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Tip to Toe Nail Care
Whether you are off on holiday, heading to a party, or just like to keep them looking healthy, it’s always good to have nice nails. Normal nail polish is easy to take off if you like to regularly change up the colour and is more long-lasting on the toes, while gel polish is popular for maintaining ready-to-go nails.
Whatever your style and preference, here is our advice for having gorgeous nails come rain or shine: Shape your nails – The best nail shape to have is ‘Squoval’ – a square top with the edges rounded – this gives the nail more surface area so if you knock them, they won’t snap or break.
Use cuticle oil/hand cream – apply these products at night-time to let them soak in. Keep them by your bed as a reminder and, for an extra treat, apply a thicker layer and place gloves or socks over your hands or feet to truly moisturise.
Remove polish gently – do not pick off the gel. The best removal is by using acetone; buff the shine off your nails, apply acetone to a cotton pad and wrap in tin foil, wait 15 minutes and you will be able to remove the gel with an orange wood stick. Alternatively, go to the salon and they
will remove for a small cost.
Wear washing-up gloves – we can’t recommend these enough to protect and prevent your nails chipping from household or gardening chores. The classic manicure is the perfect nail treatment to keep your nails looking healthy.
You can also upgrade to a Gel Polish or our Luxury Manicure with heated mitts for that added sparkle. After sanitising the hands, we look at the nails to prescribe the perfect base coat to help with your nail concerns such as dryness, brittle nails, flaky or post acrylic.
We apply cuticle oil and cream and soak one hand in warm water, while filing and buffing the other hand to create a smooth finish for the polish to go on to. Switching hands, we push back and trim the cuticles to neaten up the area. Once completed on both sides, we massage in hand cream and cleanse the nails with a non-acetone remover, which is gentler on the nails, to remove any cream. This is followed up with a basecoat, two coats of colour and a topcoat to give the best shine.
With a normal polish, we recommend letting them dry for at least 30 minutes to avoid chipping o smudging but with the gel upgrade, you are good to go straightaway.
Happy pampering!
Elli Foster, Head Therapist
St Pierre Park Hotel