Nails by Neeley

Nails by Anne

There's no such thing as a commercially produced "All Natural" skin care product.

What makes me say these horrible, horrible things, you ask as you look at the $70 jar of 'natural' face crème you just purchased?

Let me explain...

Lotions are made by blending oils and water to make a creamy substance.  In order to stabilize the mixture, and keep it from separating, an emulsifier must be added in. Otherwise your lotion will just go back to being oils and water.  There's only one natural emulsifier out there, and that's Beeswax.  However, Beeswax creates a very oily cream that most people would hesitate to apply to their bodies.

Additionally, if you've ever made your own salad dressing, you know that there is a very short shelf life on an oil and water blend.  Natural oils like olive, coconut, almond, and many others, create a perfect environment for bacterial growth when combined with water.  Therefore, it doesn't take long at all for mold growth to begin in an all natural lotion.  They need preservatives, or they would need to be refrigerated, and, even then, would only last a few months before spoiling.

Not very appetizing to imagine spreading mold spores on your face along with that $70 crème, now is it?

So, with that being said, lotions, scrubs, crèmes, and butters must all have waxes, emulsifiers, and preservatives that are chemicals.  That's ok though!  Our world is made up of chemicals, our bodies are made up of chemicals, and not all chemicals are bad for us, whether they're naturally occurring or created in a lab.

So how do you know if what you're putting on your skin is good or bad for you?  A good place to start is by looking at the label...

I like my lotions to have more ingredients I can pronounce on the label than ingredients I can't. Look for natural oils, like almond, avocado, and sunflower; look for rich butters that are good for your skin, like cocoa, shea, and mango.

Additionally, lotions, crèmes, and body butters should be white or off white.  If they're pink, yellow, green, or any other color in the spectrum, they've had dyes added in to make them that way.  Most dyes aren't necessarily harmful, but why rub them into your skin when all they do is improve the visual aspect of a lotion?

At Nailed It, I only use products on my clients that I'm willing to use on myself, my mother, and my daughters.  I look for products with amazing quality, and reasonable prices, for everything I use and sell. 

So, knowing what I know, I decided to pack up the products we had on hand with the indecipherable ingredients list, and add new, handcrafted, lines of products from Majestic Mountain Sage to our inventory.  Along with an amazing sugar scrub that we make right here in the salon!

These products start out unscented, and you can leave them that way, or you can create your own scent by choosing one or more of the concentrated scent oils we have have available.

Now, if you love these products as much as we do, we know you'll want to take some home with you.  We have 8oz. lotions available for just $14, and 2oz. body butters for $8!  The best part is that you can also create your own scent blends for the products you purchase to take home! 

We have samples of all of our products for you to try before you buy, and while they're not "All Natural," they are made with the finest, skin nourishing, ingredients available. 

So stop in soon and try them out.  I know you'll be amazed by them!

It would all be so much simpler if I could send them to a blog, one made just for the salon, don't ya think?

So a little background to begin with, our building is located in historic West Racine and as such, is an old building with a lot of history and character; and a lot of challenges.  When I first visited it, I could see the potential in the space, but it was so far from the vision I had for my salon that I wasn't sure if it would ever morph into that picture in my head.  I liked the space, I just wasn't sure if I loved it.  Then, as the weeks of construction turned into months, I realized that not only did I not love the place, some days I despised every square foot of it. It was a long, grueling process fraught with respiratory infections from the construction dust, aching limbs, and the occasional bleeding appendage.

Now that it's finished though, I love my salon! More so because I put so much of myself into it.  Literally.  The subfloor is stained with my tears, and I think small bits of my flesh are still clinging to a few of the drywall screws. Yet knowing that I am now a part of the history of West Racine is just an amazing thing, and I'm so proud to be where I am, and to have accomplished what we have.

So having said that, on with the pictures...

Here you can see the front of the building as it was when we moved in.  In the past, the shop was a hair braiding studio, a florists, and a nail salon on at least one other occasion (possibly more).

Here is the building as it looks today.  The white paint gives it a fresher feel, and the black and white is more reminiscent of a traditional Tudor facade.

The building sat empty for a couple of years before we moved in, and as a result had some water damage that needed to be dealt with.  The area of the salon that is now the sink and dispense counter was one of the worst areas in our suite. Below is how it looked when we moved in.

The entire wall needed to be taken down, which worked in our favor because the plumbing also needed to be addressed, and we needed to add GFCI outlets.

After the work was done inside of the wall, new drywall was put up, and cabinets were built into the area.

Here is how it looks today. Clean, beautiful, and bright!

If you ever stopped into the building when it was still a hair braiding studio, you know that what is now one big room, used to be two small rooms.  The front portion of the space, with large south facing windows, let in all kinds of beautiful sunlight from outside.  The back room, however, was dark and dismal.  Barely any light managed to penetrate back there, and I knew from the start that we needed to fix that.

The wall had to go...

Now the space is open and bright, and the sun lights up the entire room during the day.

The front end of the salon was in good shape, and was a cheery space, but the décor needed a serious update. 

The country cottage look had to go, so the wainscoting came down, the walls were painted a fresh white, and the window trim was updated with black paint.

Today this is my favorite place in the salon.  Even on a dreary day it's bright and cheerful. I love to sit at my manicure table to do nails and create art samples. It's impossible to feel melancholy in such a vibrant space!

One of the most comfortable places in the salon is the pedicure area, but you wouldn't have known it a year ago. You see, the place where people now sit back and relax to get their feet cared for used to be a closet.

In the interest of having more useable space on the salon floor, we tore it out.  It wasn't difficult, there wasn't very much holding it in there to begin with.

Now the crawl-space above, along with a single support pillar, create an intimate space for a luxurious pedicure.

It's not all about the space though.  In building the salon, and trying to give it a retro ambiance, we scoured antique shops and garage sales for items we could use to decorate the space.  One of the most difficult, but also one of the best, projects were the chairs my sister found...

I was looking for chairs that would feel at home in a 50's diner, but despite many weeks of searching, I couldn't find anything appropriate that I could also afford.  Until my sister found these at a rummage sale.

I was dubious, to say the least. After all, this was a semi upscale salon I was trying to build, and that chair up there, that's not upscale.

She convinced me to try recovering them though, and after two days of heating and stretching vinyl, and stapling so many staples that my hand was so badly bruised I couldn't move my thumb for a week, this is what we came up with.

They're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but they're mine, and I love them.

So that's the story of how Nailed It! came to be, and how we turned a dreary little space into a vibrant little salon.  I love it, and I hope you stop in sometime so you can see it and love it too! Until then...

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Hugs,

It's hard to believe, looking at the picture of my left hand over there, but I bite my nails. Not just my nails either, as I've told you before, but all of the skin surrounding them as well. On a bad day, I can bite my nail down to a bloody stump in a matter of minutes, and then tear my eponychium to shreds until I'm faint from the blood loss. I'm such a bad nail biter, that I don't even realize I'm doing it until I've mangled a finger or two.  I'm so bad, in fact, that I don't think I'll ever be an ex-biter, the best I can do is manage my habit, and take measures to prevent it.

So how did someone like me get nails like that? Well, it was actually pretty easy with a little help from nail enhancements. So easy that I believe anyone can do it if they're willing to try.

First off, you need to find a good nail tech; if you can find one who's worked with biters before, that's a big plus. You'll need someone who will do a complete consultation with you to figure out what will work best with your habit. They should ask questions about what triggers you to bite or pick, if you've ever been able to stop for a short time, as well as ask questions about your nails themselves.  Are they brittle, flakey, bendy?  These are things your tech will need to know in order to tailor a rehabilitation program that suits you.  So obviously the NSS at the mall isn't going to cut it.

My recommendation for most biters is to start off with a Liquid and Powder acrylic overlay. I'll extend the nail a little bit with tips or forms if my client wishes, but extending them too much on a person who's not used to having long nails just isn't a good idea. The reason is because when a client isn't used to long nails they don't know how to manage long nails, and the extensions will be subject to accidental breaking, which can further damage the natural nail. I also prefer Liquid and Powder acrylic over UV Gel acrylic because it's more durable than Gel. Gel overlays are just too brittle to stand up to the beating a recovering biter is going to give them.  I want a product that can withstand an occasional chomp from absent minded teeth, so Liquid and Powder is my choice for this circumstance.

Now, overlays aren't only for the ladies out there.  I can do a very natural looking overlay on a male biter too, and no one will ever know he's wearing an enhancement. So male or female, there's absolutely no excuse to stop your nail biting habit if you want to!

Once a biter has successfully worn overlays for a few months, and the natural nail has grown out to the desired length underneath, I'll start talking to the client about maintenance.  Some biters will need to continue wearing overlays, though they can be thinned down over time as the habit breaks its mental hold. Some people can graduate to a gel polish at this point, and perhaps eventually a regular nail polish if that's what they desire. It's important to keep seeing your nail tech for regular check-ups even after you've graduated though, to ensure your nails stay healthy, and tooth-mark free.

Because I bite skin along with nails, I'm the type of person who needs to keep overlays on my nails to prevent me from being able to reach that skin with my teeth.  I'm ok with that, overlays prevent the nail breakage that my very active lifestyle leads to.  They're also more comfortable for my clients, as my sharp nails tend to pinch them when I'm holding their fingers if I'm not wearing overlays. You may find that like me, you want to keep your overlays on, or perhaps you'll be counting the days until you can be free of them. Either way, you'll have a lot more options once you've gotten into the habit of not gnawing on your nails.

So, knowing that I've worn enhancements regularly for the last few years, and worn them consistently for the last six months, I want to show you something.  Click on the picture of my nails up at the top of the page to bring up the larger version.

My nails are a little dry in the picture because I had just soaked my overlays off before I took it, and the acetone leaves them a little flakey looking. Do you know what you're not seeing though?  You're not seeing Rings of Fire, like you can see in the picture to the right here. What are Rings of Fire? Well, they're damage to the nail plate caused by a manicurist cutting into it with a file during a fill, leaving a crescent shaped channel in your nail that turns an angry shade of red.

Many people believe that only electronic files can cause this type of damage; that is false. Aggressive, improper filing with a hand file can also cause this or very similar damage. Some people believe that any use of an electronic file causes damage to the nail plate; this is also false.  Proper use of an electronic file will cause no harm to your natural nails. Case in point.  I use an electronic file  on my own nails as well as my client's nails, and as you can see in the full sized picture above, my nails are as healthy as they were when my matrix formed them.

It is very important to avoid a nail tech who causes damage to the nail plate!  Why?  Well first off, it shows poor technique, improper use of tools, and puts the client (you) at risk for injury and infection. However, for a biter, it's doubly bad.  Thinning out the natural nail in any way is going to make it more prone to breaking when the overlays finally come off.  Broken nails are like heroin to a recovering biter, any rough spots are fair game to the teeth, and you're not going to be able to resist the temptation. So if you start seeing red rings under your overlays after your fills, it's time to have a frank discussion with your manicurist and perhaps look into finding a new one.

So now you know everything you need to know about breaking the habit.  Throw away the cyan pepper and 'No Bite' and stop in at Nailed It! or a quality salon in your area to see how we can help you.  You'll love being able to show off your beautiful hands!

Hugs,

As I sit at home recovering from the flu with a child who has the flu, on a day when I'm supposed to be working at the salon, I find myself thinking that I should clarify my hours of operation, and explain why you should probably make a reservation if you'd like to get your nails done.

So, here's the deal.

Yes, we do take walk-ins; I won't turn you away when you don't have a reservation, as long as I have the time to do the service you're requesting.  However, those walk-in opportunities are becoming few and far between as the popularity of the salon grows. If you prefer not to book a service in advance, I recommend you arrive at the salon at 10am, as that's the only slot that's consistently available. Additionally, I have no available Saturday slots for the next month, and Friday's are nearly booked solid as well, so walk-in availability on those days is dicey at best.

So why should you reserve an appointment? Well, there are a lot of reasons!

First of all, not to toot my own horn or anything, but my services are amazing. Our longer service times allow you to savor your pampering. Watch a movie, read a book or magazine, sit and chat, or relax quietly. Furthermore, we have a wide array of beverages at the salon for you to enjoy, and often some treats from the local bakeries as well. It's up to you how you spend your time at Nailed It, but you'll never feel rushed or pushed out the door. I also use some of the best quality, professional products on the market; add in my years of experience, dedication to furthering my education, and passion for the industry, and you're going to love your nails when you leave.  It is guaranteed!

Secondly, when you reserve a time for your services, you guarantee that you'll have my undivided attention.  You won't have to wait to be seen, and you won't be turned away because I'm with another client or have one coming soon. I don't double book, nor do I smoosh my clients together so tight that I'm chronically behind.  Your time with me is yours and yours alone. While you're at Nailed It you are the most important person in the universe to me, and your satisfaction is paramount.

Finally, when you reserve your appointment you guarantee that I'll actually be there... I've been a work-at-home mom for the last twenty years, and I am first and foremost a mother and wife.  Closing the salon to take care of a sick child doesn't always make good business sense, but I brought these people into the world so it's my responsibility to make sure I release them into society happy and well adjusted.  If I need to close the salon on a day you have a service reserved, I will do everything in my power to reschedule your service as soon as possible to a time that's convenient to you, even if I need to open early or stay late.  You will always be notified in advance, and will never make a wasted trip only to be greeted by a locked door.

Also, in that same vein, I like my family, and want to be with them.  Nearly all of the services I offer take at least an hour, and most of them take more, so even though I'm technically open until 7pm, if I don't have an appointment scheduled, and no one has come into the salon by 6pm for a walk-in service, I clean up and go home to be with my family. I'm perfectly willing, even eager, to stay open later than my posted business hours if you reserve a service, but I'd prefer not to wait, hoping in vain that someone will walk through my door, when I could be spending that time with my family. 

So, as you can see, it's much easier to take the time to reserve a service in advance at Nailed It!.  A simple phone call and a minute of your time is all it takes to reserve your spot, and eliminate the inconvenience of making a wasted trip. Trust me, it's worth it!

Soon, when I have the resources to bring in more nail technicians, Nailed It! will be more walk-in friendly.  Even then though, it will always be in your best interest to ensure you're guaranteed service when you walk through our door.

Hugs,

I remember spending time with my mom at the beauty parlor when I was a child. As I'd walk through the salon doors, I would feel as if I had been transported to a different plane of existence.  The smells and sounds were so different from anywhere else I visited with my mom.  Unlike those other places, in the salon women would laugh loudly and joke, their hair bound up in curlers as they sat under the dryers.  They would complain and brag about their children and spouses, congratulate one another during the good times, and commiserate with one another during the bad. They were a community, united in beauty, and together they made each individual stronger.

Today our beauty parlors have become sterile places, painted in bland colors with music to sleep by piped in over speakers in high definition. They are monuments to relaxation, and the sense of community once found within has fallen to the wayside.

It doesn't have to be that way...

Located in the historic West Racine business district, Nailed It! brings back a time when women found community and camaraderie at their local salon.

As a full service nail spa, we will pamper your hands, feet, and nails, in a lively atmosphere where you will always be made to feel welcome.  We use only top quality, professional products, in a safe and sanitary environment, to preserve the health of your nails and skin.

Our nail technicians are highly trained, with years of experience, and specialize in the latest techniques and trends.  After a visit to Nailed It!, your nails will be the envy of all of your friends.

So stop in for a chat, enjoy a cup of our gourmet coffee on the house, and explore our facilities and services. You'll love the atmosphere, and the boost you'll get from knowing that we're always happy to see you.

If you are confident, you are beautiful!

Just about every adult on the planet has calluses.  Women who wear high heels, men who wear workboots, people who go barefoot, and anyone who spends most of the day standing, get them on their feet.  People who lift free-weights, play a stringed instrument, or use their hands to make a living, get them on their fingers and palms.  I get them in the summer, on the sides of my feet, because I don't like to wear shoes, and tend to sit with my feet curled up under me. 

Having calluses isn't a bad thing, in fact, they're part of the body's natural defense to protect your skin from injury.  The only problem is that as we continue to do the activities that cause calluses, they can keep thickening until the skin becomes hard, dry, and can sometimes even crack and bleed.

So what is a person to do about these unsightly areas?  The good news is that with a little bit of home maintenance, and regular trips to see your favorite nail technician, you can have healthy skin in no time!

**Side note for the guys out there**

I often hear men say that manicures and pedicures are for women only, and that it's too effeminate (or "gay") for a 'real' man.  Let me tell you something though Mister, it's not all about painting your nails; it's skin care we're talking here. Now, if your wife or girlfriend flinches when you caress her cheek because your rough, dry skin is in danger of cutting her open, how good do do you think your chances are of getting to touch her other, more sensitive bits?  Trust me here, go get the mani/pedi.  No one will take away your man card, and the woman in your life will thank you!

 

I'm going to assume that you've read my post on NSS salons, and that you've gone, or are going, to see a reputable nail technician for a treatment on your hands and/or feet.  It's important to see a professional regularly, because they have products and tools that you can't use safely at home.  So get a pedicure every one or two months, and a manicure every two to four weeks.  It's not that expensive and you can schedule them to coincide with your regular haircut. 

Now we're going to talk about what you should be doing at home, between salon visits, to keep your skin looking good and feeling smooth.

To prevent the build up of calluses, use a good sugar scrub on your problem areas in the shower or bath every day.  I recommend sugar scrubs because the sugar dissolves as you scrub, preventing over scrubbing and the development of sore spots (which just make calluses build up faster).  You can also purchase salt  and pumice scrubs, but they can be a little too abrasive, especially for every day use.  Scrubbing once a day will work for most people, but if you have especially thick calluses you can use the scrub twice a day until the hardened skin is more manageable. 

Next, lotion, lotion, lotion!  I can't tell you how much a good lotion can help smooth out rough, dry calluses.  Use lotion on your hands every time you wash them, and on your feet twice a day.  For hand and body, I like Qtica Smart Spa lotions, and for feet, CND's non-greasy Cucumber Heel Therapy can't be beat.  Most importantly though, what you're looking for is a lotion that has a low alcohol content, and moisturizing skin oils like Vitamin E, Sweet Almond Oil, and Jojoba.

A good soak can also really help penetrate thickened skin as well.  If you're you're abusing your hands or feet on a daily basis, try soaking them once a week for five to ten minutes in water that has bath oils, or a mani/pedi soak mixed in.  Be sure to finish up your soak with lotion to keep your calluses soft and smooth.

Last but not least is to resist the temptation to cut off your calluses!  I know they can get annoying, and sometimes even painful when they start to get really thick, but cutting them off only makes your body rebuild them faster.  They're there for a reason, you need your calluses, so you should never, ever cut or file them off completely.  Also, if your nail tech ever uses a blade on your feet to cut your calluses, stop the service and leave the establishment!  Cutting calluses in a salon is illegal in most US states, so if your tech does it as part of a pedicure, there's a good chance you're in a NSS.

If your calluses are getting too thick to handle, and you just can't make it into the salon for a treatment, use a medium to fine grit file, or a pumice stone to bring them down a little bit after you've soaked them.  If you're a guy, I'll even let you use a fine grit sand paper to do the job (in the interest of making sure you're able to keep your man card); use 150 grit or higher.  Don't take them down too far, just file off the dead skin on top, and then moisturize with lotion when you're done.  If you use your sugar scrub daily though, you shouldn't have to file your calluses down between salon visits.

That's it, that's all there is.  Keeping your hands and feet soft and smooth is as easy as brushing your teeth or washing your hair.  So now there's no excuse not to have skin that your significant other will love to touch (I'm talking to you guys out there)!

Hugs,

I recently lost a few of my acrylic enhancements because I went too long between fills, and the manual labor I've been up to lately was too much for them.  I know, I'm a nail tech, I know better, but if it's a choice between letting my clients nails suffer or my own; I'll always choose to spend the time on my clients.  Anyway, I decided to just soak the enhancements off because my natural nails underneath had grown out, and I like having natural nails when I can.  I bite when they're short and ragged, but once they've grown out I can usually resist the temptation to gnaw them off.

Unfortunately, after only a few days of having my nails Au Natural, I broke off two of them and tore another doing some more of the manual labor I mentioned above.  Nails are jewels, not tools after all.

I really don't have the time to put acrylics on at the moment, and it seems kind of silly to do all that work for just three nails, only two of which are actually gone, so I reached into my tool kit and used an old but good technique that most people seem to forget about.

Fabric Wraps!

Silk or fiberglass wraps are a great way to repair a damaged nail, or add length to one or two nails so they match the rest.  They also lend strength to your natural nails, to help reduce normally occurring damage. 

So I wrapped my nails, and then painted them with one coat of CND's Sapphire Sparkle Effects, and one coat of CND's Sugar Sparkle for a natural, semi-opaque look that is dazzling in the sunlight. 

I like my nails to have a little more pop though.  They're my business card after all.  I want people to notice them, and ask me about them.  So.

Time to Bling it!

You'll Need:

• Top Coat
• Dotter Tool (remember the tool we made with the bobby pin?) or a Toothpick
• Small Rhinestones
•  

1. Dip your dotter tool into a puddle of topcoat, and leave a dot of it on your nail wherever you'd like to place your rhinestone.

2. With the dotter still wet with top coat, touch the top of a rhinestone to pick it up.  The top coat should make it stick long enough to move it to the nail.  If not, dip the dotter in top coat again before picking up the stone. 

3.  Place the stone into the dot of topcoat on your nail and press firmly.  The topcoat should ooze out from underneath the stone.

4.  Arrange the stones into a pattern you like, and finish by sealing the stone and the nail with a thin layer of topcoat.

Easy Peasy, and looks fab!

Hugs,