Kirstie Alley's Nails

My sculpted acrylic nails have appeared in a number of TV shows throughout the years: Townies, Party of Five, CSI, Cold Cases and The Oprah Show. While it is fun to know this, I have never been one to be 'star struck' or on the look out for celebrities.

But...

I became so excited when someone showed me the newest issue of People Magazine. Kirstie Alley is on the front cover!

That meant that my nails were on the front cover of People Magazine!!! I opened the magazine and found Kirstie's article and while reading the interview I confess that a huge bubble of excitement wanted to burst inside as I noticed Kirstie's hands and that my nails were visible! The color, by the way, is OPI's Pompeii Purple. And it is her favorite.

I was finally able to sit down and watch my recording of The Oprah Show with Kirstie Alley. (She is wearing OPI's Alpine Snow on her nails.)

She mentions the paparazzi and how the other side is not shown. There have been a number of times when Kirstie has come to Krimson Hair Studio for her nail appointment and the paparazzi were outside waiting. The first time I was completely unaware of them taking pictures as she left. I cannot tell you how violated I felt when I found out after they had been posted on the Internet. And they weren't even taking pictures of me!!! So now I always go outside and take a little walk around the salon before she leaves.

I started doing Kirstie's nails about 1 ½ years ago. I had always wanted to meet her, thinking that she would be a truly nice person. And I was right. She is fun, interesting, caring and real. She is amazing!

More on Cuticles

I wanted to add a few little tips for handling cuticles that you can do everyday.

• When doing the dishes - put some lotion on and wear rubber gloves. The Playtex Living gloves are cotton lined. With your hands in the hot water doing the dishes the lotion is also heated up and you have an instant 'hot oil' treatment.

• After a shower or bath - gently push the cuticles back with your towel. Since the cuticles are softened from the shower they will push back easily.

• When putting on lotion - make sure to slather it on the cuticles and let it soak in.

Just remember...don't cut the cuticle off and treat them gently.

Do Not Cut The Cuticle Off

Taking care of the cuticle is something I have learned by experience.

The rules are:

• Do not cut the cuticles off.
• Only trim the part of the cuticle that is sticking up or frayed.
  

I grew up a nail biter. My parents offered everything but the moon to get me to quit biting my nails. That said...I did quit biting my nails. But not because of any bribe my parents offered.

I began manicuring my own nails every week. I got out my little nail kit and would cut my cuticles off, then file and buff my nails. I didn't bite my nails but I did continue to bite my cuticles. A bad habit that is so hard to break.

A few years down the line I found a way to polish my nails that would last a week. With polish on my nails I stopped biting my cuticles. I didn't want to mess up my polish job after spending hours making it perfect!

My cuticles were still ragged! I bought that neat Revlon cuticle trimmer. Big, big mistake. My cuticles were still ragged. Hang nails were a continual problem. Until manicuring school.

Beauty school is a challenge in that you have to find something to do to fill all that time! I got a manicure everyday! That meant my cuticles were gently pushed back and only the hang nails trimmed. By the end of school I no longer had a cuticle problem.

Your skin (cuticle included) is made up of many layers of skin cells. There is no way that you can cut off a layer evenly. When you trim your cuticles off you can bet that you have trimmed the layers unevenly. So when the skin grows back it grows back uneven. Cutting the cuticles off in an attempt to smooth them only makes the matter worse. Thus you have ragged cuticles.

Make sure that you apply lotion to keep the cuticles moist and gently push them back before trimming. This done frequently is the recipe for beautiful cuticles.

Anatomy of the Finger Nail

So here is your first lesson on the finger nail, covering the name of the different parts of the nail. It also applies to toe nails.



Your nails are made up of several layers of a protein called keratin, also found in your hair and skin. The parts of the nail are as follows:

• The nail plate is that part of your nail that you see. It is the hard portion of the nail.

• The nail bed is the 'pink' part on the nail. It is the connective tissue beneath the nail plate holding the nail to the finger. When the nail grows it glides over the nail bed.

• The cuticle is the skin that overlaps your nail plate at the base of your nail. It protects the new keratin cells that are forming the nail and growing out from the matrix. This is one reason why you do not cut off the cuticle!

• The matrix is located under your cuticle and skin at the base of the nail. This is the root of the nail. The matrix produces the keratin cells that make up the nail and as the new nail grows, the older nail cells become hard and push out toward your fingertips creating the nail plate. Damage to the matrix can cause permanent damage to the appearance of the nail.
  

• The lunula is that whitish, half-moon shape that you see at the base of your nail. The lunula is actually the front end of the matrix and lies beneath the nail. The lunula is usually most visible on the thumb and some people do not have visible lunulae.

• The free edge is pretty self-explanatory. This is the part of the nail that extends beyond the finger and is not connected to the finger.

Proper and regular care of your nails is essential if you want them to look healthy and nice. Check back for the next installment covering just what is proper care.

A Nail Technician's Knowledge

My purpose in creating this blog is to provide my experience and observations in the manicuring business to the public. My clients have benefited for years and now it is time to spread this information.

I have searched the Internet and have found some misinformation, misconceptions, and valid information regarding manicures, pedicures, acrylic nails, sculptured nails, and artificial nails. I would like to attempt to clarify the information and present it to you.

I welcome questions and will attempt to answer them or redirect you to the appropriate website or specialist. I am not a doctor and do not attempt to diagnose problems that you may have or encountered. Instead I will direct you to a doctor if it is beyond my scope of help.

The first thing that I will start with is going over the parts of the nail and the products used by a nail technician. In this way my blogs will make more sense when I use terms that I am used to but you may not.