How to leave your manicurist

Breaking up is hard to do. For whatever reason at some time you may want to move on from your current manicurist. For some it may be money or time issues, or it could be that you’re ready for a change.

Either way here are some tips. If you are leaving because of money or time issues the best way to let her know either give a phone call or write a note. It may be uncomfortable to do so but believe me if you run into each other at the market it will be even more uncomfortable.

Caring for your nails at home

You’ve been to the salon and now wonder, “Should I be doing anything extra at home?” Here are some ways to stretch your manicure/pedicure dollar:

ü Put a coat of clear on your nails about 2 or 3 days after your manicure
ü Apply cuticle oil at least once a day (any oil will due-olive, almond, just not mineral oil)
ü Put hand cream on your hands and feet at least once a day
ü As soon as your polish chips, remove it with polish remover and apply clear or color polish
ü Keeping polish on your nails at all times helps protect them from breakage
ü Use a pumice on your feet in the shower at least once a week
ü If your nail gets a snag gently file as soon as you can to prevent breakage

How to repair a nail when you can’t get to the salon

Natural nails:

Tea anyone? A good old fashioned tea bag works wonders if you have a cracked natural nail. Cut the tea bag (tea removed of course) a little bigger than the crack. Place it over the torn part and apply a dot of nail glue (try not to go overboard on the nail glue).

Don’t have any nail glue? Try this: put a small amount of clear polish on the crack. With the end of the polish brush, pick up the piece of tea bag and put it on the wet spot. Then paint clear over it. You may need to pat it down with another fingernail. This should save your nail until you can get in to see your manicurist for a proper repair.

Artificial nails:

Always carry nail glue with you if you wear artificial nails. The best kind of glue is one that can be contained if spilled and comes with a pin (or provide your own) to poke the opening because it will clog. If an entire nail comes off, it’s best to glue that one right back on until you can get a proper repair, but make sure you glue it on in the right direction for a good re-glue. If you have a crack in your acrylic/fiberglass nail, use the tea bag repair above. If you lose the entire nail, paint that nail with the same color or one close to it.

How to choose a great manicurist

In choosing a manicurist, you have to ask yourself, “What do I really want?” Do you want to get in and out very quickly or do you want to find someone that you will have a connection with and look forward to seeing and talking to on a weekly/monthly basis?

Finding a quickie nail salon isn’t as easy as it sounds, because just any corner nail salon could be dirty and full of germs that you may bring home with you.

Here are some key things to look for in ANY nail salon:
· Overall cleanliness (This is the first tip off; if it’s dirty overall, walk out the door!)
· Tools sterilized after EVERY client
· New files used on each client
· New/fresh pumice used on each client
· Fresh water for manicure bowl (Yes, some have been known to reuse)
· Pedicure chairs, aka footspas, need to be cleaned after EVERY client and this means
o Completely rinsed, run for 10 minutes with a sanitizer added, and then rinsed again (If there’s a question, ask to see their log, where the salon keeps track of the cleaning process)
· New bit on drills (used for artificial nails)
· Fresh towels


If you’re looking for a more permanent manicurist to connect with and get to know better, it’s best to get a referral. Start by looking at other people’s nails and ask them who they see. It can be very hard to get an appointment with a really good manicurist, so be patient and flexible. When you do get in to see her for the first time, make small talk and watch to see if you like her style, since every manicurist is different.

If you want a different shape, let her know. Right away you may know this is a good fit or not. Give her one more try, unless you just know you can’t spend another minute with her. Make sure her schedule works with yours, i.e. if Saturdays are best for you and she only works during the week, check with someone else in the salon or ask her if she recommends someone else. It’s okay to try other manicurists in the same salon even though it may be uncomfortable. Key things to look for above still apply here.

Acrylic vs. Natural

When should you choose artificial (Remember, we don’t use the f-word here!) nails over your own natural nails? The first question is, “Can I grow nice fingernails on my own?”

If you can, then, by all means, do. You can care for your nails at home by looking at the how-to guide under how-to give yourself a manicure and how-to care for your nails at home. This does take more time and effort, and to look great all the time, weekly manicures are best.

However, if you can’t grow your nails on your own, a number of artificial treatments are available:

· Acrylic
· Fiberglass
· Silk
· Gel

All artificial nails need to be filled every 2 weeks. NO exceptions here. The reason is that your nails can lift in the middle and you won’t even know it. Then, as you wash your hands, water gets trapped in there and will grow mold, which means it turns a gross shade of green and needs to grow out.

If you decide to remove artificial nails, you have 2 options (aside from picking them off during a scary movie). You can soak them off with acetone at home or have a manicurist do it and then have a manicure right away. The nails will be damaged, which is normal, but in 4 -6 months (maybe sooner, depending on how quickly your nails grow) they’ll be back to normal.

Why do your nails get so damaged after removing artificial nails? The product adheres to the first layer of your nails, so removing the product removes the first layer.

Think of it this way: if you get a perm, your hair is curly all over, but as it grows out, your non-permed hair is straight. It’s the same with damaged nails: you can actually see the new, undamaged nail coming in behind it. Give your damaged nails a lot of TLC by putting oil on them after applying a coat or two of clear nail strengthener.

How to choose a hand/body cream

The most important thing here is the scent, is it pleasing to your nose? Your choices are limitless. You can have the calming scent of lavender or the stimulating scent of mint; you can even smell like freshly baked cookies if you like. There are scent-free lotions available too for the more sensitive nose.

Once you’ve chosen the scent be sure to look at the ingredient list and make sure it does NOT contain mineral oil. Certain companies use mineral oil as a filler ingredient. What it does is sits on your skin, never actually penetrating. At first it feels moist but as soon as it rubs off you feel dry again and then you, do just what the company wants you to do, re-apply and use the lotion more quickly.

So you now have a mineral oil-free lotion, next step use it! Do whatever it takes for you to remind yourself to use it. Some suggestions are:

ü Put a bottle on your desk at work
ü Put a small tube in your purse
ü Put a small tube in your car
ü Put a bottle next to the sink to apply after doing dishes
ü Put a bottle in your bathroom to apply after washing your hands
ü Put a bottle on your nightstand, this is the most important application!

Using a heavier lotion in the winter will help prevent chapping and those painful cracks. My favorite heavy cream is Glysolid. At first it feels sticky but soon your skin is just soft as a baby’s bottom. Glysolid also makes a refreshing menthol lotion that is cooling in the summer and great for pregnant and menopausal women.

Nail Talk

Have you ever wondered if you and your manicurist speak the same language, and I don’t mean Vietnamese? When your manicurist asks you, “What shape do you want your nails?” You say, “Ah, oval” and when you end up with a pointed nail you wonder why they’re not oval. By the way, oval is pointed. Or you say that you want a pink but the color looks a lot like red.

Hear are some words that may help you get what you really want from your time with your manicurist.
{Diagram of fingernail}
At the base of the nail is a cuticle
The pink part of your fingernail is called the nail bed
The white part of your nail that goes over the nail bed is called the free edge

{Diagram of shapes}

Implements are also called tools
Natural nails are nails without acrylic, fiberglass, etc.

How to choose the best shape for your nails

“My hands are so big, how should I shape my nails?” or “What’s the best shape for short nails?” Questions like these are those most asked at the manicurist table. When it comes to shaping your nails the best answer is “What do you like and feel comfortable wearing?”

If you have large hands squaring off your nails will make them look shorter and bigger so round them slightly at the ends to give the illusion of longer fingers. For shorter nails square works well to give them a fresh look. If you have really long nail beds (the pink part of the nail) then you can get away with almost any shape or length. However, nails that are too long tend to look fake and a bit tacky.

Square is the overall best shape for strength and preventing breakage.

Never file your nails oval, here’s why. Back in the ‘50s, or even earlier, oval nails were the style. They looked elegant filed almost to a sharp point with an almond shape but this put your nails at a very vulnerable state because all the strength is on the sides of the nail plate and if they are filed in too narrow your nails will break quite easily. If you wish to wear oval shaped nails then start the inward filing slightly beyond the nail bed to preserve some strength on the sides.

How to choose a nail color

Choosing a nail color can be one of biggest decisions one can make in a day but it doesn’t need to be so hard. If you tend to always use the same color or colors and want to make a change here’s a suggestion. Put a piece of clear tape on the back of your hand and apply a few different colors on the tape to see how they look with your skin tone. For most of them you’ll know right away which ones are no and reduce it down to one or two. The best thing about nail polish is that you can remove it and start over if you don’t like it.

Over the years I’ve been asked hundreds of times, “What’s the best color for my skin tone?” There is no standard answer to this question because someone with fair skin might really like bright red but another fair skinned person might prefer nude tones, or a dark skinned person might like dark reds but another dark skinned person may prefer clear. It all depends upon personal preference.

Here’s a challenge: try a different color every week for one year and keep track so you know which ones were your favorites and those that you’d never want to see again.

Who’s Anna?

Anna lives in California and has been doing nails for long enough to see trends come and go. She knows now what will be a classic style or a trend that won’t make it to tomorrow’s leftovers. Clients of Anna’s are anyone from housewives to CEOs and gardeners to actresses. Over the many years she’s met and experienced more then you can imagine and she has decided to share it all with you.