Here is a pic of some of my good and bad nail days in 2012

 

These are my pics of my natural nails from winter 2012.  From my recent posts, I have decided to keep my nails trimmed lower in order to keep them strong and manage household duties.

The Benefits of Medium Length Nails

I have found that medium length natural nails are more beneficial than longer nails.  Keeping my nails trimmed to a medium has helped keep my natural nails stronger, less intrusive, yet still attractive, and better able to manage. If one nail breaks, it doesn't make them look so awkward when your nails are trimmed.  Also you don't have the conscious need to get your nails all the same long length. 

So this is just a random nail blog bite that I wanted to post.  Basically, that having long nails is sometimes more work than its worth and that just having short or medium length nails that are filed and manicured can be just as attractive as having long natural fingernails. They are just better for housework, artwork, grocery shopping and just easier to maneuver with the basic duties of everyday life.  I mean for those of us that don't have chefs and home assistants to help with daily duties.

I was just so intrigued and set on having long nails, but depending on what's going on at any particular time of your life, long nails are just not very conducive.

So yes to short to medium natural fingernails!  If you can maintain long natural fingernails, that is awesome too.  But the reality is that they can get in the way and are hard to maintain. 

Blessings and Peace

Proof that temporary fake nails can slow down your natural nail growing process.

These are some old pics of my nails after taking off some fake nails that I had left on for about a month or so.  This shows that even for four weeks, your natural nails can suffer from not enough oxygen or sunlight from being covered with fake nail tips.  They were very thin and brittle after taking off the fake nails. And I didn't even use any acrylic which also has the same affect.

Can you see how thin they look especially on the top photo. 

Some old pics of my natural nails that I found. Feb 19, 2014

Okay...all is well now.  I found some pics that I can post.  This is a nail manicure that I did with some sparkly glitter clear polish.  I liked this polish, but this manicure was about a week old.  These pics are Feb 19, 2014.  So yesss they are some older pics that I found.  Still waiting for my current nails to blossom.

            Patience with growing nails

 

 

 

 

 

One needs to have patience when trying to grow their nails naturally.  I know there is a tendency to want to have nails now, so you will go out and purchase false nail tips.  The problem with false nail tips, from my experience, is that your regular nails do not get the oxygen and sunlight they need and will tend to become thin and fragile under the false tips.  Especially after two or three months.

 

 

I tried false nail tips and they were not that reliable anyway and would fall off and break, so it was just as well to just work with your own natural nails.  One needs to have patience with their natural nails.  If your nails tend to be ragged then you need to trim them and keep them filed. Your natural nails need to be maintained at least once a week.  You will need to spend at least 30 minutes with a home manicure which consists of taking off old polish, cuticle conditioning, a good soaking for yellow nails, filing, moisturizing and oil, and then a new coat of polish if desired.

You can do your nail manicure treatment at home with just some patience and a few nail supplies from your local drugstore. It will just take a little TLC.

 



 

 



 

DEALING WITH SHORT FINGERNAILS

D e A L i n G  w I t H  s H o R t  N a I L s

 

 



 

There is nothing wrong with having short nails.  And as a matter of fact, I am thinking of just having shorter nails with squared edges.  This is convenient for the winter where longer nails tend to become weaker and susceptible to breakage. 

 

In the cold season, it is best to just file your nails down to a manageable length, that is still presentable and acceptable to your liking.  Short nails can still look classy and fresh.  I like the French manicure on short nails with its fresh, classy white streak.  This is a fresh polished look that is good for anytime, good for dates, a night out with the girls or whatever occasion that comes up.  It is low maintenance and easy to take off and refresh if you need to. 

 

I don't wear lots of color polish like I did in my younger years, but this is one of the fresh manicures that I like to do. 

 

Short nails are a lot easier to maintain and they are also a lot stronger and fortified.  You don't really need to put on any nail fortifiers because your nails are at their strongest when they are short and just growing from the lunula which is the whitish crescent shaped root of the bed of the nail.  All you really need is oils and a hand moisturizer. 

 

Short nails that are just starting to hover over the tips of the fingers are an ideal length that is both desirable and presentable in nail world standards.  I am all about natural nails, natural hair and anything healthy.

 

A nice blog that I recently visited is call " www.naileditnz.com, "  This blog is ideal because she shows her nails from a shorter perspective that is both shaped nicely and she does some pretty awesome nail polishes too.  Some other nice nail sites that I love is www.Love4nails.com, and www.brazilnaturalnails.net.  These are all very decent natural nail vlogs and blogs that I enjoy and they do an awesome job of presenting and showing how to polish and take care of your natural nails. 

 

So no matter the length of your nails, as long as you keep your nails trimmed, free from hangnails, chips, and breaks, your nails can be beautiful and presentable short or long. 

 

So if you are a long nail diva, don't fret, just put on a shiny top coat and/or maybe a couple of coats of white French polish for a nice French manicure and you will be good through the winter and during any short nail OMG periods.



Still Loving Fingernails

I have not posted any new nail pics yet since my camera is broken, but I will still talk about fingernails and tips to growing long nails.  While my nails are growing, I will use my blog to talk about my others interests, so I hope that does not annoy anyone. 

I am still figuring out this blogging thing, but it looks very fun, challenging, and explorative.  There is so much you can do and share.  So stay with me and keep checking back for new and exciting things about nails, art, and whatever else comes to mind.  BRB in a bit.

nAiL StUff

NAIL STUFF

 

 

Just for the fun of it. My camera is broken, so I have not been able to upload any current nail photos.

 

 

So anyways, my nails have all broken off from the cold, the car, and from who knows what else.  I still take care of them, but I have been pretty rough with them from shopping and not being careful.  So I will just redirect my attention to other stuff for now while they are growing back.  I'm actually considering keeping them short since they are a lot easier to manage and less prone to breakage.
 

In the meantime, I am considering putting other things on my blog that I have interests in.  I have started a new venture into the mixed media art.  I HAVE JUST FALLEN  in love with this art style it is absolutely awesome!  I love the different textures, the bright vivid colors, the pictures and all the things you can do that attracts and expands the eye.  So stay with me.  I'm still knew to this whole blogging thing.  So I'm still trying to figure some stuff out.  But, I will definitely show my art  projects that I have completed so far. I'll have to wait though, until I get my camera working. 

 

So some other things on my mind that I want to blog about are knitting, crocheting, and my new photo transferring techniques that I have learned through YouTube.  I am so excited to share these things and will soon upload some of my newly created projected.  I have lots of other interests including the ones just mentioned above and I would love to share those with others as others have shared their interests and creative talents also.   

 

I will also just use my blog to chat and converse about everyday matters or whatever else comes to mind.  I will call this Nessa's favorite things and stuff.  I will try to blog more as time permits so be patient. 

 



KEEPING YOUR HANDS AND NAILS LOOKING YOUNG AND FRESH

                                         KEEPING YOUR NAILS LOOKING YOUNG AND FRESH

Keeping your hands and nails fresh can be a challenge when you are busy shopping, cleaning, and taking care of everyday duties.  The best advice is to keep hand cream and lotions nearby after coming into contact with water and from coming inside from a cold wintry day. 

Some tips for chafe hands include:

1. Using raw shea butter helps tremendously for irritated and very dry skin. You can order this online or get raw shea butter at your local organic or whole foods store. 
2. A homemade concoction of avocado, honey, and sugar is a great personal mix to put on your hands to rid of chafe and very distressed skin.
3. Soak your hands in a mix of olive oil, water, and lemon juice for freshening and moisturizing your fingernails and hands.  The lemon juice helps with yellowing nails, while the olive oil helps with sealing the moisture in your skin.

These helpful hints are proven methods for curing dry, chafe, and irritated skin.  This can happen from not protecting your hands during cleaning or from harsh, cold winter weather and not wearing gloves or mittens outside, or a combination of both.  But after all that, there is still hope for cracked, wrinkled, or patchy skin.  Also, it doesn't matter whether you are young or old, we all can fashion the best healthy skin we can have with a little help from some simple products that don't cost an arm and a leg.  So be young and healthy at any age, and don't let dry skin get you down.