I’m starting to become alarmed at the
ridiculous and downright conning that is going on in so-called amateur video
tutorials, professional-looking web sites that claim to teach people how
to do their own nails for $49 (without creds to teach, of course !), DIY nail
product selling with dubious tools and products and all types of chicanery in
the amateur manicure and nails industry. I cannot emphasize enough that any
article, web site, video, T.V. or internet merchandizing that tells you that
you can do your own nails with the same knowledge and skill and as good as (or
better than) a licensed professional is just a scam to take your money and run.
The internet videos go on and on with
their free advice and clumsy demonstrations (on their own hands, invariably)
and impart more misinformation than I have ever read in magazine articles! The
other night I watched a video by someone who calls herself a nails enthusiast. She’d taken her
acrylics off which she claims has been professionally done for a decade. Taking
it upon herself to remove them caused obvious damage to her nails in addition
to the damage that the so-called professional did by using a drill on her- and
showed how she ‘got her nails back to health’ by rubbing garlic on the ends of
her fingers, later digging her fingers into lemons cut in half, etc. Her claims
for each one of these was about as far-fetched as any old wives’ tale remedies
and it goes on so long that I realized she took months making this long,
drawn-out video to the point that I started to think that watching paint dry
might be more interesting ! ! OY-VAY ! Not a bit of this video was in any way
professional advice nor did it show me anything to prove her point. As a matter
of fact it was sheer torture listening to and watching this enthusiast bungle around with her nails for no less than
a half hour. Let me set the record straight right now. Garlic will not
make your nails grow faster. Lemons will not whiten your nails but they
will make them extremely brittle over a period of time. Professionals use nail
white paste or pencils. French manicures are done with a temporary enamel or
gel finish.
I have been doing nails now for forty-one
years and when someone sits down at my table I educate them about why I do certain
manipulations, use products and tools a certain way and how to go about home
maintenance should it ever be necessary. The latter I mentioned is a very rare
incidence since I urge my clients to come for regular care if they want to keep
up the look I have achieved for them. I don’t know why anyone would think that
because they had their nails done by someone for years that they can ‘figure it
all out for themselves’ from now on; Perhaps even thinking that they can teach
someone else how to manicure or put on acrylic with info that is over their heads is nonsense. Once
someone goes to a professional tech- licensed or not- they would know,
beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they could not match the expertise of the work
just by messing around with their home remedies or products which can be bought
in a Consumer Beauty Supply Store. (Most professionals will not use any product
which shows up in a Consumer Beauty Supply for a good reason. Professional
Supply Houses drop any product which shows up, under license, in a Consumer
Beauty Supply, also, by the way.) I do
not recommend that anyone
ever go to a non-licensed professional nail tech. The sanitation/
cross-contamination risk is one factor but the damage from incorrect overuse of
drills is another reason I would advise potential patrons to avoid them.
Another reason is that many of these non-licensed professionals can’t do a
simple manicure on hands. They haven’t the expertise or the proper equipment.
Manicure implements are being sold on the
internet which have been banned by the State Boards or have gone out of use by
professionals because they have been phased out or proven unsafe or
ineffective. One such implement is the cuticle knife (pictured above) which is referred to in
consumer-directed ads, sometimes, as dual-ended cuticle trimmers. These
implements are not used or recommended by professionals or cosmetology schools.
I believed they were banned until I saw them all over the internet to be
purchased by consumers recently. I have seen the damage, personally, caused by
these horrific-looking implements and it takes a long time to get cuticles to
behave and look normal after someone has used them. There is no correct
way to use these implements to avoid the damage they do. The actual
blade cannot be controlled- it is a non-movable part- and is nearly impossible
to use without overcutting. Incidentally, I believe these may be a copy of a
surgical tool once used by podiatrists to remove hangnails and agnails (toes)
before they cause ingrown toenails. I saw two videos on the internet of
amateurs showing how they use these unsafe implements to trim cuticles and
loose skin and the videos looked edited.
Any cutting of loose skin around the
cuticle line or the actual cuticle is removed by a professional with a cuticle nipper. If you look close we all have
different-looking nippers which would give a consumer the wrong impression.
There are two features however which are invariable and make our training a bit
easier. These are the two blades that meet and curved handles which fit the hand for complete control. I have watched consumers use these implements which can be bought in
any drugstore. A professional could use these, technically, and would probably
do a superior job. Consumers use nippers like they are plucking their eyebrows
! A huge no-no. This only causes a worse problem than they started out with and
the damage is painful to watch. If you care about your health at all don’t use
these implements unless you can get a nail tech or professional to show you how
to use it correctly.
Curved end toenail clippers have made a
comeback in mail order and I can tell you what’s wrong with them if you’ll hear
me out. Toenails should only be cut straight across in order to prevent ingrown
toenails. If you cut the side of the nail with a curved blade you will most
certainly get ingrown toenails. It happened to me when I was very young and it
took a podiatrist doing the almost unthinkable in order to straighten the
problem out. Only soaking the nails in sanitized, soapy warm water to soften
the nails will prevent reoccurrences. Therefore you would never want to use a
curved blade on your toenails- only a straight, flat blade. The ads are made to
appear as if it’s easier to use these implements but the damage you’ll inevitably
do with them will be difficult and time-consuming to correct by a doctor or
professional.
Two ads for fungus cures showed up in
coupon inserts, recently, in my newspaper so no matter where you live in the states
you’ll see these ads. It looks like the manufacturers finally did their
homework but the consumer should read everything well. Fungicure claims to kill
6 types of fungus but doesn’t say what these types are or how to detect them. I
suppose some information is on the inside of the package but if you want to
save yourself some money my advice is to get in contact with the company at www.fungicure.com and ask them every
question you can think of and find out how the product works. Lamisil cream was
directly opposite that ad and I know personally that it’s highly effective on
athlete’s foot only. The way the ad looks, one may be having diabetic pains and
think they have fungus! In very fine print the ad tells you that their triple
action formula is for treating athlete’s foot where it’s the most difficult to
get rid of- between the toes! A longstanding client of mine had a case that
wouldn’t go away and she periodically showed me the progress of its use over a
period of time and we were both pleased with the outcome. Both of these
products must be used exactly as directed and no other way.
Some people believe that they should only
go to a podiatrist with all their foot needs but I know for a fact that many
podiatrists send people to professional pedicurists to get normal foot care.
They don’t bother with such- beyond showing people how they should cut their
toenails. The first reason is that they don’t have time to sit and do an actual
pedicure on patients. Even they concede that the patient is better off going to
a professionally licensed pedicurist than relying on them for such a
time-consuming task. Many of their patients have serious problems and they
prefer to work at what they were educated to do.
One more thing... would you let anyone hook this thing up to your big toe? Didn't think so. OY OY OY ! It looks like some sort of torture device. NOT !
