Back To Basics - Aftercare Of Your Manicure And Pedicure

Manicure And Pedicure

Every woman likes to look and feel her best. Beautifully manicured fingernails and pedicured toenails are essential for a really polished look. If you're looking at your hands and feet now and feeling a little self conscious that they are not looking their best, treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure. If you are unable to do it yourself, visit one of the many professionals out there who offer this service. It's only a little thing, but I know I feel a lot more confident when I have nice nails, even if my hair is a mess and I have no make up on. So once you've prettied up your nails, how can you maintain the way they look for as long as possible? There are some simple things you can do which will help to care for your hands and feet. I'm sure many of you already know most of them, but it can't help to have a quick refresh and go back to basics...

Avoid damage - Bitten nails are never a good look. If you are a nail biter, invest in one of the many products available to help you break the habit. Avoid using your nails as 'tools' where possible, use the pads of your fingers instead. When filing your nails, file in one direction only and avoid using metal files. Filing back and forth generates heat which can make your nails brittle and weakened. If you buff your nails to reduce ridges, only do so for a few seconds and never more than once a week. When cutting your toenails, always cut straight across, never at an angle as this can cause an ingrown nail - I can tell you from experience, they are painful!

Diet 

Diet - When you are ill, depleted of nutrients or run down, your hair and nails are often one of the first places where your body will show signs of damage. Drink plenty of water and eat a healthy, balanced diet with a good variety of vitamins and minerals.








Drying time - Pretty obvious but make sure you allow enough time for your nail colour to harden and set. If I need to speed up the time it takes for my nails to dry, I find dunking my hands in really cold water helps. It won't dry your nails completely but it will help to set them a little bit quicker.

Moisturise - It amazes me how many women take care of their face by moisturising and exfoliating regularly and yet completely ignore their hands. Even if you take great care of your face and neck, if you have wrinkled 'old lady' hands, it will be a real giveaway as to your true age as you get older. Look after your hands by using hand cream on a daily basis, especially after you have washed them as soap can have a drying affect on skin. Don't forget to pay attention to nails and cuticles. There are special creams designed to moisturise cuticles but I find olive oil is a good alternative.

Hard skin

Hard skin - Have you ever stood on an escalator and at eye level in front of you, there is someone wearing flip-flops with rough looking, flakey heels? Don't let that flakey footed person be you! Keep hard skin on your feet at bay by regularly using a pumice stone or foot file after a bath or shower. I use a 'Ped Egg' foot file and I find that works pretty well. Whatever you do, do not use a razor to shave dead skin off your feet - I actually knew someone who once did this! It ended badly.


Nail length - Long nails look nice but keep your nails to a practical length according to your work and lifestyle. In my previous job, I frequently used my hands for some pretty rough work. Whenever I tried to grow my nails, I ended up snapping them. Painful and not very nice to look at! I try and grow my nails longer sometimes but I think the habit of having short nails is pretty well ingrained in me now.

Never pick at your polish - Whether you have had a DIY home manicure or a professional gel application, do not pick at your nail colour as it will damage the surface of the nail underneath. This is especially true for gel manicures. If you pick at or peel one of these, it can come off in one big, nail sized sheet. It might be fun but it'll damage your nail and expose the horror that lies beneath (a scaly, rough looking nail!)

Painting your own nails - Use a base coat underneath your nail colour to prevent staining your nail when you come to remove the colour. If you do have old polish stains on your nails, you can use cotton wool dipped in lemon juice to remove them. When you have finished applying your polish, apply a good quality, clear top coat to help prevent chipping and for extra shine. When it is time to remove your polish, use an acetone free remover, it is less harsh on your nails.

Protect your hands - Washing up water, cleaning products and other nasties will all take their toll on your hands and nails. They may not be the most attractive garment but get those rubber gloves on!






This article has some really basic tips and advice. Some of you will know a lot of it already but hopefully there are some of you out there that have learnt a thing or two.

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Ombre Hair Tips You Should Consider

Ombre hair is the hair coloring effect that has the bottom hair portion looking lighter than top portion. The effect is achieved by bleaching lower hair portions and the ombre can be evened out using dye on the bottom part after the bleaching. The hair is trendy and very stylish and many ladies have taken it up as the best dyeing technique. But just like any other hairstyle, there are things you must consider and remember if at all you are to get the best results with your ombre hair.

1. Keep the hair as healthy as possible.  Bleaching basically removes pigment from hair to lighten it and it can be damaging compared to dyeing. Also important to remember is that the technique concentrates on hair ends and lengths which are compromised and can sustain damages compared to newer growths near the roots. To keep damages minimal consider trimming hair before and after ombre especially for dry or long hair. It is a simple way of preventing split ends or making them worse. You should nourish and soften hair once a week using color safe deep conditioner.

2. Remember that tone is everything.
A brassy tint can be a big mistake with the ombre coloring. It is usually a result of bleach on hair that is dark with reddish undertones. Colorists avoid this effect by following the highlights with corrective toner. If you are coloring yourself, then consider adding achy or cool color depositing hair toner to remove yellow and orange tones.

3. Go easy with the colors. 
When going ombre, it is best that you stick to natural hair colors, however adventurous you might be feeling. For black hair or dark brown hair, the ombre should not be lighter than soft medium or light brown. Light brown hair and blonde hair can have lighter color towards hair ends. To get it right, remember that the lighter the hair the lighter the ombre can go. Avoid being too drastic with your color choices if you want a good finish.

4. Try as much as possible to avoid harsh lines.
Demarcation lines that are too harsh do not look any good. The hair should not go from light to dark too instantly and should instead appear sun-kissed and natural. The hand painting technique can be best to evenly distribute and blend lighter pieces. Mussing up hair strands also achieves the same positive results with the ombre. If you are doing the coloring yourself, consider using a toothbrush after applying bleach to rub color upwards to achieve the subtle gradient effect.

5. Get a reliable stylist. 
To avoid a messy ombre, trust a skilled stylist. So much can go wrong when coloring the hair, especially with dark hair you want to dramatically lighten. A stylist will choose the most flattering highlights to match your hair type and facial features. You also do not have to worry about poor product choices when you hire the services of skilled hair colorists to do your ombre.






Short hair ombre is popular with women today because it keeps natural looks and is easy to wear and maintain. Find beautiful short ombre ideas by visiting http://hairstylezz.com/best-hair-short-ombre/ and choose the best for you.

10 Beauty Tips & Tricks Every Woman Needs to Know

Beauty is easily achievable. Some are born naturally beautiful while some use artificial methods to gain beauty. However, in both cases, it is equally hard to maintain the beauty. Thus, you need to keep constantly abreast with the latest trends as pertains to beauty enhancements and maintenance. Unfortunately, there is too much information you might get jumbled up and disillusion. We have broken down top ten beauty tricks and tips that you should always have on your hand.

Beauty Tips for women

Make your eyes look larger by switching up your eyeliner: to create a 'bigger eye' effect you ought to follow the following procedures. First, use a smudged black pencil in making the lower lash line. Next, you need to use a nude pencil for lining the waterline and do not connect the black liner at the corners. That way, the black does not close the eye up, and you will have achieved the desired effect.

Rock and roll edge look in wavy hair: it is perhaps the simplest trick here. Just use your fingers to twist the hair and do not forget to leave the ends straight for an awesome look.

Avoid streaky nail polish: to layer your nail polish perfectly, you need to be patient and do it at intervals. You should also apply thinner coats as the thicker ones streak. To avoid this, and for proper drying, wait for up to two minutes in between coats.

Make your bobby pins look invisible: bands come in handy when securing side swept hair. However, you do not want to have a shiny bobby pin as it is a major distraction especially if you are a model.
Give eyebrows a naturally lush look: to accentuate the eyebrows and make them look more natural, use an eye shadow lighter than the brow's color.

Maintain your ponytail all day: by tilting your head back slightly, you make a tighter hold at the nape of the neck. Therefore, your ponytail looks good all day.

Frizz less soft curls: to avoid a frizzy look, use a wide-tooth comb as opposed to brushes. It leaves nice-looking separations in your freshly curled hair.

Coordinating lip and cheek colors: to attain a flawless coordination, use a lip pencil as a blush. Put the lip pencil on the back of your hand and using your finger, rub it on the cheeks.

Intensifying lipstick with powder pigment: other than making your lipstick last twice longer, this trick deepens the color and achieves a lusterless texture.

Heighten your lipstick colors: diffuse the outline of the lip color by blending with the use of a lip brush. It gives a soft effect and highlights the lipstick color.

All of the tips and tricks listed above are useful and will give you a stunning look. Nonetheless, it might pose a challenge to those with aging skin. You can find some of the best anti-aging wrinkle creams that save you the agony of long and time-consuming maintenance tricks. It also gives your skin a refined look that lasts for long.

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Alaysia Butler is a dedicated researcher of Natural Health, Natural Nutrition and Natural Anti Aging Skin Care. Who is fervent about enabling you and everyone to live a healthy lifestyle, and is an ardent reviewer of Anti aging Skin Care.



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