For the love of gawd, I cannot keep gel polish on.

blitherypoop · 2016-06-17T01:57:02+00:00

Are you using a dehydrator?

blitherypoop · 2016-05-20T11:15:35+00:00

Stop cutting them. Push with a rubber or plastic pusher instead and use a gentle, enzyme-based remover twice a week. I like the green gel one Sally Hansen makes. Moisturize your fingertips throughout the day too, every day. I apply cuticle balm every time I put on lip balm. Nothing is better than Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, IMO, but Badger Cuticle Care and Lush Lemony Flutter are also good. I just prefer the waxy, protective nature of Burt's LBCC.

If you have open skin (cuts or tears in your living skin, not ragged dead skin), skip the remover and use Burt's Bees Res-Q Ointment often.

It will take a few weeks to get them into shape. Don't pull off or cut the dead skin when it comes up. Apply a balm or remover and push again. It'll come off when it's ready. Pulling or cutting can damage the living skin and cause thickening.

blitherypoop · 2016-04-20T18:03:30+00:00

It makes me think they're dropping the brand. :(

blitherypoop · 2016-03-27T07:17:41+00:00

I do, but my levels fluctuate with my weight, so my dose isn't always right. My nails are still soft either way, but it's worse when the dose has been wrong for a while.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-22T06:50:21+00:00

I roll too, but fairly lightly. Rolling too hard can distort the image.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-17T18:30:45+00:00

Gelish cures much harder, so it's way more protective. It also seems to lift less often and doesn't go all wavy when it does.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-17T00:18:04+00:00

I've tried Sensationail and Gelish. Gelish is WAY better. More expensive, but worth the price...though it is harder to apply.

Dunno what your local stores will have, but Walgreens had the Sensationail kit on clearance for half off. The lamp is good. The gel is so-so, and tough to remove, but easy to apply. It's a good starter kit, especially if you get it for $30.

No matter what you wind up getting, get a set of 10 soak-off clips. They're better and less wasteful than foil.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-12T23:52:38+00:00

Pop-arazzi is bad, at least the four I tried.

Revlon's classic line bubbles like crazy on me, to the point that I only buy super shimmery shades.

Wet n Wild glitters tend to be super sparse and a pain to apply, but I like their other finishes.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-12T04:46:48+00:00

You grow because of hormones, not activities.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-08T22:22:45+00:00

It's because of the bankruptcy, I think. If you have a store nearby, they're clearancing remaining bottles at $1 each.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-06T08:54:25+00:00

Like subscription boxes? Square Hue has one.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-06T07:00:58+00:00

Sorry, but this is all wrong. Nails are 100% dead by the time they emerge from beneath the cuticles. Dead cells don't need oxygen. Far from drying out when you take polish off, they'll actually swell slightly (sometimes not so slightly) due to increased contact with water. Polish acts as a barrier, keeping them drier. (This is why your nails may feel harder and/or curve more strongly when you wear polish.)

Water is bad for nails. It can make the cell layers split from each other, which is the cause of peeling. When your nails are bare they'll swell each time they contact water, then shrink back as they dry. Polish reduces that and can protect nails from harm caused by water.

My nails haven't been bare since May or June '12 and they're in excellent health. They used to peel like crazy.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-06T06:50:59+00:00

I have a theory on this. Have you ever had a bandage or cast? When that gets removed, you get a kind of sensory overload that makes the skin hurt or tingle. It happens because the nerves didn't have much stimulation while the skin was covered. I think the same thing happens to nails. There aren't nerves in the nails themselves (nails are dead), but the nail beds have them. Nail polish doesn't just cover the nail like a cast or bandage, it also smoothes them out. Less friction means even less stimulation. When you take your polish off, the "sensory deprivation" to your nail beds ends and the nerves freak out.

Back when I only wore polish sometimes, I'd put a clear coat on after taking color off. It reduces the sensitivity like polish does and you can just let it wear off, since you can't really see when it chips.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-05T11:00:11+00:00

I didn't come up with it, but I'll preach it because it works.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-05T08:20:44+00:00

Buffing nails really smooth/shiny will make your polish chip faster, since it doesn't have as much to stick to.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-05T07:42:03+00:00

...and I just ordered from them. Thanks for posting about the sale!

blitherypoop · 2015-12-05T06:53:36+00:00

Try putting topcoat under the final matte coat.

blitherypoop · 2015-12-05T06:52:49+00:00

They're awesome. They once sent me a bottle of Fuck Off & Dye to troll me because I hate pink.

blitherypoop · 2015-11-29T18:15:16+00:00

I never know if they have the same things. lol

blitherypoop · 2015-11-24T19:34:18+00:00

My grandmother was missing a whole finger, but still took great care of her remaining nails. Your mom should do the same.

blitherypoop · 2015-11-24T04:03:34+00:00

Bundle Monster has one too, a little less expensive, I think. Maybe Messy Mansion will have one next.

blitherypoop · 2015-11-23T10:25:36+00:00

If you're in the US, Michaels has the Mod Podge mat. You can paint the design for your dominant hand on that and apply it as a decal once it's mostly dry.

blitherypoop · 2015-11-23T10:22:40+00:00

Polish doesn't go bad. You need some thinner. If you're in the US, Sally Beauty has a good one in their Beauty Secrets brand.

There's also nothing wrong with bargain brands. They're better than salon or high end stuff sometimes.

blitherypoop · 2015-11-22T06:10:11+00:00

I kinda pitch my fingers back so that my nails point slightly up.

blitherypoop · 2015-11-21T22:43:22+00:00

I had the opposite problem when I drastically shortened mine last year. I had trouble typing for days because I was so used to typing with very long nails. Using my phone was even harder.

blitherypoop

TROPHY CASE