Best beauty decision you've made?

[Land-O-LakesGal]

Off topic but I have heard those UV rays can be just as harmful as being out in the sun for the skin cancer and all. Have you looked into this?

Oh and here is an article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1174768/Having-nails-skin-cancer-doctors-warn-women.html

 

[Stray Cat]

This one: "poorly trained nail technicians may be putting customers' health at risk by using cheap but potentially hazardous chemicals". I've seen it in person (not on myself, since I never had acrylic nails). The girl whose nails I noticed while we talked wore her nails looking like 50 year old road that was never reconstructed. Bumps and lines.. and discoloration. I stared. I did. So she told me (calmly): "It's nothing, I just removed my fake nails.. it's like that all the time".
Well, it shouldn't be!
(not to be a finger-pointer here, but: small town salons and their staff think they can pull off anything and they call it "nail art")

..but: " developed a tumor on her right hand using UV lamps twice a month for 15 years.". What a persistent woman!

Thank you for the link, Land-O-LakesGal, it shocked me a bit.

..I guess, then, you disapprove using colored gel to make natural nails a wee bit stronger?

 

[C-dot]

I've recently had my nails shellacked for the first time, and its wonderful! Mine are prone to shredding, and this has solved the problem - Not to mention my manicure lasting for 3 weeks!

About that article, though... The UV rays from the salon machine giving you a tumour is akin to cellphone radiation giving you brain cancer. Do you realize how small the amount of radiation is for both, and how long you would thus need to be exposed to it to develop cancer? This woman developed a tumour in her hand because she shellacked her nails twice a month for 15 years. That's crazy, for many reasons, and its the reason why she got a tumour. As with anything, moderate your exposure and the dangers are drastically reduced.

Furthermore, take it from the source: the Daily Mail is a rag, and prints many sensationalist articles.

 

[angeljenny]

My best beauty change was to let my eyebrows go wild and grow back in then to totally reshape them. They now have an arch which I love!! It was quite traumatic growing them back though!

 

[Louise Anne]

I've recently had my nails shellacked for the first time, and its wonderful! Mine are prone to shredding, and this has solved the problem - Not to mention my manicure lasting for 3 weeks!



Furthermore, take it from the source: the Daily Mail is a rag, and prints many sensationalist articles.

It also seams to be a very sensationalist artical to me

 

[fortworthgal]

I've had the shellac manicures as well and I love them! Polish lasts 2-3 days max on my fingernails before chipping off terribly, but shellac will last a full 2 weeks. It is more time consuming and expensive than standard polish, though, so I rarely wear it. Most days, my nails are bare.

I wore acrylic nails off and on for years, and let my nails go natural probably 2-3 years ago. Very happy with that decision. It is also a big moneysaver!

I would say my best decision was to stop hitting the tanning bed. I only wish I'd done it sooner! Now I embrace my natural pale skin.

Also, taking better care of my skin. I've always had "good" skin that didn't require much maintenance or have any problems to speak of, so I would pretty much wash with whatever soap or cleanser I could find, slap on whatever moisturizer was around, and go. Now I'm more careful about using eye cream, exfoliating as needed, using anti-aging and SPF, and night cream.

 

[Barbigirl]

Lasik
I wish I had done it years earlier.

 

[lareine]

Oh, yes..
I saw a girl with most amazing red nails, EVER. And she told me, she had it done in a salon, but that there are colored gels one can easily buy. And they look like a nail polish? (but, you need UV lamp?)
Is that it?

It could well be. There are a number of these new hybrid gel systems on the market now (Shellac, Gelac, and Gelish come to mind immediately). They are not like the old style gels that had to be filed off, but can be removed easily with acetone, and they last for weeks without chipping. A lot of nail technicians will kick up a fuss and say that these products are for professional only, DIYers cannot possibly do it themselves, they must use the official (and expensive!) UV lamp, etc., etc., but I haven't found that to be the case in real life. I found everything I needed (base coat, top coat, colour, UV lamp) on eBay for not much more than the cost of one manicure in a salon, and of course I can use it many times.

 

[lareine]

Off topic but I have heard those UV rays can be just as harmful as being out in the sun for the skin cancer and all. Have you looked into this?

Oh and here is an article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1174768/Having-nails-skin-cancer-doctors-warn-women.html

Yes. Please disregard anything you read in the Daily Mail unless proven elsewhere! It's nothing but a rag. The UV levels from a few minutes under a UV lamp designed for curing nail varnish are no more dangerous than going for a quick walk outdoors in summer. If you're really worried then put some sunscreen on beforehand.

 

[lareine]

This woman developed a tumour in her hand because she shellacked her nails twice a month for 15 years. That's crazy, for many reasons, and its the reason why she got a tumour.

If that's what she said (I didn't bother to read the article as I know what the Daily Mail is like) then it's lies anyway, since Shellac has not been around for anything like 15 years.

The Daily Mail is knowing for printing sensationalist codswallop and anyone who reads it for anything other than entertainment value is probably finding themselves very misled indeed.

 

[Miss Golightly]

Recently, my best beauty decision has been to switch to Shellac for my nails. No more chipped manicures, ever! I can do my nails at home with a UV lamp and the polish stays on until I take it off or it grows out. My nails are in great shape now and healthier than they have been in years (probably because I am not using nail polish remover every couple of days), and they always look great.

I LOVE Shellac! It's brilliant! Particularly for when you go on holidays - no more worrying about it chipping of having to take it off/put it back on. My only concern is with the UV lamp - think next time I get it done (particularly on my hands) I will put on SPF - more for vanity reasons than anything.

Most nail polishes only last for a couple of days however I found that Deborah Lippmann's polishes last for around 4 days or more if I'm careful. Also the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure should last up to around 10 days.

 

[Stray Cat]

It could well be. There are a number of these new hybrid gel systems on the market now (Shellac, Gelac, and Gelish come to mind immediately). They are not like the old style gels that had to be filed off, but can be removed easily with acetone, and they last for weeks without chipping. A lot of nail technicians will kick up a fuss and say that these products are for professional only, DIYers cannot possibly do it themselves, they must use the official (and expensive!) UV lamp, etc., etc., but I haven't found that to be the case in real life. I found everything I needed (base coat, top coat, colour, UV lamp) on eBay for not much more than the cost of one manicure in a salon, and of course I can use it many times.

Oh, yes.. than it is what I'm thinking of!
There's a girl on facebook that sells those (she brings them from abroad to my country). I was planning on getting one, to try it on. The hot red color. (my FAVORITE!)
When I think about it, it's like 16 or 17 dollars for a bottle. And all I need is that gel, since I'm blessed with a friend who is a nail DIY-er. She has all the goods: UV lamp, scrapers, files.. and I'm sure she's not gonna use not hygienic thing on me.
..so theres just one step I can't seam to pass: I have no facebook. I guess, my friend will have to use her name to get my pretty gel.

(This decision took 6 month to be made.. I was waging it slowly.. to fortify or not to use gel on natural nail)..

 

[Stray Cat]

I LOVE Shellac! It's brilliant! Particularly for when you go on holidays - no more worrying about it chipping of having to take it off/put it back on. My only concern is with the UV lamp - think next time I get it done (particularly on my hands) I will put on SPF - more for vanity reasons than anything.

So, you would advise "YES" on putting a gel on?

 

[lareine]

Oh, yes.. than it is what I'm thinking of!
And all I need is that gel, since I'm blessed with a friend who is a nail DIY-er. She has all the goods: UV lamp, scrapers, files.. and I'm sure she's not gonna use not hygienic thing on me.

She won't need scrapers or files if you get a soak-off gel (SOG, of the type I already mentioned) as it does not need to be filed and your nail does not need to be buffed or scraped beforehand. All she will need to do is remove any stray cuticle and dehydrate your nail plate before application, which she probably already knows how to do, and wipe off the top coat with 99% alcohol once she has finished to bring up the shine.

Just be aware that you will need a UV base and top coat, ideally of the same type as your UV colour coat, so that the system works together and its behaviour can be predicted. You might get away with mixing and matching but then again you might not! You will certainly need at least one bottle of suitable UV base coat and UV top coat even if you mix and match within SOG systems.

 

[Miss Golightly]

So, you would advise "YES" on putting a gel on?

Absolutely! It's not something I would have on my nails constantly as I think nails need a break from polishes and gels but if you have an occasion coming up or a holiday it's great!

 

[Stray Cat]

She won't need scrapers or files if you get a soak-off gel (SOG, of the type I already mentioned) as it does not need to be filed and your nail does not need to be buffed or scraped beforehand. All she will need to do is remove any stray cuticle and dehydrate your nail plate before application, which she probably already knows how to do, and wipe off the top coat with 99% alcohol once she has finished to bring up the shine.

Just be aware that you will need a UV base and top coat, ideally of the same type as your UV colour coat, so that the system works together and its behaviour can be predicted. You might get away with mixing and matching but then again you might not! You will certainly need at least one bottle of suitable UV base coat and UV top coat even if you mix and match within SOG systems.

Thank you!
You are well informed.. and helpful!

Let's repeat: I need gel, UV base and UV top coat?
(I guess I can get all those)

 

[lareine]

Thank you!
You are well informed.. and helpful!

Let's repeat: I need gel, UV base and UV top coat?
(I guess I can get all those)

Correct, you need all those. And in order to do a proper SOG manicure you will also need things that your manicurist friend probably already has: a 36W UV lamp, something to remove cuticle from the nail plate (cuticle cream), something to dehydrate the nail plate (e.g. ScrubFresh or a 50:50 mixture of alcohol and acetone), and 99% alcohol to finish the top coat.

My favourite brand that I've tried so far is Shellac, because it lasts wonderfully and can be removed in 10 minutes or less with acetone. However their colour range isn't huge so I have been experimenting with Gelish colour sandwiched between Shellac base and top coats. This has worked well for me. I think I'll stick with the Shellac base and top because I've heard that Gelish top coat is more difficult to remove (this also makes Gelish last longer, but I get bored long before it is time to take the colour off!).

The instructions for applying Shellac are available on their website - you might like to read them.
http://www.cnd.com/Tools-Support/PDF/Step-by-Steps/4974_ShellacSBSUpdate.pdf

I think these instructions apply for most if not all of the SOG brands, although UV curing time may vary.

 

[C-dot]

If that's what she said (I didn't bother to read the article as I know what the Daily Mail is like) then it's lies anyway, since Shellac has not been around for anything like 15 years.

Aha! I've just read that its only been in development for 5 years! Good eye

I've found a brand new nail salon in my neighbourhood that does shellacking, and for a fab price. I had a french manicure with a flower design done in shellac for $25 (!!!) I'm thinking of getting all the equipment together so I can do it myself, though, and save even more money

 

[Lenore]

I'm on Sally Beauty Supply's e-mailer, and they sent me something about the Gelish products.... I have to admit.. I'm curious. I'm wondering if it would be possible to do a half moon manicure easily, or if I should just anticipate basic red nails.

 

[Clabbergirl]

My best beauty decision would have to be embracing my curls. I grew up hating them and always wishing/wanting the shiny, swingy, slick hair all my friends had. I couldn't get it to feather into the '70s wings that were popular, and whenever my mother cut it "to make it more manageable", it would grow out instead of down. Now I love my curls. I get frustrated sometimes because they're so prone to influence from the weather, and sometimes I do long for the slick shine my daughter has, but overall I am much happier to have a head full of hair in which no two curls are ever alike on any given day. I am asked all the time what I do to my hair, are they natural, etc.