You know here at CANDY COAT we are completely and utterly obsessed with all things nails, nail art and giving you the best products for nail care whether you’re a d.i.yer or a salon-goer. However, there’s a saying that you can sometimes have too much of a good thing. Unfortunately that can also go for your weekly manicure addiction.
We get it. Manicures are the perfect way to help us boost our confidence and feel like we have all of our sh*t-together. It’s a fabulous way to carve out some uninterrupted ‘me time’ and fully relax (have you ever tried to multitask when curing? Not advisable!). Manicures are also often something that is continuously applied, removed and then reapplied with and with the average time it takes your natural nail to grow out completely from cuticle to tip taking up to six months(!) That's a LOT of back to back manicures.
What does this mean in practice? Both the gel polish itself and the overall manicure process can begin to take their toll on your natural nails. Here are some of the most common signs that it's time to take a break (and what to do in the meantime) to allow your nails to breathe, repair and grow. Hard as it might be, you’ll thank us in the long run…
#1 You’ve got thin, flimsy nails.
The uncomfortable truth is that regular manicures, no matter how great they are, can dehydrate your nails and begin to thin the delicate nail bed. If you’re thinking your nails suddenly seem thinner and more bendy than usual, that’s a sure fire sign to take a step back. Consider this advice turbo-charged if you’re guilty of peeling the gel polish off directly from your nail and not removing it properly. Not only can this be painful, but it will strip the nails of their protective barrier and cause them to become flimsy. YIKES.
#2 The colour of your nails is a little…funky.
If you’re wearing dark or deeply pigmented polishes you run the risk of staining your natural nail underneath, however, even when you use a base coat, back to back polish use in general your nail may start to turn a bit yellow over time. Not what we want. Luckily you can reach for the CANDY COAT Colour Correct, a sweet scented advanced gel formulation, specifically developed to conceal and correct discoloured nails!
#3 Your nails have little white smudges.
Sounds bizarre but if you’re noticing white smudges on your natural nails, this *could* be a condition called keratin granulation. The good news is it’s harmless (phew) but it often occurs if your nails are severely dehydrated and suffering from a build of chemicals found in all nail polish. It can also occur as a result of using acetone nail polish remover, as the superficial layers of your nail cells can accidentally get removed too. To help kick this condition into touch, be sure to keep your nails moisturised at all times (catch up with how amazing cuticle oil is for your nails, here).
What to use to help speed up recovery time?!
We’re so glad you asked. We know how desperately you want to express yourselves and the idea of having bare nails is just *shudder*-worthy so we decided to create a product JUST for you. You asked. We listened! Introducing the CANDY COAT Rapid Relief - an oh-so-sweet scented, super advanced formula developed to revive and repair damaged nails specifically to get them back on the manicure train - FAST. How to apply this magical treatment? Prep your nails as you would for your usual manicure, apply two thin coats of Rapid Repair making sure to cure for 60 seconds between each one. Simply then lock in that repairing goodness with a coat of top coat and finish with a final cure for 60 seconds along with a dash of cuticle oil and you’re done. You’ll need to repeat this fortnightly until your nails have recovered.
Have these tips helped you? How long do you normally have a break from gel polish for? We want to hear from you.
Until next time, stay sweet!
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