In ancient times, fingernails and toenails served primitive people as a means of protection from enemies and disgruntled fellow tribesmen. In addition, it was much more convenient to tear the meat with their sharp edges.
Nails that were too long were singed at the fire or ground down with stones. Fortunately, this time has passed - hooked fingers are not “in fashion”, and there is a whole arsenal for caring for hands : tweezers, files, scissors.
How to cut your nails beautifully and neatly? The rules are very simple and easy to learn.
Creating the right conditions
It is unlikely that you will get a high-quality manicure if a person plans to do it while camping by the fire in the evening, while rushing to work, or during an important business meeting. Hand care requires the creation of certain conditions:
- high-quality bright background lighting (the light should not shine in the eyes);
- a table or stand on which you can place your hands (at home, at worst, an ironing board will do);
- nearby instruments (before manicure, they must be washed with warm water and soap, wiped with a disinfectant solution, or kept in boiling water for several minutes);
- medications in case the skin is injured by careless movement (tampons or gauze pads, iodine, Levomekol ointment, bandage).
Do-it-yourself manicure is responsible and not
rushed process.
You can trim your nails in just 1 minute without trying too hard, but from the point of view of hygiene and aesthetics, they will look unkempt and unkempt.
On average, nail plates grow by 0.1 mm per day (2-4 mm per month).
If you cut them once a week, this is enough for them to make a pleasant impression and not become carriers of infection (dirt constantly accumulates under the long protruding edges).
Most representatives of the fair sex prefer to extend their nails and apply varnish to them. But women should not forget that this “attribute” of beauty constantly needs warm water and fragrant soap. And then you can safely demonstrate the grace of your hand movements, and not hide them bashfully in the folds and pockets of your clothes.
Important! Household work related to washing dishes and floors, wiping dust should be done with rubber gloves, after applying an emollient cream to your hands.
Care tips and advice
Nails require careful care:
- Taking vitamin complexes, which include calcium, vitamins A, E, B5, which are involved in the formation of keratin.
- Cosmetic and healing procedures: baths, masks, use of cream and cuticle oil.
- Massage procedures: massage of hands and fingertips, light tapping exercises. Before doing this, you need to moisturize your hands with cream or oil. This increases blood circulation, improves nutrition, and stimulates keratin renewal.
To obtain results, regular procedures are required. Polishing the plates makes them smooth and shiny, stimulates blood circulation, and activates nail growth.
Also, for prevention purposes, it is necessary:
- When cleaning and washing dishes, wear gloves, since water softens the nail plates; you should handle your nails carefully while they are wet.
- After washing, hands and nails should be lubricated with a moisturizing or nourishing cream or oil, this will protect them from drying out and cracking.
- Remove dirt from under the nails to avoid the appearance of bacteria. This is done with a pointed cotton swab.
- Get rid of bad habits: gnawing, biting the cuticle and skin around the nail plates.
Thus, cutting nails is an important procedure in caring for them, which requires care, accuracy and knowledge of the specifics of the procedure.
How to trim the nails on the right hand for right-handed people?
People with a dominant right hand are used to holding a ballpoint pen, spoon, fork, and construction tool in it.
The left hand in this case is auxiliary. A person cannot hold a heavy object in his right hand - the left one will help.
The leading hand is broken - its assistant on the other side of the body “learns” to open cans, peel potatoes, and trim nails correctly.
You have to cut the nails on your right hand with your “left” fingers, and this is inevitable. After all, it is impossible to take care of the nail plates on it with your right hand! But how to do this without getting hurt? Moreover, cut off the horny growth along a smooth, beautiful line? To do this you need:
- Sterilize nail scissors with rounded ends or plastic tips.
- Be sure to prepare tweezers (nippers).
- Wash your hands with soap and dry them with a towel.
- Steam the nail plates (go into the shower, soak in a bath in warm water for 10-15 minutes).
- Take a comfortable position while sitting on a chair.
- Place your right hand on a platform located just below chest level.
- Start cutting the nails on your right hand with your left hand - in a straight line, without touching the corners of the nail plates. The movements are made with scissors - slowly and very carefully.
- Again, the left hand holds the tweezers - the next task is to round the nail plates on the right hand by “biting off” the corners.
- At the final stage of treatment, a rounded, neat line of nails is created using a nail file.
Important! You can't cut your nails to the very edge. Gradually, the volume of the pads under the nails begins to increase, and the nail plates begin to shorten. They look “chopped off” and are difficult to give a beautiful shape.
Preparatory procedures
You may be interested in: Cuticle remover: which one is better? How to remove cuticles without cutting
To avoid various diseases, treat all metal objects with an alcohol solution. After all, with the smallest cut, you can introduce an infection into the wound. Hands are washed well with soap before starting. And to facilitate the entire stage of cutting, it is advisable to take a relaxing bath. To do this, follow these steps:
- Heat the water without bringing it to a boil. Add some liquid soap and a few drops of essential oil. You can use herbal decoctions (chamomile, calendula, celandine and sage).
- Place your hands in the bath for 10 minutes. This helps strengthen the nail plate and has an anti-inflammatory and healing effect.
- Dry your hands with a soft towel. There is no need to rinse them after the procedure.
It is not advisable to cut your nails right away; you need to wait until it dries. This way you will reduce the risk of developing an inflammatory process.
How to cut nails on the hands of a pregnant woman?
Expectant mothers should be advised to give up superstitions already at the initial stage of pregnancy. In order for the fetus to fully develop and a healthy, strong, strong man to be born, women are ready to do anything.
Expert opinion : “The rounded shape of nails is always in fashion. It looks soft and feminine and suits women of all ages, regardless of their social status.”
Some “well-wishers” inform them that they should not cut their hair and nails on their hands and feet. You can imagine what size your nail plates will be by the end of pregnancy if you follow this advice!
It is necessary to get a manicure and at least once a week. Extending nails and covering them with a varnish base is not prohibited, but is not recommended either.
During this period, hormonal levels change and metabolism accelerates. This can lead to changes in the structure of the horny tissue.
Extended plates lag behind natural nails, and the varnish coating quickly peels off. At this time, doctors recommend carefully trimming the horny growth to a level that does not allow dirt to accumulate underneath it.
Tools for shaping nails
Metal file
The most budget and widespread option.
Buffs
Experienced musicians carry this instrument with them in their bag or pocket. It is suitable not only for home use, but will also come in handy in situations where you are literally “broken.” It is convenient, first of all, because it has good support in the form of the left hand.
Polisher
It eliminates the “sawdust” that remains after processing with coarser files.
How to cut a baby's nails?
A child who is several months old also has to cut his nails, despite the fact that they are delicate and very soft. Such an important “mission” usually falls to mothers.
You can imagine how scary it is for a woman giving birth for the first time to touch the tiny fingers of her child with cold metal!
But you still have to do it. For the event to be successful, you need to use tweezers and nail scissors, as in the previous case, but do the opposite:
- Using tweezers, the central part of the horny plate is carefully pinched off.
- Using scissors, carefully trim the corners of the fingernails, giving them a slightly rounded shape.
On nail scissors for children, the tips are covered with special soft tips. It is advisable to distract the child during the procedure: talk to him tenderly, show him a bright toy. It’s better if dad helps with this, who will carefully hold the child’s free hand and body.
Nail structure
The nail plate consists of several main parts:
Nail structure
- hole (lunula) - a crescent-shaped white area at the very base of the nail;
- the root is the part of the nail located under the skin or slightly protruding from behind the back roller;
- free leading edge - in its raw form repeats the shape of the hole, this is the free part that protrudes beyond the border of the stock and it is this that we have to grow or trim;
- nail folds - there are posterior and lateral, in the form of a skin fold, they limit the plate;
- cuticle is the horny part of the epidermis that lies on the nail plate at the base.
How to cut nails according to folk signs?
In the Middle Ages, in the evenings, people huddled in rooms in front of lamps, candles and torches. And although scissors had already been invented in the 15th century, it never occurred to anyone to cut their nails at dusk and in the dead of night.
Moreover, this was difficult to do when people went on long hikes.
Since then, a superstition has appeared that you cannot do a manicure at night - a great misfortune will happen to the person who dares to disturb the evil spirits waking up in the dark.
It is undesirable for adults to cut their nails even on the waning moon - then a crack will appear in the family idyll (the spouse will cheat on his wife).
Men and women should get a manicure on the growing lunar disk - then everything will be wonderful in both business and personal life.
On the contrary, it is better for newborn children and infants to trim their nail plates at a time when the moon is waning - this promises them good health.
What do palmists say?
People who study hand lines and know how to predict a person’s fate from them report that:
- white nails indicate selfish intentions;
- pink - for kindness and generosity;
- red - for excessive anger;
- blue - for a weak heart;
- curves indicate excessive stinginess and greed.
There is a belief that sharp nails indicate a short life. But as a result of changes in metabolism and the supply of missing minerals, the shape of the nail plates and their structure may change. Therefore, we can safely say that people make their own destiny.
We recommend reading : an article about wavy nails, an article about stripes on nails, what vitamins to take for healthy nails and strengthening masks.
How to cut your nails by day of the week?
There are 7 days in a week and each of them has its own meaning in such an important activity as manicure. It is believed that cutting nails in:
- Monday - renew your soul, get out of depression and sadness, feel hope for a better tomorrow;
- Tuesday - get salvation from enemies, protect yourself from dangerous situations and accidents;
- Wednesday – improve relationships with loved ones and work colleagues, get rid of mental stress;
- Thursday - show your creativity and talent, surprise everyone, earn respect in the eyes of others;
- Friday - slow down metabolic processes in the body, become lethargic, indifferent;
- Saturday - earn forgiveness, get rid of old grievances;
- Sunday - to upset the guardian angel, to break the close connection with him.
You can believe or not in different signs, but reality proves that harmonious, active, benevolent people do not need any proof of the correctness of their actions and make decisions on their own, without fear of either the waning moon or dark ghosts.
And everyone else should engage in their own self-development (both mental and physical), so that there is no reason to attribute life’s failures to the day of the week or the color of nails.
How to cut nails without scissors?
It also happens: a person went on a long trip or went on a camping trip, but forgot his nail scissors. What to do?
Nails can be filed with a file. You just need to make sure that its movements are made in one direction.
Another option is to use tweezers, which are usually used to remove burrs. They will do a great job with nail plates softened in warm water.
You can get rid of nails simply by biting them. But this is ugly and unhygienic. We recommend reading this article on how to get rid of the habit of biting your nails!
Features of growth
The length of the regrown edge is mainly determined by the genetic background of the person. The thinner the plate, the shorter its length and vice versa. But sometimes depletion of the nail plate can be caused by acquired diseases.
The nail is an ever-renewing part of the human body, so it can always be influenced and defects corrected with the help of cosmetology or medicine. Irreversible processes can begin only if the nail root is damaged.
Useful video
How to trim your fingernails correctly. In this video, the author shows how he trims boring long nails and tells how to do it as painlessly as possible:
Things to remember:
- When doing a manicure, you need to use special scissors with rounded ends. They may come with plastic attachments.
- The main conditions for a proper manicure: good lighting, a comfortable position, support for your hands on a table or stand (it is impossible to keep them motionless while hanging).
- Instruments must be washed and disinfected .
- You can listen to signs, but to believe in them fervently means not to trust life and to be afraid of everything in it. A person can simply go crazy.
If you find an error or traces of code (for example, individual characters >, ],=...), please select a piece of text and press Ctrl+Enter.
