Ever just go to grab your car door handle and your hand slips just enough to bang your nail…and it hurts soo much!?
No you’re not being whimp. Nail sprains are very common and they can cause tons of damage.
Category: Nails
Nail health, Nail Art and tips and tricks to keeping strong, beautiful nails
How Young Is Too Young for Nails?
I have lately been getting many younger girls coming and booking appointments online for acrylic or gel nails. Getting nails is a big step for young ladies and social media makes it seem so normal that tweens think: ‘No big deal”. But they are.
Transitioning Beauty
This week is PRIDE MONTH!! As a cis-bisexual ally I love celebrating pride and meeting new people. I get to talk to many different people going through different transitions (coming out, speaking up or starting a full medical transition). I thought that this year I will officially share what I can do to help professionally on here.
In the past few years I have become very accustomed to talking and helping transitioning clients with figuring out new beauty and health routines. I am no medical expert and can only go by what feels right for each client.
But in lieu of people asking the difference between a men’s pedicure or a men’s leg wax than a woman’s: I say there’s none. Hair coming out of skin and nails growing aren’t much different between men and women.
I want to share some very basic information about this process. I am not a doctor but having guided research from great places like Elevate and Thunder Pride and talking with trans clients, friends and their families. This is just speaking from a professional esthetician and makeup artist.
Help! Broken Toenails + Fungal Infections!
Most people think feet are gross to begin with. 90% of my pedicure clients think they have the worst feet (trust me you don’t unless you are the 2% of clients that I do send to a doctor before I can take them). Pedicures can fix a lot of your feet problems that you may think are unsolvable.
Issues that I see the most in the spa:
- Dry feet
- Calluses
- Ingrown toenails
- No pinky toes (or barely anything there)
- Fungal Infections (in nails or athelet’s foot)
- keratolysis (pitted holes in soles of feet)
Regular Pedicures can help with all of these issues and if you also consult with your doctor; they can be totally resolved (minus pinky toes..if you can’t grow the nail that’s kinda it… but there’s a interesting solution to it!)
Why Won’t Shellac Stay?
Shellac nails are a nail lovers dream come true. No longer the days where it only lasts 2 days, and the waiting……. and the waiting…… and more waiting… and the “Sh*t. I touched them.”
Shellac (which is a brand name) is a gel polish which cures in a LED/UV light. They are dry the second they come out of that bad boy and are supposed to last up to 2-4 weeks. But what if they don’t? What happened? Who’s fault is it? Should I get my money back?
OMG Pedicure Massge + Overdue Client= Baby!
Funny how things happen.
2 Months ago I wrote a article about pregnancy and how foot massage could be ambiguously good/bad/or nothing. (You can read it here) Without scientific consensus I am always iffy on things so I have it on my client form for them to check off.
My client had come in at 1 pm, she was 2 days past due and was hoping that some relaxation was going to help. She also asked for the full massage, to which knowing that it might help but wanting to make sure that if anything happened that she was aware of the risks. She signed a extra for saying she did want the full massage.
We had a super fun time, and we were talking about all the different wives tales and ideas about what can help start labour. She was also planning on trying the new mexican restaurant to maybe the spices would help too: I called it the M&M trick, Massage & Mexican.
Afterwards she told me she’d let me know if anything happened, I figured it probably didn’t help minus just relaxing which is good for everyone.
So yesterday morning I wake up to this:
WOW!!!! I was soo happy for such amazing news in the morning. I guess it can work for sure!!! Just happy that baby Abigael is happy and healthy and out!
She had left the spa at 2ish, crazy it happened so fast!
I have never had a client told me it worked, I have had several in my decade of work who have signed in hopes it would get things starting but I never heard anything else, so I figured that it didn’t really work but still no matter what took the precautions with all pregnant clients.
I love with when life comes and suprises you like this.
I wish my client many many happy congratulations for her, Abigael and her family 😀
Gel is Gel. Powdered Gel is NOT!
I get so many clients in here asking for fills or fixes or horror stories coming from other places (usually the quickie nail salons) talking about how they asked for gels and then didn’t get them.
Gel is the most popular form of nail extensions and everyone wants to do it. But are you really getting what you are paying for? Here in Thunder Bay many places charge 10$ or more above the acrylic price because it is in such demand. But why? What is really the difference between the 2?
Ingrown Toenails
Ever feel like your shoes are tight but only on your big toes? Or only on one toe, on the edge?
That is a sign that you may have a ingrown toenail.
Last Wish: Pretty Nails
Last week I was asked by a young woman if I would come to her Grandmother’s nursing home and give her a last present: a manicure.
I want to warn you: grab your box of tissues now..
Back to School Quick Manicure
Everyone’s going back to school(students & teachers), or you are sending your kids off to school now. It’s so hard switching from summer mode and it might take you a month to get back on track.
Typing away new assignments, making lunches and flipping through books can get hard on your hands. Here are some tips to keep your hands soft and your skin and nails strong.
Tip #1: I always suggest keeping a small bottle of hand mositurizer in your bag and apply at lunch, or 3-4 times a day if your hands get super dry from touching paper all day.
Tip #2: Make sure that you always have a small nail file in your bag as well, typing with long nails is tricky. I know once my nails get to the length where they will either hit 2 keys at once or get stuck underneath the keys on the keyboard and then they break or bend(I think the bending is worse and way more painful). This will help you figure out what length you should keep them at, this is your call of what you can handle.
Tip #3: If you find that your nails are getting weak from typing or just from more general ware that they are used to in comparison to the summer vacation, 2x a week get some vitamin D gel capsules from the pharmacy and cut 1 open and rub the gel over your nails. Lots of hand moisturizers and cuticle creams have vitamin D in it(and more), but the gel capsules are more concentrated and work faster I find.
Tip #4 : Finally as usual make sure to drink lots of water and eat healthy! Drinking water flushes out your system, removing toxins and helping your cells to stay strong. Eat foods with protein, but key vitamins such as the B-complex, C, A, E (alpha tocopherol), D, calcium, zinc, iodine and iron for stronger nails(and Hair!)
Sweet Cherry Spa 