Dressed Up Nails

icecreamandsunnydays asked: How long did it take you to get this good at nail art? how do you keep your nails so healthy?

Welllll, let’s see, I’ve had this nail blog since like… January or February of this year I guess? My tumblr theme doesn’t show dates so I don’t really know for sure but my first post says 6 months ago. So I guess it took me 6 months haha. The thing I learned about nail art is that you can get good at it really fast. I’ve been doing it since probably January or February but there were a couple months in there where I didn’t have time for it, and I also don’t even do it every day. You learn pretty quickly what looks good and what doesn’t, and how to move your hands, and how to translate your ideas onto tiny little canvases and make them look cool.

As far as how I keep my nails healthy, THANK YOU for asking that because I’ve been meaning to share with you guys my 2 recent nail-health discoveries! I used to have weak, thin, peely nails that would break every few weeks and make me cut them all down to nubs and try again. BUT NO MORE! My nails are long and super healthy now and I’ve been trying to figure out what changed and there are only 2 things I can think of.

1. I used to run a cotton ball soaked in polish remover or acetone over my nails before I painted them so that my polish would adhere better. NO MORE. Now when I take my polish off, I thoroughly wash my hands to get all the remover off my nails and then I put lotion on, making sure to rub it into my nails and cuticles really well. I use OPI AvoJuice because it’s really moisturizing but absorbs SUPER fast. It’s seriously the best. I wait until the lotion is all absorbed into my hands/nails, and THEN I base coat and paint. I think that keeping my nails moisturized under my polish has made a world of difference in their health, and since I let the lotion fully absorb before I paint them, I haven’t noticed my polish coming off any faster than it used to. I can’t recommend doing this enough!

2. I found my Holy Grail cuticle product: Badger Cuticle Care. My friend Brittony uses it, and when I tried hers I knew I had to get some. It’s made with natural ingredients and is really thick, oily, and hydrating. I still use Burt’s Bees in the daytime because it’s not as greasy, but every night I spend about 5-10 minutes massaging the Badger cuticle cream into my nails and cuticles. Spending the extra time to massage it into all the crevices next to your nails and into your skin is essential, I’ve found this keeps my cuticles way more moisturized than just rubbing a little on around them, and I also kinda think the stimulation has helped my nails grow faster. Also, you gotta do it every night!

Alright, I hope this extremely long-winded answer is helpful to you and anyone else who reads it! I know these 2 things have made a big difference in my nail health so I hope they can make a difference for y’all too. :)