HEALTHY NAIL HABITS | HOW TO FILE YOUR NAILS RIGHT

Image: beautyjunkees.com

I must confess, I am one of those annoying people who answers a beauty regime question with "I honestly don't do much, I'm just lucky I guess". For a very long time that was my answer whenever people asked  how I maintained my nails, and that really was the truth, but it didn't seem good enough. So, as much as the fact that the truth wasn't enough annoyed me, it also prompted me to pay a little more attention to my nail habits. And this tip I'm about to share is one which I did not even know was commonly practised by professional nail technicians.

As you can tell from my Manicure Mondays posts, I do most of my manicures myself and having done so for so long, it's only natural that I now understand what works for my nails. Whenever I go to the nail salon to get a manicure, I always file my nails myself. 1.) Because no one ever seems to get my intended nail shape right and 2.) They aren't gentle enough when filing. I get a lot of huffs and puffs and eye-rolls from the nail techs, but I am always as polite as possible and I let them know it's nothing personal at all, I just prefer to do the filing bit myself.

The above image shows the proper way to file your nails, you need to do it one direction at a time, typically from the outside in.

I have always filed my nails this way, not because I knew this was the right way, but because I felt I had more control. Although when I change the shape of my nails from round to square, I usually file back and forth in a sawing motion to get the top flat, but lifting the nail file off the nail after each 'saw'. That literally lasts about 7-10secs  and then I'm back to the one direction at a time. Filing your nails right goes a really long way in maintaining healthy long nails because doing it the wrong way can cause your nails to become thin which makes them split or peel.

I'll be sharing some more healthy nail habits over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for those.

Please share your nail filing tips or ask me questions in the comment section below!

Ez xxX

Ez's BEAUTY CHAT - Products I'm Loving Right Now: June Edition

1. MAC STUDIO FINISH CONCEALER NC42: Remember when I moaned about this concealer here! Well I am never ashamed to eat my words, I think the reason we didn't get along initially (me and the concealer, I mean) was because I was slightly tanned at that time and it was a tad too light for me. But now it works perfect at concealing and this with a swipe of my studio fix powder was my staple 'work face' everyday in June.

2. ESSIE 'BOOM BOOM ROOM': I could honestly wear this every single week, if I didn't need to bring you guys Manicure Monday posts. The perfect, perfect Barbie pink in my opinion and it got a LOT of love when I posted the MM post on my instagram page, so I am not alone!

3. YSL  TOUCHE ECLAT in 4.5: Think I might need one a smidge lighter, but this is working perfectly for me too.

4. SIGMA 'E75 ANGLED BROW' BRUSH: Nice, soft and firm. My staple for filling in my brows

5. 100% NATURAL SHEA BUTTER: My brother gets these sent to him from friends back in our village (in Adamawa). They come solid (which is it's purest form ) and I need to rub it between my hands to get it to melt and I have been using this religiously on my problematic areas; elbows, heel, knees, etc.

6. WET N WILD MEGA LAST LIP COLOR in JUST PEACHY: I got this from the MyMakeup stand at the last LPM event and I am love, love, loving it!

7. GLASS NAIL FILE: Don't know how many of you ladies know, but these are the best and safest way to file your nails, using glass nail files. They last you years, way longer than the regular files we see everywhere. I use these on my nails and take it along with me whenever I go to get a mani at the nail salon. They are breakable (duh, they're glass), so should be stored in a safe place and handled with care. I saw a few on sale at the Casa Bella Store at the Palms last week.

What products are you loving?

Laters,

Ez xxX