FAQ - Hands

While prepping your nails to care for your cuticles before filing, do you soak them? This could be the culprit. Soaking your nails causes them to expand when they are wet and shrink as they dry causing nails to peel, split and break when you file them. Instead try applying a cuticle cream or oil to cuticles to soften them while maintaining your nail strength. If this does not apply to you, perhaps you have an allergy to formaldehyde, an ingredient in nail hardeners and some nail polishes.

Other possible causes could be acetone polish removers; which dry out the nail plate. If you are still experiencing splitting and peeling, it could be a sign of a nutritional deficiency such as a lack of calcium, minerals or essential fatty acids. Try to avoid acetone removers and nail polish to see if there is an improvement. For a “natural” shiny manicure, try Tweezerman's File, Buff and Shine.  Try our sister brand, alessandro, for NailSpa products specifically targeted towards brittle nails with calcium. Looking for nail polish to bring to the salon? Try our 99 color selection from alessandro. 

First make sure your nails are completely clean and free of natural oils and lotion so that the polish will adhere to your nails. Begin by wiping them clean with alessandro nail polish remover. Next be sure to always use a base and top coat. We recommend our sister brand, alessandro USA for the longest lasting results.  The base coat serves as a foundation for your polish and the top coat protects the polish from daily use. To maximize the length of your manicure, brush the polish and top coat along the nail’s top edge, overlapping on the nail’s underside to protect the rim of the nail which often bears the brunt of typing, finger tapping, etc. Lastly, remember to always use gloves when working in water or dirt and keep your hands and nails well moisturized to avoid splitting and peeling of the nail.  For problems with splitting nails, please visit alessandro USA. 

A hangnail, that tiny piece of skin along the nail is not only annoying, but can be very painful. Biting your nails, cutting them too short, or picking at your cuticles are all ways you can cause a hangnail. If you get a hangnail, do not bite it off since you might rip the skin and possibly cause infection. It's best to snip the hangnail as soon as it happens. Tweezerman's Squeeze and Snip Hangnail Trimmer, comes with a travel case, so this is a good tool to keep with you if you are prone to hangnails. One of Tweezerman's premium cuticle nippers or cuticles scissors can also do the job. After cutting a cuticle, applying an antibiotic cream is advisable to prevent infection and always try to keep the skin around your nails healthy with vitamin E oil or a good cuticle cream.

Many people who go to the salon for a professional manicure bring their own tools to assure a worry-free visit. The important thing is to bring tools that are of excellent quality so that the nail tech will feel comfortable using them. Tweezerman's Stainless Steel Rockhard Cuticle Nipper and Pushy are popular with nail techs, as are any of Tweezerman's quality clippers, shapers and files.