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MANICURE TIPS

Like we care for the other parts of our body hands are also an essential part to be looked after . Caring for your hands is an essential part of the beauty programme. Learn all about it.

CRACKED HEALS

The term dandruff has become a catchall name for an annoying and often embarrassing condition characterized by itchy or flaky scalp. Millions of people across the globe are affected by dandruff. Learn what causes dandruff and how to deal with it.

NAIL CARE

To have beautiful hands you should have beautiful and healthy nails. Taking proper diet rich in vitamins and minerals will ensure healthy nails. Read on…….

FEET CARE TIPS

Dry hair looks dull and lifeless and craves for moisture and in most instances requires a healthy dose of protein. Read on to know what you can do to bring the bounce and life back into your hair.

FRENCH MANICURE

Beautiful hands and nails are important for an overall smart and elegant appearance. Thus find out all about French manicure to have those beautiful hands and nails.

1. First make sure that your hands and nails are clean. Remove any old enamel that you may have on your nails with the cotton wool and enamel remover.

2. Decide on what shape you would like on your nails, cut them if needed, and then use your emery board to file them. File your nails into the most crack-resistant shape: a square with rounded corners.

3. Take a cotton bud and remove a very small amount of buffing paste from the pot and smear on the top of your nail. With the buffer, buff your nails. To get a natural shine, use a buffer that offers three or four polishing textures. Start with the coarsest surface and end with the finest one.

4. With another cotton bud, remove a small amount of cuticle cream and apply to the cuticle of each nail. Massage this in circular movements.

5. Soak your hands in warm soapy water containing an anti-bacterial liquid soap.

7. Put a tipped orange stick into your cuticle remover and wipe over each cuticle and push back each cuticle in circular movement.

10. Re-soak your hands then pat dry. It is important to remove cuticle remover from your hands after application. Dry and apply a good moisturiser all over the hand and arm up to the elbow, as this is a place everyone tends to forget.

11. Squeak clean the nails with cotton wool and enamel remover again to remove any oil from the moisturiser that is left on the nail plate.

12. Now apply nail enamel. Don't shake your polish! Roll the bottle between your palms (like Manicurists do) to get rid of the air bubbles and stir the enamel.

13. Apply your base coat and wait for it to dry. Pick your coloured enamel and paint on, wait for the enamel to dry and apply the topcoat to coloured enamels. If you do not wish to paint your nails then just quickly go over them again with the buffer for a lovely shine.

14. One last thing, use your orange stick and enamel remover to remove all traces of enamel left on the skin to make a really neat job.

Cracked Heels
Without doubt, your feet are the most active part of your body, even more than your hands. In fact most of the time they are definitely overworked. Especially in today's day and age, the big metros are so widespread that one has to cover long distances to get from one place to the next be it for job or other work. Therefore it is very much essential that one must take extra care of their feet in order to avoid having foot problems.

Cracking and fissures in the skin of the heels and the balls of the feet can be painful, especially for heavy individuals who place more pressure on these parts. As with any open skin lesion, a fissure leaves the region susceptible to bacteria. Foot infections can be very serious because bacteria tend to multiply rapidly and travel deep into the foot quickly because of the continuous pressure. They are often hard to heal because the wound is surrounded by calloused skin.

1. Do not expose your feet to extreme climate i.e., extreme cold or extreme heat.

2. Wash feet daily in lukewarm water, blot dry without rubbing and apply a urea-based cream.

3. If your heels are very dry, use a pumice stone to slough off dry skin, cover feet with petroleum jelly and put a pair of socks before going to bed.

5. Use hot-cold water technique. Dip your feet in hot water and then after five minutes dip it in cold water. Do this for 20 minutes. This method improves the blood circulation.

Do you have brittle, cracked and coarse nails? Did you know that having bad nails is infact a sign of having bad health? Nail problems may signal a more serious disorder such as asthma, emphysema or heart disease, improper nutrition and stress. Hence it is very important that you take care of your nails. Vitamins and herbs can be used to aid with healing of nail problems since it is known that good nutrition is the key to healthy nails.

Fingernails, which are made mainly of a protein known as keratin, are one of the body's strongest tissues and they protect our fingernails and toe nails. Hence it is necessary that you take in enough protein and vitamins to ensure proper nail growth. Insufficiency of essential vitamins and calcium result in ragged cuticles, brittle or dry nails.

Following are the essential vitamins, minerals, calcium and herbs that are required for healthy nails:

Amino acid complex, vitamin C, vitamin E and biotin taken together will help the body build keratin which infact improves the overall health of your nails.
Ridges in the fingernail are a sign of insufficient B vitamins. Hence include vitamin B in your diet.
Calcium and bone building formulas will benefit the nails by supplying much needed minerals.
A paste made with alum and water is effective in relieving ingrown nails.
If you have swollen and painful fingernails, then put a piece of fresh lemon to the infected area and it will work as magic.
Tea tree oil, garlic oil and calendula ointment are the best treatments for nail fungus.
Also wear gloves while cleaning and keep your fingernails short.

Scrub your feet with a foot scrubber as it removes the dry cells. Then, apply moisturizer generously.
Apply foot cream before going to bed, to avoid cracked heels.
Avoid wearing high heels as they put pressure on the feet. Ill-fitting shoes or weakened arches may cause corns and calluses. Hence selection of proper shoes is essential. If at all you suffer from corns and calluses, use corn remover pads and ointments, after consulting your physician.
To prevent foot odor [due to perspiration], use odor-control products that comprise of foot powders, foot sprays and specially designed insoles. These keep the feet dry and fresh as well as prevent foot odor.
Shoe-bite is a common complaint, so to avoid them. Use heel grips and cushions and also 'air pillow', which provide cushioning comfort while relieving pressure on heel
For daily use, wear shoes of adequate width, comfortable instep and plenty of wiggle room for toes. Reserve high heels and tight shoes for short-term wear. Heel tight should generally be restricted to no more than 2 ½ inches and the heel should be broad enough to support the wearer's weight.
Change socks or tights daily and don't wear the same shoes daily, which you use for running - give them a day or to dry out properly as feet sweat a lot.

1. Soak feet for 10 minutes in warm water to which salt has been added. Remove and scrub dry, especially between the toes. This is the easiest way to relax tired feet. In the case of a sprain add Epsom salt to the water for best results.

2. You can also use the hot 'n' cold treatment, which improves the blood circulation of your feet. First dip you feet in hot water and then dip it in cold water. Do this for 20 minutes.

3. Alternatively add a shampoo to warm water and soak your feet for 10 minutes. This will also improve the texture of the toenails.

4. For cracked heels mix a few drops of lemon juice in Vaseline and apply gently on cracked heels.

5. Scrub heels with pumice stone while bathing and then apply a rich moisturising cream.

7. Mix a few drops of lemon juice in vaseline and apply gently on cracked heels.

8. After bath, apply almond oil to the feet and massage until all the oil has been soaked up. Do it for a month for best results.

FRENCH MANICURE

The French Manicure is the manicure where the tips of nails are pure white. This is a look that is very popular because it makes your nail look healthy and clean. It's suitable for all occasions since it is ultra natural.
The French Manicure works well for nail lengths which are medium to long: 1/4" to 3/4." The white nail polish is typically aligned with the edge of the finger, but there are alternatives which also look very attractive. You can have long nails with little white or shorter nails with a lot of white. That is up to your choice.

Besides the color quantity and color combinations, there is the choice between the shapes of the nail tips: round, oval, or square. To draw the white tips you can user a small paintbrush if you want the colour to spread evenly.

Method:

The tools that you will require for French manicure is as follows: base/top coat, tip guide strips, neutral polish and white polish. Neutral polishes are very pale, sheer shades with a pink, beige or peach cast. Consider French manicure kits that offer everything in one convenient box.
Next step is to file and shape your nails. Tend to your cuticles, then wash and dry your nails completely. Apply the base/top coat and let it dry.
Base coat is applied to protect your nails and to help prevent chipping.
Peel off a guide strip and affix it below the tip of a nail, following its natural curve. The guide will allow you to paint an even white tip with ease and precision. However if you don't have the guide strips then follow this method. For a square look, paint a straight line across the tips; for a rounded appearance, follow the curve of the nail; and to get a pointed style, paint in from each side to the centre.
Paint each nail tip white, extending the brush stroke from the top of the guide to the end of the nail. Take care not to get any white polish on the body of the nail below the guide. Let the tips dry.
Once the tips are dry remove all the guides. Dissolve leftover adhesive by rubbing it gently with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
Apply two coats of the neutral polish, letting the first coat dry before the second application. Finish with a thin layer of base/top coat.

TIPS:

The key to this look is to wait for each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next coat otherwise you are sure to end up with smudges.
If the classic French manicure is a little too conservative for your style, make your own color combination. Instead of neutral and white polishes, red with gold tips or white with silver tips or any combination you like.
Give yourself time to practice. It may take awhile to get the hang of applying the tip guides. However practice will make you perfect.