Ask A British Blogger: My Nail Care Routine

Hi ladies! So you may or may not be aware, I am part of a Facebook group solely for British Nail Bloggers to get together and promote one another. A while back we started doing a British Round Up post every Sunday, but many (myself included) started to forget about the deadline for the post and it kinda died out. Recently came the idea that every other week, we answer a question about a subject chosen by the group, this weeks being our Nail Care Routine. Since I've been meaning to post mine for a while now, I thought what better way to promote my fellow British Bloggers and also nail *pun intended* something I've been meaning to do. The products I use generally change every few months or so, but the actual 'routine' stays the same. I tend to give myself a full manicure once every 2 weeks, and use all the tools/products you see below. So let's get into it shall we?

1. Cutex Nail Polish Remover - I always start off my Nail Care Routine by removing any old Nail Polish or Residue I may have on my nails. I'm not partial to any particular polish remover as long as it does the job it's supposed to, but since Cutex is stocked at my local Supermarket, I generally use that, It's usually the one with the Blue cap, but they were out of stock on that when I went recently so I picked up this instead. I always choose Remover that contains Acetone just because it saves a lot of time when removing tough glitters. 

2. Sallys Cuticle Massage Cream - After removing all of my old polish, I apply some Cuticle softener around my cuticles and onto my nail plate ready for pushing back.

3. Cuticle Pusher - Once my cuticles have softened, I grab a Cuticle Pusher and gently go around the Nail Plate and Side Walls and push back any dead skin on/around my nail. I tend to vary between a rubber cuticle pusher and a metal one, I do find the metal ones work a lot better than the rubber ones. The metal ones generally have a scraper on the other end, which helps to dislodge any tough to remove skin from the Nail Plate. I then go around and scrape off all the excess skin around my nails from pushing back.

4. Cuticle Nippers - I only use these when the scraper is unable to remove a piece of skin from the cuticle area. I also use these to *attempt* to get rid of the annoying bits of skin you often see at the side of my Nails in photos.

5. IBD 'Emerald' (240 grit) Nail File - Once the Cuticles have been taken care of, I now shape my nail using a 240 grit Nail File. Like the remover, I'm not partial to a particular brand of Nail Files, any thing will do the job.

6. Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme - This is my everyday 'go to' cuticle balm. I generally apply it in the morning when I wake up and just before I go to bed. If my cuticles are feeling particularly dry or I have been swatching multiple Nail Polishes that day, I will also apply it during the day.

7. The Beauty Parlour Hand Lotion - I saw this brand on offer during my weekly trip to the Supermarket and at the time was running extremely low on my Soap & Glory Hand Food moisturiser. A little of this really does go a long way and makes my Hands feel and smell amazing. It's a true life saver during the harsh Winter days. I sometimes apply a generous amount of this before going to sleep. 

8. Nail Clippers - I only use these when my nails are getting on my nerves and I want them cutting down shorter, or if I've had a particularly bad nail break and need to even out my other nails. If it's a minor trimming they need, I generally use a Nail File. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading this, it's a little different to what I usually do! If you'd like to see more posts like this, or if you have a request for a post you'd like to see, leave it in the comments and I'll get around to it! If you'd like to see other British Nail Bloggers routines, just click on their names below!