NAIL CARE AND POLISH - 5 MYTHS
There are a lot of myths about nail care and nail polish circulating on the internet and in everyday conversations. Is over-polishing harmful and inadvisable? Is it true that toenails should only be cut straight and not round? Below, we debunk the myths and reveal the truths and lies about nails and nail care. For example, if you want to know how to restore old nail polish, continue reading!
But let’s start with a very common dilemma that often arises with women – do I remove the cuticles or leave them?
MYTH 1: "THE CUTICLES NEED TO BE CLIPPED REGULARLY"
LIE
The cuticle protects the nails from harmful bacteria. If you cut it off, it won’t be able to do its job. However, when you visit a salon, manicurists always clip your cuticles for aesthetic reasons. It is better to avoid this, as the cuticle protects the nail from bacteria. Instead of removing the cuticle, you can just gently push it “back” to create a nice base for a new polish application. In addition, regularly nourish and moisturise your nails and cuticles with oils and creams to keep them soft and beautiful to look at.
MYTH 2: "WE ONLY FILE OUR NAILS ONE WAY"
TRUTH
Filing that looks like “sawing” is not recommended. However, the direction of filing is not important in principle, so you can file to the right or the left. The only important thing is that you always file in the same direction. However, for easier filing, we recommend that the nail is facing you, as this will help you to get a grip and shape the nail into the desired shape. For natural nails, we recommend softer files, while for artificial nails, harder and coarser files are used for faster and more effective filing.
MYTH 3: "EXCESSIVE USE OF NAIL POLISHES CAN WEAKEN NAILS"
LIE
We often wonder whether we should take a break from painting our nails, as they are already a little weak from all the nail polish, gel, or acrylics we’ve applied. The truth lies in proper manicure removal. If the manicure is removed incorrectly, your nails will most likely be weakened and damaged. Often, we try to remove our worn-out salon manicure, which can do more damage than we imagine. Improper removal can damage the cuticle, which protects the nail. Among other things, using acetone nail polish remover dries out the nails and the nails then become flaky, split, and brittle.
Weakened nails are therefore not the result of over-polishing, but incorrect manicure removal. If your nails are brittle just take a break from polishing and nourish them with oil.
MYTH 4: "TOENAILS SHOULD BE CUT STRAIGHT, NOT ROUND"
TRUTH
Cutting toenails round increases the chance of ingrowing nails, as the nail then has the ideal conditions to grow into the skin, which is not what we want. Meanwhile, the technique of cutting the fingernails is arbitrary and does not matter, as the skin does not interfere with the growth of the nail and the nail can be cut and shaped as desired.
MYTH 5: "ADDING ACETONE TO AN OLD, STICKY VARNISH WILL RENEW IT"
LIE
The varnish will indeed look new at first glance, and of course it will be more fluid because we have added a “thinner”, but if we add too much acetone, it will destroy the original formulation of the varnish and it will not look the same. In a pinch, acetone is satisfactory, but in very small quantities. However, there are special preparations or thinners on the market which are formulated specifically to restore varnish. You can find it under the name ‘Nailpolish thinner’. Thank us later 😉
NAIL CARE AND POLISHING - OXILVER® NAIL SOLUTION FOR NAILS
Did you learn anything new in today’s blog? We hope you have. 🙂 In addition to proper nail care, we need to keep our nails and skin moisturised. OXILVER Nail Spray is a combination of active oxygen compounds, ionic silver, and panthenol that ensures the nails and cuticles are regenerated and fully supplied with active oxygen. It is particularly helpful in improving the strength and structure of the nails and in maintaining a healthy and shiny appearance. It is also intended to alleviate the symptoms of various unwanted nail processes that occur as a result of various changes (bacterial or fungal infection, injury).
Sources:
- The Zoe Report: 5 Common Nail Myths That The Experts Say Aren’t True (Online access November 2021) https://www.thezoereport.com/
- MollonPro: Nail Polishing (Online access November 2021) https://mollonpro.si/
- Bustle: 11 Super Common Nail Myths Debunked (Online access November 2021) https://www.bustle.com/