winter hand and nail care sos!

this post is a little different to my usual but I've had lots of questions from you guys on twitter about my nails! In the last year or so I've become a huge fan of nail art, it may surprise you to know that before this I was the laziest nail painter around. I regularly forgot to wear nail polish and when I did it was chipped and scrappy!

I am now a total princess when it comes to nail care, I find painting my nails a great stress reliever after a tough day and I enjoy giving my hands some TLC while I'm catching up on made in chelsea and towie!

at least once a week I give my hands a complete mani to keep them in good shape. I do have problems with my nails don't be fooled by the pictures they hide a multitude of flaws! my main issue is nail peeling; at least half of my nails are weak and prone to breaking and I've found it almost impossible to resolve! because I'm constantly changing my nail colour I also have trouble keeping them white and avoiding stained nails! when they're particularly weak I cut them right down; it's drastic but I find it's the only way to get them back in good condition... sob.

so here's my weekly routine for anyone who is interested:

• I start by removing all traces of polish. recently I've switched to a moisture balance remover and I've had good results so far (I've been using elegant touch from superdrug) previously I was using a non acetone remover as I thought it would be more gentle on my nails but it was really drying them out especially the skin around the nail itself!
• I soak my hands in warm water for 5 minutes to soften the cuticles. then I apply cuticle oil or burt's bees lemon cuticle cream and use an orange stick to push back the cuticles and tidy up the edges. keeping the cuticles pushed back makes my nails appear longer when I apply polish and helps stop the colour bleeding into them. cuticle oil is easy to find, as are orange sticks if you look in your local boots/superdrug.
• I use a cuticle cutter to snip off any excess, this is a good tool for anyone who doesn't already look after their nails as you'll probably have more to remove (my boyfriend had a field day using it on his hands!) mine was only £4 from superdrug -some are quite expensive!
• next up I trim (if needed) and file my nails to remove any rough corners (this will avoid unnecessary catching and breaking nails) I use nail clippers rather than scissors I find them easier to shape with.
• next up is OPI nail envy. I've not been using it for long but it's the most recommended nail strengthener around. two coats of this are needed and then follow up with a coat every other day! I purchased mine from sally's  and got a free OPI top coat with mine. I'm hoping in a few weeks this addition to my routine will help my brittle nails stop peeling!
• paint your nails if you want colour and finish up with a decent top coat. this will add strength and shine to your nails, the best one in my opinion is seche vite
• finally and importantly moisturise your hands! I move between products depending on my mood but burts bees hand creams are probably my favourite! if my hands are really dry I'll rub in some elizabeth arden 8 hour cream before I go to sleep! boots sell a burt's bees tips to toes kit which has mini versions of their hand and foots products in- I got one for christmas last year I give it a huge thumbs up (special shout out to the coconut foot cream wowwwweeeee it smells amazing)

thats it! what an essay, hope you're all still awake!

I know a lot of what I've just written is obvious; fingers crossed someone out there will benefit from it aha!

I highly recommend taking an hour out of an evening to pamper your hands, I know some people have real trouble growing their nails but whatever the length it's nice to have neat polished digits! 

(disclaimer: this manicure routine is most satisfying if your wearing pyjamas tucked up in bed with a cup of hot chocolate close to hand and some mindlessly entertaining television playing!)

back soon 

caroline x