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Toenail Care
Have you looked down lately at your toenails and thought that maybe it is time to start pampering them again?
When talking toenails, we are talking beauty from the bottom up. From painting seasonal pictures on toenails, foot essentials, nail polishing tips, to ingrown toenails is what this page is about.
Beautiful toenails make us feel good no matter what our age. Just last week I gave my sweet mother a pedicure and painted her toenails a soft pink (her favorite color). She’s 74 years young and the sweetest person I know. The next day she told me: “I love looking down at my toes now.” With her in mind, I've written this article of tips for beautiful toenails.
Happy painting and pampering!
Creative Painted Toenails
Popping toenails: To make your toenails pop, match the color of your toe nail polish to the color of your open-toe shoes or sandals.
The illusion: Elongate your legs by wearing a sleek beige multi-strap high heel with beige or nude nail polish.
Reverse French Manicure: Paint your toenails white and the tips with black OPI B59 NAIL POLISH - MY PRIVATE JET or the nails black and the tips white. This look is crisp and stylish with a little black dress or black slacks paired with a white shirt.
French Manucure: Use Barielle Natural French Manicure Kit 3 Bottles 1.50 oz . for a sophisticated french manicure that can be worn with both casual and formal attire. The kit includes nail tip guides, one white and one pink bottle of nail polish, plus a bottle of clear top coat.
Love You Toenails for Valentines Day: Paint toenails white, and then paint a small red heart in the center of your large toenails.
Going Christmas: Paint a small tree on one or both of your large toenails against a black background. Put tiny dots of different nail polish colors for ornaments. Top with a silver star.
Celebrating the 4th of July: Paint red, white and blue stripes on your toenails and steaks of different colors to represent a fireworks explosion.
Tools needed for the amature:
- Red nail polish
- White nail polish
- Navy Blue nail polish
- Two strips of tape.
- Clear top coat polish.
- Nail Buffer.
Step-by-Step for 4th of July
- Buff nails with Trim Natural Buffing Systems
- Apply one layer of base coat.
- Lay one strip of tape 1/3 of the way in on the large toe. Paint the narrowest section Navy Blue, allow it to dry, and then apply a second coat. Remove tape carefully.
- Lay a second strip of tape 2/3 of the way in on the toenail. Paint this section white. Allow nail polish to dry and apply a second coat. Remove tape carefully.
- Paint the third stripe twice using bright red nail polish. Allow nail polish to dry.
- After nails are completely dry, cover with a clear topcoat.
- If you are feeling creative, paint an explosive firework over the stripes.
Happy Spring! Bring in spring with a painted daisy on your toes. Paint nails green, (also good for St. Patrick’s Day), paint on a few white petals and dot the center with tiny yellow dots or place a rhinestone in the center. .
Musical Notes: If you are into music, paint a simple musical note on your large toe using a very fine tipped brush.
Smiley Face Toe Nails: If you are into smiley faces, paint a few on your toenails.
Add some Bling to a French Manicure: Dot along the separating color line with tiny rhinestones. This looks very feminine when tiny rhinestones are used. If larger rhinestones are used, only line the large toe of each foot. This technique is also beautiful against a frosted pink colored toenail.
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend:
Add “diamonds” (rhinestones) to your painted toenails.
- When your favorite nail polish dries, add a drop of clear polish to the bottom of a rhinestone, and then affix it to the nail. (To pickup and place rhinestones on the toe, use the dampend end of an orange stick to grab and place the stones; use tweezers for larger stones.)
- Allow the polish on the rhinestone to dry.
- Apply a few coats of clear top coat polish over the entire nail, including the rhinestone, to seal the rhinestones in place.
Wedding Toenails: 4 – 8 weeks before your wedding, enjoy a weekly pedicure and foot bath at your favorite spa to soften your feet and get those toe cuticles in shape. Beautiful toes start with beautiful skin.
Delicate Wedding Toenails: If wearing a white dress, ask your manicurist to paint a delicate white pattern on your nails.
Two or three small pearls affixed to the large toenails and one tiny pearl per toe can be beautiful if not overdone, and are weddinglicious with open toe shoes or sandals.
Avoid wearing pearls on your toenails if wearing closed-toe shoes, as this could be very uncomfortable.
If you have a flower child in your wedding, consider having her nails painted to match yours. It could be your little special secret and all little girls love secrets.
Instant Nail Polish: If you find it difficult to brush on nail polish, instant nail polish may be your answer.
This “polish” comes in strips shaped like nails and is laid across the nail for instant color. No more need to wait until the polish is dry.
I find it wears and chips like regular nail polish and it is relatively easy to apply.
The French Manicure style is a popular choice.
Bizzarre toenails for when you are bored: Create extra long nails (with polymer clay) and tape them over your existing toenails with double sided tape. Use your imagination…try curly nails; 3 inch long nails… you get the idea.
Artificial Toenails: If your nails are not what you want them to look like, try wearing artificial toenails. It’s a quick and easy way to beautify your feet for open toe shoes and sandals.
Toenail and Foot Essentials:
- Toenail clippers. These clippers are larger than fingernail clippers and allow the nail to be cut straight across without the curve of regular fingernail clippers.
- Nail Nippers: Use to cut large or thick toenails that are difficult to cut with regular toenail clippers.
- Nail File for Ingrown Toenails: A narrow toenail file designed specifically for hard to reach ingrown toenails.
- Nail Lifter for Ingrown Toenails.
- Nail Buffer and Shiner: Buffs and polishes nails.
- Cuticle Pusher: Push cuticles down where they belong. An absolute must have for beautiful toenails.
- Nail File or Emery Boards are used to file jagged tips of nails.
- Foot lotion or cream: Specially designed for feet. Not as greasy as some hand or body lotions.
- Foot exfoliator: Removes dead skin, much in the same way a facial exfoliator works.
- Foot Rasp: Scraps dead skin off feet.
- Nail Scissors: Used for cutting excess cuticle from the base of the nail bed and trimming hangnails. Use after cuticle has been pushed down with orange stick.
- Toe Separator: A must have for separating the toes for nail polishing.
A word about nail polish:
- Older polish takes longer to dry than new polish.
- Apply thin coats of polish instead of thick coats for longer lasting nail polish.
- Don't shake your nail polish, instead rub it between your hands. This prevents air bubbles from forming.
Ingrown Toenails: Ingrown toenails develop when the nail grows into the corner or side of the toenail and into the soft flesh of that toe. If you are troubled by ingrown toenails, you could be cutting your nails too short. Try cutting the nail long enough so that the nail cannot move into the skin as it grows. Shoes that are too tight or fit poorly around the toe area can push the nail into the skin. Try wearing a larger and/or wider shoe. If you are still troubled by ingrown toenails, talk to your doctor about this sometimes painful condition. It is possible your ingrown toenail could be caused by a fungal infection or injury to the nail.
If you have diabetes keep your toenail trimmed properly so they do not cut into the skin of the toes. Infection can quickly and easily set in which can result in gangrene, surgery, a toe or foot amputation.
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