A Death in the Family - Or Ten Little Ones, to Be Precise

Good morning, Dear Reader. Yesterday tragedy struck, and I suffered the natural consequence of poor nail maintenance - I discovered a tear quite far down into the excess length (the white part) of one of my nails, and had the take them all down to the length that would let me file out the tear. I've been meaning to file them a bit for some time, which would have prevented this but simply never got around to it, so I thought I'd talk today about what I did wrong and what I should have done differently to maintain my long nails.

I'll start with a True Confession, Dear Reader. I hate filing my nails, so I just don't do it. Prior to yesterday, I believe the last time a file touched them was sometime in May, and before that, January. What I do right is use a glass (crystal) file when I take care of them, and have found that to make a magical difference, where my nails no longer split or peel literally ever. What I should have done differently to prevent breaking was file them once a week to maintain a length with which I was happy rather than let them get so long they tore very far down.

I recall reading that the maximum length one should keep one's nails to remain healthy and free of breaks and tears is to allow the white part to equal one-third the length on the nail bed (the pink part). So ideally, I would have let them get that long and then simply maintain them with a weekly touch up.

However (and here's more of what I do in a less than ideal way), my preferred length is where the excess length is about equal to the nail bed in length. I know short nails are trendier and preferred by many, but these simply do not look like my hands when my nails are short. I've had them as long as I could since I was about 12, and I'll be 37 next month. 25 years of having my hands look a certain way most of the time is hard to overcome. With short nails, when they're unpolished, they're a smaller version of my mother's hands looking back at me, not mine.

On the plus side, this will prove that my nails are natural, for as we go through the next month or two together, you'll see them come back in pictures. In the meantime, I thought I owed you an explanation of what you'll see in coming weeks, Dear Reader, because I have many pictures taken before the removal of the length that I have not yet posted and would like to share with you. So as my pictures show short, long, short, long, you'll now know why.

So here's the grand introduction of my new little nubs, sporting Sally Hansen Salon's Plum It:



Plum It is another SH Limited Edition. I found it at Walgreen's in a display of six, but have also seen it just mixed in with the core colors. It's essentially a plum version of Navy Baby, with the same great flash as Navy Baby. It's quickly becoming a favorite, and I've worn it a few times in the short time I've had it.

So, Dear Reader, you've seen my shame today - my little nubs. But, there was nothing else to be done, so I'll just have to be nubby for a little while. I'd wager that I will survive!

That's all for now, Dear Reader. Love and nail polish to you!