Friday, February 18, 2011

Time to play with chemicals!

Let's remove some cuticles shall we?

I made a video way back when and just now got around to posting it.  In the video I am using Blue Cross cuticle remover, but as I mention Sally Hansen is also a popular one. Also, in the video I use a q-tip to apply and remove the dead skin; if you don't like that, use a wooden stick to remove the skin.  I hope you enjoy my awkwardness!



Here are some relevant posts I mention in the video.

Cuticle Tutorial: Are you a cutter?

Why you shouldn't file when your nails are wet and Other rules to live by

Do my nails look fat?

Why using cuticle remover is useful for polish adhesion and results in longer wear:
Sally Hansen Performance Test

Do you want longer nail bed? 
Taking care of the cuticles will help!

18 comments:

  1. Thanks for the video, Loodie. :)
    I am addicted to cuticle remover. I don't cut at all. Too scary for this little lady!

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  2. you are not awkward at all and just push bac my cuticles but maybe I should consider other options

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  3. You're pretty!! =) Great vid! Thanks for sharing. I use a cuticle remover, no need for cutting them thankfully!

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  4. This was a great video! Really informative.
    Also the little cat at 2:05 made me laugh for some inexplicable reason.

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  5. @Rachel Marie - Cuticle remover is pretty awesome. I cut though when I get nasty hang nails or serious random thickness and don't have time for Cut.Rem. I will have to show the gnarlyness sometime, lol

    @Lendoxia - Thanks, lol, i felt weird watching it.

    @AmyGrace - *runs full speed to give you a bear hug

    @ChaosButterfly - aww, thanks! That was Coco. Her fur sometimes makes it into my pictures, lol.

    @Lily nail - yeay!

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  6. I enjoyed your video,loodie. Where is Blue Cross sold? Also, you don't push your cuticles back with the wooden sticks then,huh? I don't like it 'cause it hurts. Anyway, I guess that's all I have to ask. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  7. Oh,I knew there was one more thing! I have trouble keeping the polish out my cuticles when I polish my nails,and then clean up is a b@#$%! Anyway, I watched a couple of tutorials on Youtube,and one used a small round-headed brush to clean the polish with polish remover.Well, I tried it the other day,and wound up with a nice gap between my cuticle and the polish,however, the edge of my polish turned black. I don't know if it is because the brush is black,and the dye came off on my nail. I had a really clean line,but it was trashed by the blackness. Do you have any suggestions on keeping the polish away from the cuticles or other types of clean-up methods? Sorry,such a wordy post.

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  8. Hai!!
    Okay just got home, shoved my face full of strawberries and now I'm all ready to answer your questions.

    Blue Cross cuticle remover can be found either at Sally Beauty Supply or online. Either way it's very affordable considering the amount you get for the price. Sally Hansen makes something similar. It is blue and a gel. It's a bit more expensive, but hey if that is more accessible go for it. I don't mind wooden sticks and do use them on occasion, but I showed the q-tip because its much more gentle on the area. Use which ever you are more comfortable. As long as you are removing the "true cuticle" (see my blog ... http://loodieloodieloodie.blogspot.com/2010/11/are-you-cutter.html if that is foreign) then it doesn't really matter what you use. With respect to it hurting. Be sure you are gentle whether you are using a wooden stick or q-tip. If you are new to doing anything with the cuticle are then use it will be more sensitive. You should take your time and be gentle in the beginning. It should never hurt. It may take you longer, but if you go from never pushing the cuticle are to all of a sudden jamming it, then yea it will hurt.

    No on to polishing and clean up. In general the main thing about polishing is lots and lots of practice makes perfect, but a few tricks I learned along the way are:

    1. Push back the cuticle area right before you are ready to apply polish. Not just removing the true cuticle, but actually pushing back the eponychium (the skin you shouldn't remove, see post above). This will temporarily show slightly more of the nail bed. Apply polish (see step 2). Why do this step? After the polish dries the cuticle will retract back a bit. All in all this step allows you to avoid the cuticle area while you polish, but once it dries it looks meticulous, seamless and less gappy.

    2. Start applying nail polish to the pinky of your non-dominate hand leaving the thumb unpolished. Why do this? You start polishing with your dominate hand which should feel comfortable and some confidence in the beginning, corny i know, but still.

    The actual polish technique: This will be hard to describe without pictures, but here goes ... If you divide your nail in to 3 sections horizontally, place a loaded brush 2/3 of the way down and slowly push back toward the cuticle area. Do this slow so that you can control how close you get to the cuticle. Avoid flooding them by a.) playing with the amount of polish on the brush b.) how much pressure you apply (polish to polish dependent) c.) going slow d.) practice

    3. Then apply nail polish to the dominate hand, using the non-dominate hand, also starting at the pinky. This time polish the entire hand including the dominate hand thumb

    4. Finally, polish the last finger (non-dominate thumb) with the dominate hand. Why? because you are now ending your mani with your dominate hand, again hopefully with confidence LOL :D.

    5. Let polish dry completely and push back the cuticle area again before the second coat either carefully with your thumb or with an implement avoid touching the nail surface. Follow steps 2 - 5 as necessary.

    Because I've been doing this for a REALLY long time, I can get very close to the cuticle without clean up necessary and sometimes I spaz and its very necessary LOL. Each polish has its own consistency so its really sort of an art learning how much to load on the brush for your nail length, how fast or slow to paint, how much pressure to apply with the brush, where to place the brush, etc. So practice makes perfect. If you get polish on your fingers, use a q-tip and acetone to clean up big messes. For more intricate work around the cuticles use a brush. Sounds like the brush pigment came off ewwww lol. That's too bad. I just have a few crappy makeup brushes (synthetic) that I cant find use for in makeup. It works when I need it. I hope that helps.

    Practice makes perfect. Good Luck! I promise a post will follow soon.

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  9. Great video!I'll try using a Q-tip the next time.
    BTW I adore your blog, a source of info and tips, but funny!

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  10. Thank you so much maisenzasmalto!! I like the q-tip because it's nice and gentle. You can certainly try a wooden stick as well just be careful not to be too rough.

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  11. Is cuticle remover safe when pregnant or nursing? Never used it but would love to give it a try.

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    1. It is completely topical so far as I know, yes. There are many brands so don't think you have to use this one.

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  12. Hey there, Loodie! I love your video on cuticle remover so much, I'd like to imbed it on my blog. I just wanted to ask your permission first. Is this okay with you? If not, I'll just link it so that my readers will be able to see it on your site. Thank you.

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  13. Hiii, I'm new around here and boy am I glad I found you. I need help!!!! I've been cutting back my cuticles for as long as I remember (I was lured by the idea of a longer nail bed I'm sure). Now I'm in my 30s and frankly it's catching up with me. My cuticles are dry and ragged and if I try skipping a week of cutting cuticles they look really bad. What do I do??

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