Home Care for Nail Enhancements    Jewels not Tools  

 

Wearing nail enhancements involves a trade off.  In exchange for having consistently beautiful nails, you must visit your nail technician regularly and you must use greater care to protect your nails than before you had them applied.  Here are a few key pointers to help you care for your nails at home.

 

Be Reasonable

Nail enhancements are strong but they are susceptible to damage if they are misused and abused.  Protect your investment by wearing gloves when gardening or exposing hands to water for extended periods of time.  Do not put upward pressure on your nail tips, use a knife or such like to open soda cans and dial the phone with the eraser end of a pencil.  If you are hard on your hands, longer nail enhancements may not work best for you.

 

Keep Regular Appointments

Your new nail enhancements need regular maintenance to keep them looking good and performing well.  Plan to see me every two weeks but I will help determine a schedule appropriate for you.  Going too long between appointments will increase the likelihood of breakage or lifting and create more work for me when you do come in.

 

Do Your Homework

Cuticle Oil is a regular necessity for clients with enhancements of any kind as it keeps cuticles supple and the product moisturized and flexible.  Apply cuticle oil twice a day for the first 3 days after having your new enhancements.  After this, then apply every day.

 

Don’t Be a Hero

If you crack or damage one of your enhancements, schedule an appointment with me as soon as possible.  Improperly gluing down a loose nail can cause moisture to become trapped between the nail and the enhancement and possibly cause an infection.  Do not bandage a broken nail as bandages may also trap moisture.  Do not take down the length of your enhancements as this will throw off the balance of the nail and may make the nail look bulky.

 

Keep It to Yourself

For your benefit and mine, if you have a contagious skin or nail condition, reschedule your appointment after it clears up.  If symptoms persist, make an appointment with a dermatologist.

 

Be Aware

Very few clients will develop allergic reactions to an ingredient in some nail products.  Allergic reactions are characterized by redness, itching and swelling or irritation around the eyes and mouth.  If you develop any of these symptoms, please call me.  I will help you determine which ingredient/s you’re having a reaction to and will take steps to avoid them. Do not ignore a condition that develops around the nail.

 

Don’t Go Digging

If you decide that you no longer want to wear enhancements, do not take them off yourself!!  Picking and pulling the nails off will damage your natural nail, rip layers from your nail bed and make regrowth a long and painful process.  Enhancements can be safely removed without further damage to the nail bed so please call me to arrange this.

 

Using Nail Polish

If you want to paint your new enhancements with nail polish to give a different look, then feel free to do so.  But please make sure that you use a NON-ACETONE based nail polish remover, as using one with Acetone in it will affect your enhancements.