Nail Care Tips - On Your Fingertips

We all work to get shining hair, glowing skin and shapely body while the last thing on our agenda is to take care of the finger nails. Most of us think that getting pedicure and manicure done once in a while and applying nailpaint is all that is needed to take care of the nails. However, it is important that we know the quality of our nails so that we can take care of them and keep them healthy.

Nails come in all different shapes and sizes. Some have a very long nail bed; others are wide and shorter, giving the illusion of a shorter nail. You can't do much about where your nail starts to grow on your hand, but you can shape the nail as it grows. When the nails are shorter, follow the natural line of the finger tip, so you will have a rounded nail.

Your fingernails are made of layers, and if you start a zigzag filing over your nails, you will pull up the different layers, and you will end up with shredded nails. File going in the same direction with the board. If you file toward the tip, then keep all your strokes in the same direction. Use nail oil, which is designed to be rubbed on the nail, cuticle bed, and cuticle. It helps to moisturise the nail and bed, and keeps the nails from cracking in the winter.

For accents on dry polished nails, instead of using fine paint brushes or airbrushes, try different colours of gel pens. You may have to test several brands and even colours within brands to see which ones are opaque on top of nail colour, but once the colours dry, a clear topcoat will lock the colours in and you can do many unique designs with them. If you make a mistake, you can wipe it off with a damp tissue and start over without smearing.

The base coat provides a surface for the nail colour to adhere to. It provides a thicker base of polish, and more protection for the nail, and it helps to keep the nail from getting stained by the colour of the polish. The sandwiching technique of base coat, colour, and topcoat increases the time your manicure will last.

You can get artificial nails applied with airbrush designs on them, have airbrush designs added to your artificial nails, or have airbrush designs applied to your own nails. Airbrush designs are basically the same artistic technique used in decorating cars or T-shirts. The brush that applies the paint is controlled with a little air compressor and the air compressor pushes the paint out in a mist, that then is controlled by various tips to get different effects.

Stencils are sometimes also used. French manicures are designed to make your nail look natural, with maybe a light coat of clear polish. In reality, it is a white polish applied to the white part of the nail, and then, a pale "wash" is applied to the entire nail, covering the white areas also.

By: Michael Douglas

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