Updated Nail and Hand Care Routine

Hello everyone! Sorry I have not done a post in quite a while ( I only did one post for the month of August.) I ran into some health issues in the month of August that put me out of commission for a while, I had to take two weeks off of work because of this health issue, one thing about it made it hard for me to see that is one of the reasons why I only did one post last month. Now I am feel better and want to get back to posting to the M.M.M blog.

For this week I decided to an updated nail and hand care routine, it has been a while since I have done a post like this, and a few things have changed and some have stayed the same, so I wanted to update all of you on that.

 

Nail and Hand care routine

First we will start off with the cuticles. I do this step after I have cut and filed my nails.

 

Blue Cross cuticle remover  

For clean looking nails it is important to clean them up by removing the cuticles. My favorite protect to use is Blue Cross cuticle remover, this protect is runny so I put a little in a small dapppen dish (meant for acrylic liquid) and take a Qtip, dip the Qtip in the remover and then put it on all the nails, then staring with the thumb nail I a put a little more or the remover, and repeat for each nail.  

OPI Pusher Plus and Dexterity tool

Then I take my next favorite tools the Pusher Plus and gently (that's the tool that has a scoop on it) push the cuticle back. Once that is done I take the Dexterity tool (the tool with a point) and gently kind of scrap the cuticle off, with out scraping the nail (if that makes any sense?) Once you have all the cuticle off it is important to wash your hands well with soap and water to make sure all of the cuticle remover is off, other wise the product will keep working on your cuticles, which you don't want.

Just an extra step I do, once I have washed my hand, I take a orange/ wooden cuticle pusher and go over the cuticles again just to make sure I have got all the cuticle. This is just and added step I do, it is not necessary, sometimes well a lot of times I like to do extra things for my nails. 

I personal only give myself a manicure once a month (and do a polish change ever week), this includes removing cuticles/ pushing them back and cutting and filing my nails. I feel like that is all I need to do, I know a lot of people get manicures once or ever other week. This is just what I personally do.   

    
 *Very Important!!* 

The cuticles are dead clear tissue that stick to the nail plate and are okay to remove. A lot of people get the cuticle mixed up with the live tissue (technical nail is the eponychium) you should NEVER cut the live tissue this could cause an infection, which no one wants. If you do not know what you are doing when it comes to trimming/ cutting your cuticles, I strongly additive you not to cut them, just use a cuticle remover (like the one above) and push them back.  

I do know how to cut the cuticles (I am a licensed nail tech), but I pretty much don't cut my own cuticles only if their is a small piece that is being stubborn, other wise I just use cuticle remover and push them back. 

Blue Cross Cuticle Remover Sally Beauty  $5.99, 16oz This is a huge bottle that will last forever!

OPI Pusher Plus  Ebay $24.00 This is a pricey item, but you can really use any kind of metal pusher. 

I got my pusher plus from nail tech school, it came in our kits along with the dexterity tool.  

OPI Dexterity Tool Ebay $24.98 another pricey tool, you can always just use a wood cuticle stick as well.  

 

 CND Solar Oil

Another important part about cuticle care is moisturizing them, which I feel not enough people do. I probably moisturize my cuticles and hands a lot more then the average person would, but I feel like that is the main reason why my hands and nails looks so good.

My absolute favorite cuticle oil is CND Solar Oil, I love this stuff! I had the problem of my nails peeling very badly, I could peel the whole tip of my nails off. Then my nail tech teacher suggested CND Solar Oil and this stuff is amazing! my nails no longer peel. 

I apply this oil twice a day in the morning and at night, on the cuticles and under ever nail, then rub it into my nails.  

CND Solar Oil Ulta 0.25oz $8.50 and 0.5oz $12.50 

 

Nail Butter

This is another one of my favorite cuticle care items, I have told all of you about this product before, Nail Butter I have gone through quite a few jar of this stuff and it is amazing. If you have dry skin around your finger and cuticles this stuff works great for that. I do mainly have that issue in winter time, but I use this stuff year round.

In the spring and summer time (when the weather is warm) I apply this just at night time after the CND Solar Oil. All you need is a very small amount and you apply that to the cuticle area then rub it in. In the winter time I apply this twice a day in the morning and at night. 

Nail Butter.com This can only be purchased online. $24.00 in Lemongrass and Gardenia. Don't forget to sign up for their email updates at the bottom of the page for deals and discounts.        

 

   Yes to Carrots Body Butter 

I know what you are thinking you use three lotions! Not all at once, putting lotion on your hand is also very important in keeping your nails and hands looking and feeling nice. Lotion for me is one item that is always changing for me. I prefer using thick body butters on my hands. My all time favorite is Yes to Carrots body butter, sadly I can not find it at any store. I found it on Amazon but it an add on item only and Target.com sells it as well, but I feel like the shipping makes it cost a little more then it should.  

yes to carrots body butter  Amazon for $5.55 add on item

Yes to carrots body butter  Target for $5.89

 

 Bath and Body Works Coco Shea Coconut Body Butter

Another body butter that I have recently been try is the Bath and Body Works Coco Shea Coconut Body Butter. If you like coconut you will love this, it just smells like coconut not a million other things like Bath and Body likes to do with their products. It moisturizes well, which I was a little afraid it wouldn't because a lot of their lotions just have a nice smell and that is all.

Bath & Body Works Coco Shea Body Butter  $16.50 or buy 3 get 3 free or buy 2 get 1 free. I Always use a coupon when I shop at Bathe and body works! 

This also comes in honey and cucumber scent as well.

 

 Zoya Qtica luxury lotion

This lotion I only use every so often, this lotion was sent to me by Zoya, I do really like it it smells good and moisturizes your hands and skin well. This lotion comes in a variety of scents unfortunately Mandarin Citrus is not available on the website. The other scents are Guava passion, Lemongrass Ginger, Colada Sparkle, Mandarin Honey, Exotic Mango, Lime Zest, Lemon Dream, Grapefruit Surprise and Pomegranate Lime.

Qtica Smart Spa- Zoya   Zoya's website for 8.5oz $16 and 36oz $36

 

 Qtica Overnight Intense Hand Balm

This last lotion I have only used in the winter time when my hands get very dry. If you have very dry hand this lotion/ balm will be great for you. I would only use this at night time because it is a very thick lotion/ balm and would probably be to much for day time use. 

Qtica Intense Overnight Hand Balm Zoya's website for 3oz $22 8oz $30 

Also in the past few months since I have become a nail tech I think I have developed some kind of contact dermatitis on my hands because I keep getting rashes on my hands. So now I have been use a scent free lotion on my hands, Cerave. Which does work well and keeps your hand moisturized, so for all of you that have sensitive skin Cerave works will too. Also just because I love the body butters shown above I still sometimes use them on my palms and finger and Cerave on the tops of my hands, I know that is kind of weird.

 

Yes to Coconut body scrub

Last item on my hand care routine is the Yes to Coconut scrub. I have been using this for a while now and I still love this product. This helps to keep your hand soft and moisturized. Before I would put this all over my hands but because of the issue I stated above I only put this on my palms and finger, then with a nail brush I brush this into my nails and under the nails, then wash it off. I do this before I polish my nails only, I also use to do this after I removed my polish too but not any more.

Yes to Coconut Body Scrub Target 10oz for $3.57 

The last items are just some extra things.

CND Stickey Base and Revlon Extra Life No Chip Top Coat

Just thought it was worth mentioning again about the base and top I use. I have been using the Revlon top coat forever, which mean I love it, It helps to extend the life my polish. I only wear regular polish no Gel or Shellac because I like to change my polish every week and these products help my polish to last a week, even though I am a nail tech. I also have another tool that helps my polish last as well, when I am doing other peoples nails.

CND Stickey base coat is my favorite base coat, it does what it says it helps your polish to stick to your nails. Finding a good base coat was a struggle but I found a good one that I will stick with. 

As stated above my polish last for me about a week, but this may not be the same for everyone, it depends I how hard you are with your nails and just your body. I also touch up my nails at lest every other day to every day, with polish if needed and top coat mainly on the tips of my nails.

Last but not last is a little tool that helps me to look like I polish my nails perfectly.

     

Elf Angled Liner brush and Concealer brush

The Elf Concealer brush was my go to brush for cleaning up around my cuticles and sides of my nails after I polish my nails. But then they changed the way the brush was made (shown above) and I didn't really care for it as much. 

So then I found the Elf Angled Liner brush and this brush is amazing, mainly for cleaning up the cuticles and it helps to get a nice clean line. 

These brushes are meant for makeup and the bristles are synthetic which means they are plastic and with time acetone will melt/ eat away at them, but these brushes are very cheap so it really is not a big deal.

ELF Concealer Brush  Target for $0.69, I thought it was a $1.00 

ELF small angled brush Target for $2.99

TwinkledT Number 2 Clean up Brush  

 

    TwinkledT Number 6 Clean up Brush  

These two clean up brushes are very recent to my collection, I have only been using them for a few month and I already love them. These are actual clean up brushes mean for cleaning around the cuticles and sides of the nails. The bristles are Kolinsky which means they are acetone safe. Out of the two brushes I do use number 6 more then number 2. These brushes come in three sizes 2, 6 and 12. I do have all three, the largest brush number 12 I use a work to clean up polish on clients nails. 

 Twinkled T Clean Up Brushes  Amazon for $9.99 each

Out of all of the clean up brushes I use the TwinkledT Number 6 brush and the Elf Angled Liner brush the most. 

To clean up my nails I use pure acetone (the strongest one) I put it in a small dapppen dish dip the brush in the acetone, dab the excise, you need to make sure you don't have to much on your brush and then clean up near the cuticles and the sides of the fingers. I wait until my nails are fully dry to clean them up, this just seem like a better way because the polish is dry so it does not smear when you are trying to clean up your nails. But when I clean up clients nails I don't have time to wait for their nails to fully dry, so I go right in and clean them up. 

Also the leftover acetone I soak up in a small cotton ball and then throw that in the trash. You do not want to put acetone down the sink because the acetone will eat away at your plastic pipes. 

Now all of  you know all my searches, well for nail and hand care. I know this was a long post but I hope it was informative and hope all of you learned a lot and maybe even give these products a try.

Here are the links to my old hand and nail care post.

http://munchkinsmagnificentmanis.blogspot.com/2015/10/top-10-nail-care-items.html 

http://munchkinsmagnificentmanis.blogspot.com/2014/08/hand-cuticle-care.html 

http://munchkinsmagnificentmanis.blogspot.com/2014/08/nail-care.html 

See you next time for more nail fun! 

Top 10 Nail Care Items

Hello Everyone! Today on the M.M.M blog, I kind of have an update for my nail care routine that I want to share with all of you. Last year I did two post called nail care and hand and cuticle care, I wanted to update all of you on that by doing a top 10 post. Some of the items that I have used in my last post have changed and their are some that have not, I just thought this would be a fun way to update all of you. 

Here are my top ten (with 2 extras) favorite nail care items, Let's start off with Moisturizers:

Yes to Carrots Super Rich Body Butter $9.99 at Target  

Yes to Coconut Hand & Cuticle cream $5.99 at Target    

1. Yes to Carrots Body Butter. This is a body butter I have been using for years and have gone through many jars of this. This is a super thick body lotion that I like to us on my hands. It keeps your hands moisturized for a long time, it is a little bit greasy but absorbs in no time. It is a natural lotion with a natural smell.

Another lotion that I have been using lately is another product from the Yes to line (in case you didn't notice, I love the Yes to line), The Yes to Coconut hand & cuticle cream. I actually ran out of my favorite lotion the Yes to Carrots Body Butter, so I thought I would give this a try. So far I do like this lotion, it is also a little bit greasy by absorbs well. It does smell like coconut, but not the fake smelling coconut, this smell like a real or natural coconut.

     Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream $5.99 

2. Is another item to keep your cuticles moisturized, that is the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. I rub this cuticle cream around my fingers and on the cuticles ever night, a long with my favorite lotion.  This is a nice cuticle cream that keeps your cuticles soft and moisturized and smells just like lemon.

     Julep Mighty nail & cuticle serum $28.00 on Julep.com or $22.00 at Sephora.

3. This cuticle and nail serum is not a must, but I do still really like this. My fingers have the problem of on the sides being dry and then peeling. Since I got this in a Julep mystery box, this serum has helped the dry parts on the sides of my fingers, not 100 percent, but they are much better I just every so often will still get dry parts. The only thing about this product is the price, it costs a lot for the amount of product that you get.

Now on to other nail care items.

      Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Remover in a jar 

from Sally Beauty $4.99 or $1.99 with Sally card.

Up & Up Acetone nail polish remover $0.97 at Target.

4. The Beauty secrets nail polish remover I actually got because I forgot to get my old favorite remover from Meijer. I then stopped by Sally's to get something else and then remembered that I need some remover. Let's just say I am glad I forgot that remover at Meijer, This remover works so much better, it actually will remove all of your polish when you dip your finger in the sponge.    

The Up & Up Acetone polish remover I use to clean my nail art brushes between designs and at the end. I also use this to clean up around my nails when I get polish on the sides of my fingers. This remover is also good for removing stubborn glitter. Do to this remover being acetone based it is very drying and I only use this for those purposes.   

 Way to many nail clippers!

5. Is nail clippers, I cut and file my nails once a month, I first use the big nail cutters and then the regular sized one to cut the sides of the nails. The third and fourth nail cutters in the photo I use if I get the dry peeling skin on the side of my fingers. You really do not need all of these nail clippers, just one or two would be fine. I really don't know why I use so many. 

 Sally Hansen crystal nail file $8.99 at Ulta 

 Kiss four way nail shaper $2.00  

Trim buffing block, $1.87

four sides; 1.even out, 2.smooth nail, 3. buff nail, 4. shine nail

6. Once again I do use a lot of different files when filing my nails, which you don't really need, I just found that using all of these works for me. I first start off with a crystal file which is suppose to be less harsh on your nails. Then I use the Kiss nail shaper the light blue side, then the light or the darker pink (not both), I never use the dark blue side it is a little to harsh. Then filing I use the buffing block on my finger tips, this I think is actually suppose to be used your nail surface. I just use the even out, and smooth part, and some times the buff side. 

Now time for cuticle clean up.

   Sally Hansen Instant cuticle remover $4.99

7. The Sally Hansen cuticle remover, I use once a month usually after I cut and file my nails.

This product is nice for helping to remove your cuticles and making your nails look nice.

    360 beauty metal cuticle pusher from CVS $3.99

8. The metal cuticle pusher I use along with the cuticle remover. Their are many cuticle pushers from wooden ones or the orange sticks, plastic or rubber pushers, and metal ones. I do own all of them, but I found that the small metal one works the best for me.

The Base and top coats.

          Nicole by OPI 3 in 1 base, top and strengthener $7.00

9. For the longest time I never used a base coat, then I decided it would be a good idea to start. I had a lot of trouble finding one I liked, then I found this one. This is a three in one, I only use it as a base coat, I have not noticed any strengthening from this product. One thing I noticed with this base coat is with cream polishes they start to crack after a few days. So maybe after this base coat is done I will try the OPI natural nails base coat.

Revlon Extra life no chip top coat $5.00

10. The Revlon Extra life no chip top coat has been by go to top coat for the longest time, after the Sally Hansen no chip acrylic top coat stop working as well, I tried this one and have liked it and have been using it since. 

Can't believe I almost forgot this one for moisturizers!

 Yes to Coconut Polishing Body scrub $7.99 at target 

11. The Yes to Coconut body scrub is a great way to keep your hands nice and soft. I use this after removing my nail polish or whenever I feel that I need something a little extra.

 Elf concealer brush $1.00

12. The Elf concealer brush I just recently bought and started to use to clean up the polish that gets on the sides of my fingers and on the cuticles. This brush is amazing for clean up, it makes it easy to really get into the sides of your fingers and to make it look like your are almost perfect a painting your nails. I use this brush with the Up &Up acetone remover. 

Hope all of your enjoyed this list and also found it helpful in your nail care routine!

See you next time for more nail fun!