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Today we're going to talk nail care. I've done nail care posts before, but I figured it was time to share my updated routine.
DISCLAIMER: These are some of the products I use, they work for me. They may not work for everyone, use at your own will!
So the polish is removed, and I need to do a little cuticle care and nail maintenance. I've got this handy little kit with clippers, small scissors, tweezers, etc. I rarely clip my nails, only file, but will use the clippers and scissors to nip away any hangnails.
I never cut my cuticles. I've tried to before, and I just don't see the point. I'd rather use a cuticle remover and push them back.
Of the five different cuticle removers I own, my favorite has always been the blue gel remover by Sally Hansen. The Blue Cross Blue Shield remover is okay. It is like water and I really just keep it as a backup.
Please note, cuticle removers do not actually remove cuticles. It softens them up and makes it easier to push them back.
Along with the cuticle remover, I use this standard plastic cuticle pusher. It has a firm rubbery tip for pushing, and a sort of bowl-like shape at the opposite end that I use to scrape away any dead cuticle stuck to my nail plate.
Once that is all said and done, cuticle remover washed away with a dash of DIY sugar scrub, it is time to moisturize!
One of my favorite cuticle oils lately has been from Dream Polish. I have a few bottles and pens, and always have a cuticle oil pen in my pocket! These all smell absolutely divine, so I really love using them!
Another favorite is Orly's lemon scented cuticle oil in a dropper bottle. It and Dream Polish are my two most used.
I often only use cuticle balms before bed. Since they take longer to soak in, I like to slather my nails in balm, then a thick hand creme or Vaseline, and wear cotton gloves overnight. It really works miracles on dry skin, and is a fantastic remedy for dry feet too!
Sunny's Miracle Balm is one of my favorites. I much prefer her old, softer formula to the new one, but they always smell delicious and do their job well still!
Last but not least and kind of the star of the show because I want to gush about these - I started taking an extra vitamin a couple months ago. I tried biotin vitamins to help strengthen my nails, but it broke me out bad, so I switched to collagen.
They've been one of the best things I think I've done for my nails since I started this crazy nail art journey! I began taking the collagen in a pill form and the dose was three of these massive things per day! Completely worth it, but NeoCell contacted me and asked me to try out their chew-able vitamins.
Fruity flavored, chewy vitamins? Oh I'm so game for this!
I was very skeptical at first. I figured they'd taste strange, they just had to be too good to be true. I was very pleasantly surprised though! They are absolutely delicious and work just as well as my other collagen vitamins!
Honestly, I think the biotin ones tasted better than the collagen ones, but I was starting to look like a 14-year old for the acne it gave me! And still the collagen vitamins are like eating candy!
Care and moisture definitely improves your nails and cuticles. Regular use of cuticle oil and hand cremes keeps your nails flexible so they resist breaks better. It helps to keep them from peeling, and makes them stronger.
Since I've been taking the extra vitamins though, my nails have gotten even stronger than they were before. They may have thickened slightly, but I can feel it when I bump into a wall or wrongly use my thumb nail to scratch a label off of something. They just feel even stronger. I haven't had a single nail break in over two months, and they seem to be growing faster too!
I'm completely sold. I've never been inside a GNC before, but I will be hitting mine up to continue taking these once my regular pill vitamins run out!
Not being a licensed doctor, I can't say definitely take these or any vitamin, but they have been so great for me and I do recommend checking them out if you're in the market for such!
