dutch product that’s available online), followed by a coat of Nailtiques #2, followed by two coats of Zoya nail polish, and finished with a final coat of Nailtiques. She claims that nail hardeners make nails too hard, leaving them brittle and breakable, but a protein nail product, like Trind, actually strengthens nails to make them healthy and long. She also claims this manicure lasts forever—seven to ten days! My sister, Nelly, who is obsessed with her nails (I’ve NEVER seen her without a manicure. She does them herself, and they’re flawless) said she recommends a product called Mystic Nails, which she uses as a base and topcoat. She applies an additional coat daily, and said it really seems to make her nails stronger and less prone to breakage. Plus, it makes her nail polish last. She should know. When someone commented that applying a coat every day was too much work, Nelly, who has three little girls three years old and under, andwho barely has time to eat, says that she keeps it in the car, quickly applies a coat at a red light, and then lets the air conditioning dry her nails. (We both claim to have invented this tip. Pointing the air conditioning vents at your nails while driving is the quickest way to dry a manicure). Another problem that came up is nail polish allergies. Jen I. mentioned that she and her sisster are both able to wear toenail polish but not fingernail polish. When she paints her fingernails, her skin gets red and irritated wherever she touches it. After doing some research on this, I think I can safely say that Jen is probably only able to paint her toenails because her feet come in contact with less of her skin than her hands do. Her skin is actually what is allergic to the ingredients in nail polish (the most common allergens are formaldehyde and toluene), so it shouldn’t matter whether it’s the skin on her feet or her hands. But since her hands are often in contact with her face and her neck, she will notice the allergy there, whereas she can tolerate it on her feet. I recommended trying a formaldehyde-free nail polish, like those from health food store brands like Honeybee Gardens and Sante. Zoya nail polishes, mentioned above, are also free of formaldehyde and toluene. These gentler nail enamels are a great bet for anyone with sensitive skin and nail polish allergies, as well as for pregnant women.