My nail care story (including how I totally saved my cuticles)

Over the course of the past few months, I've received emails and comments asking me to do a post on nail care. I've even had some readers ask how to grow your nails, because mine apparently look strong and healthy in my swatch pics.

So I'd like to set the record straight on a few things, people. First, looks can be deceptive! Truth be told, my nails are neither long, nor healthy. In fact, they're pretty darn thin and weak. They peel, they chip, they break and my cuticles are a total mess. Just about the ONLY thing I do is file them on a regular basis. I've been asked to do a tutorial on how I get the squared-off shape that I have, but honestly, I wouldn't even know how to describe it. I just use a regular 99-cent file that I get from Sally Beauty, and I file the sides and the tips of my nails until I'm satisfied with the shape. Oh, and I occasionally buff my nails (to remove ridges) with a regular ol' buffer (the one I'm using right now is from Revlon and I got it at my local 99-cent Only Store. It's just one of those 4-sided buffers that you can get anywhere).

So now that that's out of the way, I can tell you my key to getting my nails to "appear" healthy. For me, the best (and only) way to avoid breakage, peeling, splitting, and generally nasty-looking nails, it to keep them polished 90% of the time. Yep, that's the magic word. POLISH. Over the years, I've discovered that if my nails are freshly manicured, they're far less suseptible to breaking, splitting and peeling. Even though my nails are not strong, they don't seem to break nearly as often when I have pretty polish on them. I try to give myself a mani every few days, and once or twice a month I let my nails "breathe" and go without polish for a few days. So there you go--THAT'S my big, mysterious nail care secret. Ha!

I've said it before but it's worth repeating: my holy grail base coat is Orly Bonder Rubberized Base Coat. You can get it at CVS, Rite Aid, and wherever else Orly is sold. It's pricey at $7.99 a bottle, but it's worth every drop. I've tried so many base coats over the years, but for me, Orly Bonder is the only base coat that truly extends the life of my mani by several days. I recently caved in and bought CND Sticky base coat, and now I'm kicking myself for wanting to "cheat" on Orly Bonder, because my mani didn't even last a full 24 hours with Sticky.

And now, I'd like to tell you about how I TOTALLY saved my dry, disgusting cuticles, but first a few words about you, my lovely readers.

I swear to you, I have the BEST readers of all time. I'm not just trying to suck up to you so that you'll love me, I promise! (Plus, none of you would be so gullible as to love me just because I showered you with praise, right? lol!) I really, truly mean it when I say you are THE BEST. I have learned so many tips and tricks from you gals (and guys) that I just can't even think of a way to repay you!

And speaking of tips, I received an amazing one a few weeks ago when my wonderful reader, Rebecca, told me about a tip that her manicurist gave her, and now I want to pass it along to you. If you have dry, icky cuticles, you might want to try rubbing a little Mentholatum on them! If the actual brand name Mentholatum is hard for you to find in your area (I couldn't locate it my CVS), you can try a substitute like Vicks VapoRub, or do as I did and buy the CVS generic version of Vicks:

CVS Medicated Chest Rub (retail: $6.79, 3.53 oz)

Mentholatum is the product that Rebecca and her manicurist use, so it's probably the best way to go, but the CVS generic version contains camphor and menthol (just like Mentholatum) plus some eucalyptus oil (those are the only three ingredients!) which doesn't seem to hurt.

Now let me warn you, the scent of this stuff is STRONG. If you're not ready for it, it can blow you away. But once you're used to it, it actually doesn't stick around for long since you're just applying it to your cuticles. Once a night, or once every other night, I've been applying just the tiniest amount to my cuticles and I really rub it in while I'm watching TV. After the first time I used it, I was amazed to see that my cuticles looked PERFECT the next morning (not dry and white and icky like they usually do).

Believe me, I've tried zillions of different cuticle creams over the years and, for me, no matter how much I used, my cuticles seemed to go right back to their ugly dry-looking state the next day. This CVS Chest Rub has been the only thing to give me long-term improvement that really seems to last. My cuticles have seriously never looked better!

As with anything you buy at the drugstore, use this at your own risk. I'm not responsible if you have an allergic reaction, etc., and definitely be sure to follow the directions on the jar. You can't use this product on wounds or open skin (so don't use it if you've got hangnails or anything like that), you can't warm or heat this product, and you DEFINITELY do not want to be touching your eyes or mouth after you've used it. Ouch!

I'm just sharing MY experience with you, and if you use it sparingly on just your cuticles, you might just see fantastic results like I've been seeing these past few weeks. I'm truly amazed!

That's it for my nail care story--please feel free to share your own tips and tricks in the comments. I'd love to hear them!