Doing some nail work

Taken from bodypro.ca

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

WHEN I came to the US, I was worried about my ingrown toe nails. I brought with me a nail cutter and a nipper, only to be surprised to see that they've got all kinds of nail cutters and nippers.

My first visit to the nail salon was filled with surprises. Here in the US, a manicurist charges quite a sum depending on the kind of services you want and the salon's location.

Prices range from 25 to 45$. When I say American manicurists operate on your nails, they don't go deeper into the nail and instead operate on growth areas. Nail “doctors” here in the US use nail file and sponge and a massage instead of just working on the toes. 

Taken from wikipedia

I remembered a time when I was unable to walk for a week because the toe got infected and I have to take antibiotics. 

I have a friend who would look for the best hand to do an operation on her nails.

She said she was told by her manicurist that her ingrown toenail is already deep.   

Back home in the Philippines, our manicurists are prepared with enough cotton if things get bloddy and pulverized capsules to be placed on the sides of the bleeding toes.

Over here in Charlotte, North Carolina, most nail saloons are owned and operated by the Vietnamese. I have yet to see one operated by a Filipino or manned by Filipinos. 

The nail technician (manicurist/pedicurist) is either male or female (back home it is always a woman otherwise a male beautician or manicurist is assumed as gay). 

I asked Janice, a Vietnamese manicurist or nail technician, how many years she's been on her job and where she learned the trade. She told me that she's been a manicurist for five years and she learned English in Manila. 

Taken from wikipedia

She studied in a  manicurist school in the US where she learned such skills like (obviously) cleaning nails, pedicures, acrylic nail application, nail art ad nail health. 

As in every career, updating one's education is essential to earn a pay increase. But going back to my nails, I prefer to have them cleaned without having the ingrown nails taken out or picking out the dead skin through a nipper.

But between us, had I known I would in end up here in the US I should have taken cosmetology specializing in manicures instead of a paralegal education.

Since it is costly to my budget I devised the following steps to clean my toenails in between the weeks before my appointment with the manicurist and I want to share it with you: 

1. I always take note of the date I went to the nail spa or saloon.

2. A week after my pedicure or manicure I clean my nails with an old toothbrush and brush the nail and areas in the nail.

3. Then after brushing I use a pumice sponge (eponge ponce) for over the foot nails and rub the sponge in the skin of my ankle.

4. Apply a foot lotion and wait for next 5 minutes before rinsing so that the nails would be soft and this includes the cuticle.

5. After my bath and beauty rituals I sit down and pamper my nails and feet by applying lotion.

6. Immediately I get hold of the nail pile, pusher and nail essentials and start cleaning.

7. I have learned also to apply my nail polish and change it every week.

These are nail essentials that I do for my nails in between going to the next visit. Also you can click this link. 'Til next time, have a good day. 

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis. 

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)