Easy Tips & Tricks for Beautiful Hands & Nails

Hi everyone & welcome to the Apple Girl Nails blog! We are so excited to get this started for all of you beautiful people out there in the world. We want to be able to share our inside tips & tricks with you while also providing you with fun ways to stay on trend in the nail world. 

With everything going on in the world today, we are at home more than ever. Why not take the extra time to really pamper yourself and give yourself that self-love to not only you but YOUR NAILS! Trust me, they will thank you later. Whether you are working on the frontline, teaching the future generations or just an unstoppable human being, we all need to take better care of our nails. 

We put together a few tips & tricks that we all follow here at Apple Girl Nails that have really been making a big factor on our nails and we wanted to share them along to you!

Thank you for reading! 

Hydration is KEY

It sounds simple but this is one of the most crucial parts of maintaining beautiful skin. Aside from just drinking water throughout your day, moisturizing is the second way to maintain hydration. Just like you would moisturize your skin twice a day, you should really be doing the same for your hands. Our hands can become dry very quickly so making sure you are stay hydrated and frequently applying hand cream, it can easily boost the look of your hands and it also can really help your nails stay strong & beautiful as well. Once you get in the routine of applying hand cream, it can easily become second nature. Keeping a little tube in your car, purse, desk, or anywhere that you tend to spend a good amount of time at, you can easily maintain the first step in the right direction to hydrated hands!

TIP: Applying right after the shower or when your hands are a little wet, you can lock in more moisture by applying the lotion right after. 

Avoid Long Hot Showers

We all know how nice it sounds thinking about taking a long hot shower after a long day at work but, according to Loreal Paris USA, the hot temperature in the water can actually strip off moisture from the skin. Try rinsing off with a lukewarm temperature instead & remember to also do the same when it comes to washing your hands.

SPF is everyone’s friend

Now more than ever in the summer months SPF is a key element to everyone’s daily routine. Whether you are lounging in the summer sun or running errands around town, make sure to apply SPF no matter what. If you are NOT wearing sunscreen, your skin can result in sun damage and no one wants to have to have wrinkles down the road or sun damage on your beautiful hands. According to the Food & Drug Administration, protecting yourself with an SPF of at least 15 or higher is what we should be applying daily.

TIP: Remember to apply an SPF even on those cloudy days as well, as they can be the worst days to catch sun. 

Wear Gloves While Washing Dishes

Do your nails ever feel less shiny after washing dishes or feel a little dried out? If you wear rubber gloves while washing the dishes, you not only keep your hands free of all that gross leftover gunk but, you are also maintaining your beautiful skin and nails. Especially after you just finishing getting or giving yourself a nice fresh manicure, wearing rubber gloves will keep your manicure intact. According to a source from totalbeauty.com, the water and soap can dry out the manicure, making it less shiny and more likely to chip.

Cuticle Care is Crucial

Investing in a good cuticle oil is one of the most effective ways to maintain beautiful skin & nails. It’s so simple when applying that it can often be overlooked when it comes to your regular routine. Simply, just slab a little bit on your cuticles each day to clean up and moisturize that area. Another inexpensive way to care for your cuticles is to apply Vaseline. The American Academy of Dermatology recommended this as a way to get that rich, thick moisturizer aside from applying your normal daily moisturizer. The last tip for cuticle care is to not cut or pull intensely at your cuticles. This can result into ripping areas of skin where it may lead to bleeding if ripped. If you want to make your nails appear longer or just want to gently push your cuticles back, you can. I recommend using a cuticle pusher that you can gently glide the cuticles back to elongate the appearance of your nails. 

Don’t Peel the Gel

I repeat! DO NOT PEEL OFF THE GEL! This can be one of the worst things for your nails. According to New York City dermatologist Dana Stern in an Allure article, “By peeling off a gel polish, you are not only removing the gel, but also the top layers of delicate cells on your nails.” It may seem like it’s okay since the gel can rip so easily once worn down, but don’t even think about it. Try soaking your nails in an acetone wash and use cotton rounds like these to wipe off the color.

Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate!

Aside from moisturizing daily and applying cuticle oil, something else you can do once or twice a week that really keeps your hands feeling super soft is exfoliating. Just like you would do to your body in the shower, applying a sugar scrub or a gentle exfoliator to your hands removes all of the dead skin that can bulk up and create dryness to the skin. It also relaxes your body and is something that really can become a part of your self-care routine.

Short Nails Are In

Long nails are always fun to have & can be great back scratchers but, maintaining shorter nails can actually be healthier for your nails. Long nails can tend to become brittle and thin which is a big NO when it comes to nail health. During the pandemic we have all been giving ourselves that at-home manicure. Just remember to always be gentle and cautious when you are filing and clipping away skin.

I recommend using a nail clipper that can be easy to move around and then also, using a nail file that won’t break your nails. The best nail files are actually ones that are glass or crystal, so they won’t feel like scrubbing sandpaper on your nails and they won’t make your nail break. It sounds pretty perfect right? There are more benefits to using a glass/crystal file. They are also washable which means they can be used more than once so yes, it can be an investment rather than getting an emory board but, it has its perks and can really help your nails out.

Biotin Is A Girl’s Best Friend

A great way to maintain a healthy growth for you nails and beautiful skin is to keep up with taking vitamins. When it comes to taking the correct vitamins, it can be a bit overwhelming but according to a Women’s Health post, Biotin is the #1 vitamin to take for maintaining healthy looking skin & nails. Biotin is a form of vitamin B that helps your body convert the food you eat into energy more efficient. In other words, this vitamin helps your hair, skin & nails grow rather than dealing with brittle nails and split ends.

TIP: Be sure to always let your doctor know when you do take new vitamins, for they sometimes can be a disruption for some lab test results.   

We really hope that these tips & tricks help keep your skin & nails glowing and healthy! Please make sure to check back in for more updates on the best ways to take care of your nails & stay tuned in for more articles dealing with all thing’s nails!