Monday, July 8, 2013

Introduction: What the nails?!


Often times, I get questions and comments from people such as:

 “Your nails are so pretty”
“I’d die to have nails like yours”
“I wish my nails looked as good as yours”
“I need to let my nails grow”
“My nails are too bendy, peely, cracky”
“My nails just don’t grow!”
“What do you recommend? What do you use?”

I try to answer these questions as much as possible, but the honest truth is, there’s a lot that goes into caring for your nails when you were born with such poor nails. 

A little history on my nails:
Growing up I was a biter. Not only did I bite my nails down to the quick which would sometimes cause bleeding, but I also had a nasty, nasty habit of biting my cuticles (and still do when I’m nervous or stressed)… I never really paid much attention to my nails but I knew that my thumb nails would grow extremely long but the rest of my nails would eventually rip right off… 

I was always embarrassed of my hands. If someone wanted me to sign my name in front of them I would do my best to conceal my fingers as they were all dry, cracked, chewed, and looked completely awful.
As I grew older I started watching YouTube videos obsessively and began to think, “I wish I could take such great care of my hands and nails as this person, or that person!”…
So, I started to take notice… “When did I bite?”, “Why was I biting?”, “What could I do to prevent me from biting?”…
That’s when it clicked, and I started painting my nails!

My Obsession:
I started trying different companies, Sally Hansen, LA Colors, NYC, Wet n’ Wild… I noticed that my polish would peel off in sheets only a day later… I did research to find out “What are the best polishes? Base coats? Top coats? What else do I not know?”… 

I was having a super hard time liking the whole “mani” concept… My nails would look great for a few days, still super bendy… They started ripping off… My polish was a chipping mess, my hands looked the same but only with awful chipping polish! I tried several different strengtheners, which I thought I was seeing results, only to realize a few weeks later when my nails would grow out a quarter of an inch, they would start peeling…
After battling these issues for several long and painful months… I started eventually seeing results. I was recommended “ORLY: Bonder base coat”, “Seche Vite top coat”, and noticed that even though my nails were bending they weren’t chipping with 2nd day wear…
I developed a nail care routine, started watching for signs of peeling, cracking, dryness and kept everything in “check”… 

Don’t get me wrong, it took A LOT more than a few months to see the results that I have now… It’s a LONG and sometimes quite painful waiting process… 

I look forward to sharing swatches, tips, routines, and products with you all!

No comments:

Post a Comment