Do not pick on your skin!!

Ohk, so yes, I have been MIA for a very long time now and you have been seeing quite a few sporadic posts from me. The reason is I'm just being plain lazy. Give me a laptop and I will read all 24 hours but when it comes to writing for my own blog, it takes lot of diligence and patience. I do like to particular about my posts and make it as easy to read as possible so if I am not in mood, it kinda becomes difficult. So, yeah, life is not so good at the moment but then there is always a beacon of light shining at the end of the tunnel. I am just waiting to reach the end. And, before I run away with my philosophical perspicacity on my circumstances, I shall come to the topic of the day. If you remember, I had started a series of bad habits which we are not aware of consciously but are extremely harmful for our skin in December. So, continuing in that vein, today's bad habit to be eradicated is - Picking or Poking or unnecessarily irritating your skin.

Yes, I suffer from this very very bad habit and I have my college to blame for it. In my college, I has 1 or 2 stray hairs on my chin which my friends made fun of :( and I got into the habit of plucking them out with my nails. Very very Harmful habit as I have come to realize. It has many implications which I'll discuss with you in a short while. I have also seen a few other people who are addicted to this habit. 

Effects on Skin

So, what happens to skin if you pick or pluck on it?? Well, for one, your skin sags at those areas. Yes, it will make you look old. Secondly, blemishes and dark spots are a direct consequence because of the blood clots under your skin and it really takes a long while to heal. Thirdly, when you pick at your skin using your nails, you are harming the nails in the process. They get brittle, drier and unattractive. So, another incentive to stay away from this  habit.

Worst of all the consequences is bad breakouts. Oh Yes, it has happened with me and I am currently dealing with the situation :( It is not pretty at all, trust me. When you pick at your skin for whatever reason, the cells under the skin get irritated and if you are really insensitive with your skin, it can trigger and inflammation. This can easily happen when you are dealing with facial hairs or eyebrows and popping pimples. This inflammation can result in the worst form of acne - the bubbles filled with pus which you can't treat using anything (trust me, I have been there and done that !!). So, stop this habit right now. Your skin will thank you. Either learn to live with your skin as it is or do something else but do not pick at your skin. Just stop touching your skin with your fingers coz its equally bad as we know that bacteria from the fingers get settled on the face.

Now, I would not discuss in detail how to get rid of this habit coz I have been trying since quite a long time but have not yet been able to. But, strict self-control seems to be the light of the day. Habits die hard but it is said that if you can carry a habit for 21 days to be precise, it becomes a habit. So, control yourself for 21 days and you will live!!  

How to keep your nails long and strong?

Today, I would like to share with you some facts about nail care. Nails are dead cells growing out of our fingers. So, there are no nerves in the nails and that is why, we do not have any sensation in the nails. But, while clipping your nails, you should be careful enough not to dig into your skin. Nails have two parts to be cared for. One is the nail plate and the other is the cuticle area which provides a covering to the nail. The cuticle area has two types of skin. One skin is the dead skin which extends on to the nail and the other is live skin which folds around the dead skin. So, while pushing back the cuticles or clipping them during manicure, one should be very cautious not to hurt the live skin. This live skin protects our nails from the nail infections. This was the overview of the nail structure. Now, I would like to share some tips to keep your nails long and strong and more importantly, the nails clean.

• Dip your nails in olive oil (or your choice of oil) once a week. This is irrespective of the fact that you are doing manicure or not. Oil keeps your nails strong and the skin around the nails moisturized. It prevents the skin from cracking and peeling around the nail edges (which is very prominent in some people). If you can't dip it in oil, take a generous quantity of oil and massage your nails and cuticles with it. You can even do this daily with a drop of oil. This is a great tip for brittle nails. You can use jojoba oil in place of olive oil. It works great.
• Once a week, you can take some baking powder on a brush tip and start brushing your nails. That will turn your nails white and remove any odd colors on your nail.
• Instead of clipping your nails, file them. But, file them in only one direction. If you do it in both direction, your nails get ragged and do not look good.
• Do not use false nails. Better try growing your own nails.
• Leave your nails free of any nail paint at least twice in a month.
• While doing manicure to your hands, do not forget to take care of your nails. Do not let your nails dry. Moisturize them every time you apply moisturizer to your hands.
• Your nails show your health just like your hair. So, good nutrition will keep them pink. Improve your diet to include more proteins and vitamins which are important for both hair and nails. Generally, the growth of nails and hair are a lot interdependent. 
• Since, the nails are just dead cells. So, there is no nail mask which you can apply. But, yes, you can whiten them in the same way you whiten your teeth. Rub lemon juice or strawberries. But, do not forget to apply oil afterward as they are very drying for nails. 
• You can place your nails in a bowl of milk. This would improve the look of your nails. This would serve as a proper manicure.