BathroomHogs
Two Sisters, One Bathroom
Wednesday is Nail Day: Keep ‘Em Clean
Oct 21st
Advice about nails in this flu season, keep them short. Long nails are a bredding ground for germs to fester. Especially kids nails need to be groomed and and I’d advise a nail brush for the sticky goo that lives under the nailbed hatchery. Just smolder those goobers by good nail cliping habits a couple times a week. And, if all this talk of possible parasite housing doesn’t freak you out you’re braver than I.
Wednesday is Nails Day: The Chicken Toe
Oct 21st
On my left pinky toe is a very wee nail. It is not smooth or long, and it grows roughly and upwards from the base. My mom calls it a chicken toe. I spent a bit of time actually Googling chicken toe this afternoon, but it seems like my family is the only one in the world that doesn’t take this phrase at the literal meaning.
Taking care of a chicken toe is important, otherwise it will snag on everything in sight as well as scratch anyone who dares to lay in a bed with you. The nail is sharp and scratchy and prone to scaling. It’s like a tiny raptor claw in a way. The best possible way for me to care for my chicken toe is:
While in the shower I always use a pumice stone on my entire foot. All around the toes included. When I get out of the shower/bath and before the foot is entirely dry, I’ll push back the cuticles and clean out the foot, push under and all around my toe nails with the “knife” part of the clippers. When I’m due for new polish I remove the old, lightly go over each nail with a medium texture professional file to get rid of any ridges (especially the pinky toe). I don’t press hard, just lightly and I might not do it each time, just depends if they need it. Then I’ll buff the nail bed with a buffer (light textured). This smooths any scratches left from the file. I rinse my foot, dry and apply my polish. In order for my toes to look good, I’ll make sure there is no dead skin around the nail EVERY single time I shower.
The most major thing though is the buffer. Buff, buff, buff! The shine and smoothness help me forget all about the weird little thing staring back up at me.
Wednesday is Nail Day: Acrylics
Oct 14th
Have you ever worn acrylic nails ? I have, a friend put them on for a prom. There’s a lot of danger in that sentence, but sticking to nails, no pun intended……they broke off on my steering wheel on the way home, go figure.
All this to say I don’t wear them. Yes I also had them applied by a professional, but my nails grow so quickly. Too fast that I’d need a fill in everyweek, being a full time Momma I don’t have the liesure time, nor cash. I often wonder about the health of the nailbed for those who wear fake nails day in and day out. Maybe when I’m an old greyhair, I’ll be tempted to wear them, but until then I’m natural.
Wednesday is Nails Day: Nail Biters Unite
Oct 7th
I am currently a nail biter. It seems I’ve always been a nail biter, since I can remember my mom trying to get me to stop by applying some type of icky tasting stuff to my nails. It didn’t work, obviously. Instead my need to comfort myself with doing this ritual triumphed over whatever the taste may have been.
There was a time of about two years though, when I was able to stop the nail biting. It took a lot of work and patience, and a touch of bribery. The bribe was that if I stopped biting my nails, I would be treated to a weekly manicure at my local Cincinnati salon, Mitchell’s. How could I turn down an opportunity like that? And so it went, me consciously noticing me putting my fingers in my mouth to gnaw aimlessly and then putting them back down, knowing I would get something nice out of it. There were times when after I noticed the fingers to mouth habit happening, I would grab the closest bottle of polish and immediately coat my nails. I couldn’t chew them if they were wet, and who wants polish all over their teeth?
In time though, I went back to the habit. It was an old familiar coping mechanism, and I was under a huge amount of stress. Instead of drinking or doing drugs, it was a much healthier way to deal with losing a home and becoming a single mom.
A few years ago I decided to grow my nails back again, but realized that I rely on the tips of my fingers for detailed work with my hands, especially knitting. Typing and knitting go much faster for me when I can rely on my touch senses, and there’s no chance of a nail inadvertently hitting the wrong button or snagging on delicate yarn.
For now, I still enjoy all of the fun nail colors, but I keep my nails at a length that allows me to feel productive. I might decide later on to grow them, and when I do, I’ll invite all of you fellow nail biters to join the challenge with me.
Wednesday is Nails Day: Stronger Nails
Oct 7th
Need stronger nails ? Challenge yourself from the inside out, because I believe it’s all in the collagen. Sometimes what we eat effects our appearance. (Remember? You are what you eat?). This is a fine example.
I attempt to keep my family’s nails’ strong with Weston A Price broth. I add this to everything: rice water, spaghetti sauce, and any soups or stews I can crank out.
Then we pay close attention to our cuticles. You will often find me smearing cuticle remover by Revlon, even on my boys’ nails. This keeps the cuticles soft from all the oils. Then the boys are less tempted to pick at the splits, because they’re less noticeable.
Next week, I’m going to talk about my least favorite inheritance-ingrown toenails, and how to successfully cope with them