Aside from the daily skin care and regular trip to the salon for hair care, nail care also tops the list of “it’s a girl thing” thing. It’s not just about hygiene but looks and appearance too. Depending on your lifestyle, you can sport either short, medium or long nails but most of the time, short to medium length nails are more advisable because it can easily be maintained and will not cause you any discomforts say when you type on your computer’s keyboards or your cellphone, no need to worry about it splitting or breaking.

Get Pretty Nails

How do we keep our nails healthy, strong, and pretty? Do we need to use products like we do with our skin and hair? Nail care is more than the “what products to use” as it is with “how to use the products”. There are 2 types of treatments that we do with our nails, fingernails and toenails, which are manicure for the hands and pedicure for the feet.

• Manicure – from the Latin words “manus” meaning “hand” and “cure” meaning “care”, manicure is a treatment for the hand and fingernails which includes cutting and filing the nails, shaping the nails, removing dry cuticles, most of the time also buffing and polishing the nails. The hands are also treated with moisturizers and hand lotion.

• Pedicure – similar to manicure only this treatment is for the feet and toenails. Unlike with manicure though, pedicure needs a little bit more tools like a pumice stone and pedicure file to remove dry skin and callous from the soles of the feet.

Manicure and Pedicure Tips

Whether you have your manicure and pedicure regularly done at a professional nail salon or you rather save a few bucks and do it yourself, mani and pedi should be done carefully and using the right products too. Here are some useful tips that you need to know for your nail care:

• Always make sure your hands and feet are clean and dry before you do any further “cleaning” of the nails

• Sanitize your manicure and pedicure tools

• Cut your nails using nail clippers

• Avoid filing your nails back and forth as this motion can cause the nails to split and weaken. File your nails from one corner to the center using a single direction

• When removing your old application of nail polish or stains on your nails, avoid using polish remover with acetone as it can make the nails brittle.

• Manicure and pedicure maintenance should be at least once a week to prevent nails from splitting, drying up, etc.

• If you have weak nails, you can use nails products like OPI Axxium which you apply on your nails to protect it from splitting. • Do not remove your cuticles. That white skin in between your nail’s root and skin is the one responsible from keeping bacteria out and preventing infections. If you feel you’re cuticle is unpleasant to look at and feels hard and dry, simply use a rubber-tipped cuticle pusher with cuticle-removing liquid and gently push it back.

• When you’re applying polish on your nails, use a base coat first and let it dry for a minute or two before applying your colored nail polish and use a top coat afterward, this will strengthen the nail polish.

• Make sure your nails are completely dry before applying any nail polish These are just some easy and simple tips to keep in mind for healthy and pretty nails.

Written by Maria Constantine. To find out more about OPI Axxium, click here.

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About the Author: Carleen Coulter