My Long Natural Nails

Hey :)
I want to talk about my nails this post.  Some of you may not realise that my nails are natural, yes really!  I get asked ALL the time if they are acrylics or people assume that they are and end up being shocked when I tell them otherwise.

Here are my nails in all their naked glory!  Yes they are slightly yellow but no it doesn't bother me.  I constantly have nail polish on.  The longest it is off is only a matter of hours.  Some people choose to grow their nails with the add of an acrylic or gel overlay for strength.  I am lucky to have naturally strong nails and I'm very careful in how I use my hands to avoid damage.  Of course accidents do happen and my most common way to damage my nails is to catch/hit it so that it forms a small tear in the nail half way down.  When this happens I use an acrylic overlay to repair the damage and allow it to grow out.  If you wish to see a video of me doing this please see here:

I used to have nails that peeled and would only get so long until they would break.  The only thing I can think of that helped to change all this is that I just kept on putting on nail polish.  I LOVE china glaze and use it the most and it does have hardeners in it.  The other thing I do is I never cut my nails, I only file them.  I can't say I've done anything else in particular, my diet certainly isn't amazing thats for sure!

I recently filmed my weekly nail care routine to share on youtube.  I don't have a complex routine, its actually very simple.  I try to apply a cuticle oil/butter everyday, twice if I remember to.  You can get handy cuticle pens that fit into your pocket/handbag for on the go.

Here is the video I filmed to see the steps I do each week.

If you are trying to grow your nails this is advice I'd give:

• Treat your nails as jewels, not tools
• Cuticle oil 2x a day
• Try a strengthening treatment (follow the instructions given, most are only to be used for a couple days) 
• Try wearing nail polish all the time.  As I said China Glaze has hardener in it.
• Use non acetone polish remover.  Acetone is very drying to the skin/nail.
• When filing your nails file in one direction only to avoid splitting the layers of the nail.
• You can always do an acrylic/gel overlay for strength if your nails just aren't strong enough on their own.  If you aren't qualified in this just find a local nail tech to perform this service for you.

I hope this was helpful, until next time :)
Lyn