Know your nails!

 Have you entered the Awesome Nail Mail package yet?  Head on over and enter now.  You don’t want to miss this one!

I mentioned in a previous post how I’ve never really had great nails.  They were soft and would bend over backwards at the slightest touch.  Of course this meant tons of breaking and flaking nails.  I have never really been proud of my nails and my main concern was to keep them clean and filed. I’ve always had a bit of an obsession with hand lotion.  I have little tubes all over the house and whenever I see one I will use some.  This is of course a good place to start right? That pretty much sums up my nail care routine until recently.

Once I started to experiment and enjoy polishing my nails and trying different things I knew immediately that I would have to start taking better care of my nails.  I needed them stronger and in better condition.  Truth be told, I thought this merely meant getting a good base coat / strengthener etc.  After doing some research I have learnt so much.  For example, using a base coat / strengthener is really good to protect  your nails against the polish but won’t really do much for the overall health of your nails.  Or that the important part of your nail is between the cuticle and the first knuckle of your finger.  That is where your nail grows from etc.  Actually from the tip of your finger but you know what I mean.

The best resource I had was actually the Tip Top Nails Facebook page.  Not only do they share tons of amazing art and creative ideas but also tons of fantastic information for nail care.  Joan has shared different types of nails and treatments for the different types of nails and nail problems as well.  I thought I would share SOME of the information that I found on their page that I found super helpful in knowing how to take better care of my nails.

Before I do that though.  I have TONS to talk about regarding Tip Top.  This post is almost like a “part 1” but know this:  Tip Top is a top notch brand.  Their polish is fantastic quality and their nail care products are just as good.  I have more to tell you about this but that will be another post.  a ‘part 2’ shall we say 😉

Ask someone to show you a fingernail or toenail. Usually the person will point to the hard keratin structure growing over the tip of the finger or toe, this is actually called the nail plate. The nail plate is only a single part of the overall nail structure. Each part of the structure is vital to the nail growth and development. Clearly the health of each part is essential to maintaining a healthy nail.

**Image and information found on Tip Top Nails Facebook page.**

The nail bed is an area of pinkish tissue that lies under the nail plate starting from the matrix and ending at the free edge, it supports the entire nail plate. The nail bed is rich in blood vessels and nerve endings. The blood vessels carry food and oxygen needed for growth and reproduction as well as cleanse the tissue cells and carry away waste and toxins. Facial skin and nail bed tissue have many things in common. Both have two types of tissue epidermis and dermis. The epidermis is the upper layer of the skin directly under the nail plate and the dermis is the lower layer of the skin. The epidermis under the nail plate is different from the epidermis of the hands and fingers, it more closely resembles the inside lining of the mouth. This type of epidermis is referred to as bed epithelium, it is a sticky tissue that sticks tightly to the bottom of the nail plate.

**Image and information found on Tip Top Nails Facebook page.**

The nail matrix is the “mother of the nail” and lies directly below the eponychium(cuticle) stretching to the first joint. This small area of living tissue is the most important part of the entire nail unit. The matrix produces a super, tough protein called keratin. These keratin cells are the building blocks of the nail plate. The matrix is an opaque, bluish white, almost rectangular area of highly specialized cells. The matrix is richly supplied with blood vessels, lymph and nerve endings, which carry nutrition to the new cells. The matrix (the living nail) will continue to produce new cells as long as it receives the necessary vitamins, oil and moisture to remain in a healthy condition. If the matrix becomes damaged the effects are usually seen on the nail plate. If damage to the matrix is severe, it could lead to permanent deformity.

The size and shape of the matrix determines the thickness, width and curvature of the nail plate. A wider matrix creates a wider nail, therefore the thumbs have a wider matrix than the fingers. Long matrixes make thick nails and people with naturally thin nails have short matrix areas.

The matrix is continually making new cells, the nail cells sprout from the tops of tiny hair like projections. When the keratin cells leave the matrix they are white, plump and round. However, once they become completely flattened they reflect the pink colour of the nail bed though it.

**Image and information found on Tip Top Nails Facebook page.**

 

Here is the important stuff.  The bold section in the piece above.  It really boils down to this.  If you want healthy nails you need to take care of your hands.  The part between your finger (nail) tip and your first knuckle is where all the magic happens.  I will be sharing my tips and secrets with you as well.  I can tell you that I can really see a difference in my nails already and I now don’t mind flashing them around.  With or without nail polish 😉  Of course I can tell that the better, healthier nails are still growing and it will take some time for them to be at their best but I can’t believe the difference already. Some might not really think all of this is all that important but it is.  Since I’ve started taking better care of my nails I have also started to feel better about myself.  They look better and feel better.  I am pretty sure that all ladies would like their hands and nails to look good.  It doesn’t matter if you wear nail polish or not or if you go for regular manicures.  We all have a skin care routine of some sort right?

So go on, moisturise, scrub and take care of those cuticles.  Part 2 will be here soon. (and you don’t want to miss it)

 

**Featured (top) image sourced from Google Images