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Showing posts with label Nail Care Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nail Care Tips. Show all posts

Oct 25, 2010

What Is Manicure


What Is Manicure ?

      The appearance of our hands, nails and arms gives either a good or a bad impression depending on how we take care of them. The word manicure is derived from the Latin word manus meaning hand. Cure simply means care. 
 
Therefore, a manicure is a cosmetic beauty treatment for the fingernails and hands. 
Manicure treatment can be for hands and or nails but a common manicure found is the filling, shaping of the nails and the application of polish. 
Some manicures may also include painting of pictures on nails. 
Sanitation should be highly considered in this process because there is a possibility of spreading infection when the tools are shared among many people hence the manicure tools should always be sterilized.

There are different kinds of treatment that you can give you hands, such as paraffin treatment. 
 
  • The same is achieved when hands are dipped in melted paraffin or wax. Its purpose is to impart heat to the hand to relax its skin making it better to absorb lotion. 
  • The hand is dipped more than once to allow thicker wax coat to form. 
  • This makes the coating to say warm for long and to prevent premature tear. After this, you wrap your hands in a plastic or tin foil covered with cloth to retain warmth. 
  • Leave the hands for a few minutes then cool the paraffin and dry it. The paraffin wax can be infused with various botanical ingredients like aloe vera, chamomile, the tree oil and azulene. Fruit waxes such as those from peach, apple and strawberry is also often used.

Hot oil manicure is another type that cleans the cuticles softening them with oil. It’s advisable to use on a dry skin and nails that are brittle since it improves both by leaving them soft and pliable. An example of oils that can be used in hot oil manicure is olive oil.

The Standard Manicure Process

To carry out the manicure process well, there are some requirements that are supposed to be ready and sanitized. These include cuticle scissor, nail cutter, hydrogen peroxide, bleach, sponge, lukewarm water, nail flier, manicure shampoo, scrub/cold cream, nail paint remover and nail buffer. Once the materials are ready you can now start by considering how each of the materials is used.

Steps to Consider


Put some lukewarm water into a small tub or bucket. Add one pouch of manicure shampoo and hydrogen peroxide in the water.
 Then dissolve the mixture gently. Reduce any pain from nails using nail paint remover.
 You will then dip the hands in the water for about 30minutes. After half an hour, add a small amount of cold cream on nails and then again return your hands in the water for fifteen minuets.

You can clean your nails with the help of the cuticle scissor and a flat instrument in manicure kits after the fifteen minutes are over. Using the emery board, file your nails.
 You should file from the edges towards the center of nails. Make your nails grow with the help of a buffer. Mix bleach cream and activator to make a bleach and then apply it on the nails. Keep it till it dries.
 Clean the bleach with the help of a sponge after it has dried. To make your arms clearer, massage gently with the help of any cold cream.

The main purpose of manicure is to keep the hands, arms and nails in a good condition. It prevents long nail formation.
 It also helps in the prevention f skin wrinkles on hands as a sign of ageing and also prevents nail damage like fragile tips and splits. 
The accompanying massage of nails during the manicure process improves and increases the blood circulation, suppleness and flexibility of the hands and wrists.

Apart from this standard manicure procedure, there are different variations such as French manicure, Mexican manicure, etc. but the main difference is in the application and tools and not the concept of manicure, the art of perfect looking, relaxed and healthy nails.
 
Read more on Manicure :
 

What Is Pedicure


What Is Pedicure ?

     With its origin from Latin words Pedis; foot and Cura, cure. Therefore, pedicure means the care given to our feet, legs and toe nails. Largely it is a way to improve the look of our feet and their nails. 
 
The purpose of pedicure is diverse. For us to avoid hard and scale-like skins, pedicure is fundamental. When we pedicure, our skins remain soft and smooth. Related to this, we pedicure to keep our nails clean, well-shaped and shiny. 
 
Many a people do not care keeping their feet clean, fair and in good condition. Giving your feet a pedicure achieves this. Above all, blood circulation in the body is vital to good health. Pedicure improves this, by nourishing the leg skin and foot muscles.

For us to achieve the goals of pedicure, we should have a number of items. 
Among these Hydrogen Peroxide, nail cutters, nail flier, bleach Pumice stone, cuticle scissors, nail paint buffer, sponge, lukewarm water, small tub for foot bath pedicure shampoo, antiseptic lotion, oil, cream and foot powder and many others that maybe necessary. With all this, one needs to understand procedures for a good pedicure to be achieved.

How to Do a Pedicure


Some of the steps involved are: Removing polish from nails should be done with a lint-free cotton pad. Saturate the cotton on the nail and let it soak first. 
Note that rubbing Whitening toothpaste on one’s nails helps remove the polish faster. Lemon or lavender oil drops on each nail and rubbing a buffer back and forth over the nail also works. 2. Alcohol and acetone-free removers are less drying, but don’t apply on shades that appear dark. ‘Free’ stuff is used on lighter shades. Following the removal of polish from nails is clipping nails. Use quality clippers to cut straight across just above the skin the nail should not extend the tip of your toe. Files maybe used to achieve this.

Soaking one’s feet is the third step. Warm bath salted water and aromatherapy oils are used when soaking feet. Soak your feet for at least 10 minutes. Stay longer if your feet are cracked and callus. 
 
Add some milk to your bath along with essential oils and salts to loosen dead skin. Trim cuticles. Application of cuticle remover nail bases for a minute and using an orangewood stick, pushing with a circular motion removes dead skin on top of the nail allows you not to touch toe flesh. 
 
 Scrubbing your feet: Apply foot scrub to a foot file or wet pumice stone to remove dead skin on balls and heels of your feet. To remove dead skin around balls, bottoms and sides of your heels and the toes. 
Sit on the side of the bath tub to achieve a coverage position. Stop if your feet turn bright red for this means your feet have scrubbed too hard. Dry feet thoroughly between toes and rub in a thick foot cream. 
Rehydrate the cuticles in a dab of cuticle oil.

  • After the above step, polish your toes. Use acetone remover to remove excess oils on the nails. 
  • Apply a thin base coat using 3 strokes, one down, the middle, and one on each side. Don’t paint the cuticle. 
  • Wait for a minute. Add 2 favorable coats of polish. Finish with a thin top coat. 
  • Clean any errors with an orangewood stick wrapped in cotton and dipped in acetone remover. Let the nails to dry for 40 minutes. 
  • To prevent chipping, paint any polish remaining on the brush over the front edges of the nails. 
  • Finally finish up, after the nails have died. Sprits with a moisturizing oil to set your polish and moisturize your cuticles. 
  • This will give you a good pedicure.

Take Care

Apply antiseptics if skin is broken, avoid excessive friction when buffing nails, avoid dropping sharp objects, keep hands dry when handling containers, label & cover implements used, do not file nails deeply, bluntened sharp edged implement and always sanitize hands before starting pedicuring.
 
Read about manicure :
 

Jun 30, 2009

Nail Care Tips


Nail Damage and Prevention:

1. The simplest way to avoid nail damage is to wear gloves.
2. If you can't wear gloves, you could at least use a long handled mop-this allows you to keep your hands off water and your nails will definitely benefit.


3. If you do get your hands wet, remember to rinse them well and dry them carefully after the work is done.
4. Then apply ample amounts of a moisturizing cream.
5. You must also take certain other precautions:
A. Use a pencil to operate the dial;
B.Use a tin-opener to open tins;
C.Use gardening gloves;
D.Avoid contact with strong chemicals;
E.Use moisturizers liberally.
6. Wear Polish-It works as a barrier for your nails and use acetone-free nail polish remover.
7. File in one direction only-Filing back and forth is bad because this frays and weakens the nails. File your nails in one direction only for the best results.
8. Keep your nails short.
9. Manicure after a bath. It is best to do your manicure after a bath because your nails are soft.



Pamper Yourself-Manicure & Pedicure:

Cosmetics to Disguise Nail Defects:


If your nails are deformed, the first thing to do is to visit your dermatologist-a number of nail problems are temporary and improve as the new nail appears and only a very few are permanent. The appearance of your nails can also be improved considerably by the use of cosmetics-for instance, ordinary nail enamel can camouflage a number of nail defects. A broken or split nail can be mended using what are called nail-mending fluids. To do this, a piece of thin tissue is placed over the crack or break in the nail. The nail mending fluid is then applied. When the product dries and sets, the nail can be painted with the nail enamel.

Common Nail Problems:




1. Brittle Nails:
Brittle nails and flaking of nails are very common due to excessive dryness of the nail plate. The nail plate is made up of dead keratin cells held together by a natural glue of fats and water. Any loss of fats and water causes the cells to separate and results in flaking and brittleness of the nails.


A.Many of our domestic chores remove the natural fats from the nails resulting in brittle nails, so do wear gloves.
B.Nail polish removers also have a dehydrating effect. If you have brittle nails avoid removing your nail polish too frequently. You can use a colorless polish or a base-coat or a top-coat, because then you can keep touching it up quite happily, without having to use the remover very frequently.
C.Regular massage around the nail-base with cream can have a good effect on brittle nails.



2. Hangnails:


Hangnails are tears in the skin of the nailfolds and the cuticle. The cuticle and the nail folds have a tendency to stick to the nail plate as it grows forward; the stretched cuticle may eventually tear. Sometimes the skin of the nail folds also cracks, particularly if it is dry. Nervous nail biting habits, chewing nails, and picking the cuticle all encourage the development of hangnails.

A. To avoid such conditions, keep the cuticles soft by massaging in creams and regularly loosening it from the nail-plate.
B.Clip off existing hangnails.
C.Avoid pulling off slivers as this can be very painful and can even cause infection of the nailfolds.
3. In-Growing Toe-Nails: If the toenail is not cut properly, it penetrates into the nail-fold as it grows, causing redness, swelling and pain.
A. Don’t cut them too short;
B.Don't ever cut down the side of the nail;
C.Always follow the shape of the toe;
D.Once the pain has started, try to push the nail-fold away from the sharp edge of the skin.


4. Fungal Infections of the Nail:
When fungus infects the nails, they become thickened, broken and discoloured.Fungal infection can be easily treated- griseofulvin is given for milder infection and ketoconazole for more severe types-but let your doctor treat you.