4 Ways to Resuscitate a Dead Mani.
I don't know about you, but my manis take an aggressive beating during the summer months.
A. Pool water and sandy beaches are tough habitats for even the strongest top coat, B. skin is drier than ever, even if you're religiously slathering on just as much La Mer as that oil-free SPF of yours, and C. the last thing you probably want to do is sit for an hour in a toxic nail salon.
Maybe I'm just speaking for myself per usu., but my nails look like total sh*t from June to the day before Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in September.
This summer I decided to forego the excessive summer manicures and go au naturale. After all, there wasn't anyone to impress that was more critical than myself. And you know what? It not only saved me hundreds...and I mean hundreds of dollars in cold hard cash, but it also saved me an ungodly amount of precious time and put a few extra hot minutes on the lifespan of my lungs to boot thanks to acetone not rearing her deadly ugly fumes. Win to the win.
But, before you decide to throw your cuticles into the wind and never get a mani again, take a second to read these few tricks I've laid out below to keeping your nail beds tidy, clean, and moisturized.
Think of going au naturale as going glamping with a hot man, a rustic cabin, and a bottle of red - not as going camping, camping. Although that's cool, theres a time and there's a place. The tips of your fingers are not the place.
Whether you're going sans any polish or you need to simply polish up your fingernail flatliner, here are...
4 Ways to Resuscitate a Dead Mani:
1. Moisturize with coconut. Your body thanks you the second your lips meet a refreshing coconut water post Bikram, well don't you think your exterior skin may benefit too? You bet. Make an easy moisturizing concoction by mixing together one half cup coconut oil, one tablespoon raw honey, and one half tablespoon vanilla extract. Rub all over your hands and sit pretty for a good 10 minutes, plus. Rinse off once your stir craziness has reached it's peak.
2. Keep out the coconut oil and the raw honey because this time we're throwing together a scrub. Stir together one tablespoon coconut oil and two tablespoons raw honey. In a separate bowl, add in one quarter cup sea salt, one quarter cup organic sugar, and one tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Before you add in some tequila and blend yourself up a margarita, pour the dry mixture over the honey mixture and stir until smooth. Use this scrub to exfoliate your hands and rise with warm water.
3. Here's the kicker, want to know how to naturally buff your nails minus the tools and the ear piercing sounds? Pour a couple drops of olive oil onto a soft cloth and buff away! Rinse off the olive oil and not only will you have given yourself a great cuticle oil application, but you'll have super buffed out nails. I just found this trick out and am obsessed. Your welcome.
4. Yellow nails are just about as nasty as yellow snaggle teeth. Not a hot trend to rock. Whether you have leftover stains from Chanel's 'Vamp' or O.P.I.'s famous 'Lincoln Park After Dark' (which was more famous than the band, for the record), or you're just looking to brighten up your nail beds, mix one tablespoon hydrogen peroxide with two and a half tablespoons of baking soda as if you were treating a bee sting. Make a paste. Using a cotton swab or q-tip, push a small amount of this paste underneath your fingernail tips and on top of every nail as well. Leave this paste on for a good three minutes and rinse with warm water.
