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| Hello and Welcome to Nat's Nail Bar :) |
This is the second of a two-part post on my
top tips for nails. To read Part One
click here.
NAILS: PART TWO
Here's what I'd like to share with you in Part Two:
- how I care for my nails
- my thoughts on gel / Shellac / Bio Sculpture
- my Little Black Book of unimposing, awesome value nail bars in London!
How I care for my nails
Fact: If you're going to wear nail vanish then your nails are going to get dry.
Really dry. To compensate for this:
- Take regular breaks between varnishes: I give my tootsies a long break over the winter, with the occasional paint job if I'm going somewhere posh and wearing open toe sandals. When it comes to your fingernails try and have a 3+ day break every now and then or longer if you're able.
- Moisturise your hands and nails at night: My dear friend Aim (mother of two boys under 4) laughs whenever I suggest this. She says she falls asleep waaaay before her head hits the pillow. But, if you can remember to do it, use the time you're asleep and not using your hands to replace some of the lost moisture. This is also very important for people who spend a lot of time with their hands in water (like me).
- Use a nail/cuticle oil: Some will say any oil will do (olive, sesame, castor). I personally love the smell and texture of almond oil. I've been using Rococo's Essential Nail Oil £12.50 (featured above), on and off for the past year and really notice the difference. How to apply: First, moisturise your hands with some hand cream (my current fave: C.O. Bigelow Quince hand lotion). Really massage it in, then 'paint' a little oil onto each cuticle (do 5 fingers at once), massaging the oil quickly into the nail. Takes 30 seconds to do all 10 fingers, if that.
Should I get gel?
Brides often ask me this question, which makes complete sense given the amount they have to think about before a wedding (last thing they need is a chipped or a bodged nail, right?).
Gelish, Bio Scultpure and Shellac are three popular brands offering a 2-4 week, chip free manicure. Layers of their own patented gel formula (a different chemical composition to regular nail varnish) are hardened under a UV lamp. Most gel manicures need to be removed professionally. This involves coarse filing the top layer to 'open up' the gel, then applying individual 'acetone wraps' (cotton wool drenched in acetone, placed on the nail and then foil wrapped around the finger tip).
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3 week Bio Scupture French manicure; Nails Inc, Fenwick Bond Street (£37).
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I first dipped my toe into gel manicures three years ago when I opted for a
Gelish French manicure at a salon recommended to me in Crouch Hill (I was about to head to my sister's wedding in Australia and wanted something classic). The manicure lasted well into 3 weeks and looked as good on day 21 as it did on day 1, but, nearly three years on, one of my nails (my ring finger, can you blo*dy believe it) is
still suffering the consequences.
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| Yeouch |
I never used to have a problem with
ridges or
splitting pre-Gelish but after I had the product removed I noticed several of my nails were noticeably 'ridged'. Worse than that, the nail on my ring finger (left hand), as it grew, would eventually
split vertically towards the edge soon after which I'd have to file it at an odd angle (you get an idea from the blurry photo above).
Three years on and I
still have a problem with this one nail (psychological perhaps? I am unmarried, after all ;)
I've asked several nail technicians what I can do about it my splitting nail and none have been able to give me a satisfactory answer, only that I should not wear nail varnish (what....ever??) and to keep massaging oil into the nail (which I've been doing). Hmm.
Shellac v Bio Sculpture
Since
Gelish I've also tried
Shellac (which I didn't love I have to say...a bit bubbly/not as smooth?) and
Bio Sculpture which I would
highly recommend of the three.
Ingredients-wise, Bio Sculpture seems to consistently come out on top. Unlike other gel formulas Bio Sculpture is
acrylic free and also free from other harsh chemicals including '
toluene, formaldehyde and camphor'. It is also marketed as a
'conditioning gel' that allows the natural nail to breathe (not sure how but sounds good in theory, right?).
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| Not that kind of black book |
Little Black Book
It was my friend, the gorgeous and enigmatic
Poppy who first piqued my interest in the
Hunt For The Ultimate Nail Salon (a name I just totally made up but it has become a quest I tell you!). You see, Poppy blogs for a living (you can read all about her brilliant daily discoveries
here) and whenever we would meet up her nails were nothing short of immaculate. Not long and preened within an inch of their lives (Poppy is, thankfully, not like that)...but short and neat and, well, groomed.
Having always had a steady hand and an eye for detail painting my own nails has never been a problem but there is something about having a manicure that is sooooo relaxing.
I should point out too that the salons I'm about to share with you, in my opinion,
completely surpass the posher salons I've visited (which shall remain nameless but let's just say they were at the premium end of the spectrum with their version of a 'deluxe manicure' priced somewhere between £35-£45. Not that the surroundings weren't gorgeous, they were, and I guess that's often what we're paying for, but judging purely on the effectiveness of the manicure, the places below knock the pricier ones out of the park. Just goes to show that more expensive doesn't always mean better).
There are
two salons I want to share with you (whoop), one Poppy recommended and one that I discovered all by myself.
NB: I don't offer this information lightly,
so brilliant are these two places! But sharing, as we know, is a good deed which must continually be exercised (unless you happen to be sharing 'intimate problems' in which case it's far better to talk to a professional ;)
Nail Salon #1: The Beautiful Nail Studio, 28 Tottenham St, London W1T 4RH.
£15 manicure (30-40 mins), £36 mani-pedi (60+ mins).
I. JUST. LOVE. THIS. PLACE. It is an absolute find and I'm so glad I took a gamble on it one sunny
day in March. It isn't glamorous at all, by the way, in fact it can feel very cramped, and is always busy
but my goodness is it worth the wait.
Excellent attention to detail and the manicures (in my experience) last ages. I particularly like getting
manicures from the men who work there. Not because they're guys and I need the male attention (ha) but
because, I don't know, they just seem to approach manicures in a more businesslike, transaction kind
of a way and I like it.
If they seem rude when you first go in, don't worry, it was 3 visits before I got my first smile.
Nail Salon #2: Posh Nails, 282 Westbourne Park Road, W11 1EH
£15 manicure (30-40 mins), £35 mani-pedi (60+ mins).
Tel: 020 8960 7272
This is one of
Poppy's faves and with good reason. I loved the manicure I had here back in February. Very similar to the Tottenham Street salon, if in slightly plusher surroundings.
My manicure lasted a whole ten days and the nail technician who gave me my manicure spent a reassuringly long period of time on my cuticles (the thing I struggle to do myself and which I use to justify the cost of the treatment).
Do you have a favourite nail bar? I'd love to know which it is!
A note on nails & health:
In writing this post I've come across a number of articles which have exposed the potential dangers associated with UV-A lamps (UVA causes premature ageing). The article I read said that although the risk was very low it's still a risk. The Cancer Society recommends applying SPF to your hands before your manicure to reduce the risk or opting for salons which use LED lamps instead of UVA lamps. For more information click here.
I also read an interesting article written by a 55 year old breast cancer survivor, Janey Hood, who said vitamin C stopped her nails from breaking and splitting: How I Fixed My Broken Split Fingernails Naturally.
