Reddit mentions of Yesker 100 Pcs Nail Art Orange Wood Stick Sticks Cuticle Pusher Remover Manicure Pedicure Tool

Perhaps she will just buy a few cases of these. (orangewood sticks)

• http://www.amazon.com/DMtse-Cuticle-Remover-Manicure-Pedicure/dp/B009WLX83Y
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Orange-Stick-Cuticle-Pusher-Manicure/dp/B000FKXSU4
  
• http://www.walmart.com/ip/Salon-Supply-Store-100-Pack-Short-4.5-Orange-Wood-Salon-Spa-Manicure-Cuticle-Pusher-Remover-Sticks/29700447
  
  
  

Hi nail care/nail polish spaz here. Cuticles are indeed a specialized bit of skin on your nail. It sort of makes a barrier from the end of the skin on your finger to your nail bed. Oil up your nail area a couple times a day (morning and night? or just night time if you want). You can be fancy and get a nail oil pen or be basic with some vitamin E from Wal-Mart or even olive oil. It'll soften things up. GENTLY use an orange stick to push them back once a week. I don't really recommend metal tools cuz it's easier to do damage with them, or even introduce infection :( If you have the kind of cuticles that want to climb way up your nails, you can get stuff to dissolve the crust.

Be gentle and never ever cut your cuticles unless you have a hangnail snagging on things. Did I mention be gentle? I've seen so many grown out manicures where you can see the technician got too vigorous. I did it to myself once even, and the part I jacked up is still growing out 8 months later. You can see the travelling dent in the center of my thumb here

What I described up there is what I do to keep things nice because I abuse my cuticles with acetone pretty regularly for the love of polish!

Do you bite your nails? I ask because I used to bite mine really badly until about four years ago when I was finally able to quit for good and mine looked a lot like yours do now.

So the good news is that there are a few things that you can do to make them look better but the bad news is that it takes a really long time and you probably won't see much difference by the time you go to the wedding. For the short term, maybe consider press-ons? They've come a very long way since we were little and there are many out there that at first glance, look completely natural, even on less than perfect nails. Look for the ImPress brand (usually like $7-8 or so) and get ones that look pretty simple and natural like a french tip and unless someone is really staring at your fingers, I doubt they will notice!

For the long term, what I've done that's helped is to get into a nail care routine. Cuticle oil, nail file, orange sticks, and a cuticle trimmer or liquid remover are the tools you'll want. Two to three times a week (at least in the beginning, you can do it less frequently once they start to look like you want them to) take an orange stick and use the flat side to gently push back the skin around your nail. Some people oil them first to help soften them, I just usually do it after a shower while they're softer anyway. Then use the trimmer or liquid remover to get rid of the dead skin that's pushed back. I personally like this kind of trimmer but you have to be really careful that you don't accidentally cut the live skin. You're really just shaving away the dead skin with it. There's also this kind of nipper some people prefer and then there's the liquid stuff like this that dissolves the dead skin with no trimming required at all. It's all really just what you're comfortable with. Then oil them up when you're done, and if possible, oil them as many times a day as you can remember to. I try to do it at least once in the morning and once before I go to bed.

Then with regard to filing, let them grow out a bit more and like someone else suggested, file the sides down where they flare out, but only at the free edges. You should try to avoid cutting altogether. For rounder nail beds, a round shape tends to look better IMO.

So, forgive my awful MS paint skills but I drew on your pic a bit to help illustrate what I'm talking about. On your pointer finger, the spot that I circled is the area you're wanting to try to grow out and reattach to the nail bed. On the middle finger, I tried (I know, terribly lol) to illustrate how it would look after your cuticle line is pushed back over time and the nail bed reattaches along the sidewalls and then of course the white part is grown out and filed in a round shape. It all comes down to permanently pushing your cuticles back to expose more of the nail bed and allowing the sidewalls to reattach at the tips. Also, when you clean under your nails, be super gentle and don't push back the skin underneath - you want that to reattach to give you longer nail beds.

A lot of it just genetics and mine still don't look like nail blogger nails, but doing this has made a huge difference. I started really noticing results in about six months and now, you'd never know that they used to be super short. I still have some flaring on the sides, but I just file it away. I know this is like novel length, but mine used to look almost exactly like yours (except I had no white edge because I bit it all off lol) so I can totally relate to how you feel! I'd quit biting for a couple of months and then get so discouraged when they didn't look any better and just give up and bite again and it wasn't until I started really putting in the routine and effort that I was able to make it look better. I hope this helps! :)

Polishes - Brands

• Essie
  
  
• OPI
  
  
• China Glaze
  
  
• Sally Hansen
  
  
• Sinful Colors (cheap, but good for colors she'll use a lot, like black and white)
  
  Polishes - Colors
  
  
• White
  
  
• Black
  
  
• Pink (get more than one)
  
  
• Nude/Cream
  
  
• Her favorite color
  
  Tools
  
  Don't worry too much about getting "the best tools" if she's just starting. As she starts painting, she'll realize what tools she likes and which tools she doesn't. Ebay/Etsy/Amazon $5 tools are fine to start out with.
  
  
• Dotting tools
  
  
• Brushes
  
  
• Sponges
  
  
• Stamping kit (if you're feeling fancy or advanced.)
  
  Misc
  
  
• Mani/Pedi Kit (its possible she may have these tools, in which case skip this one.)
  
  
• Nail File
  
  
• Orange sticks (again, she may have these. Skip it if she does. Also she probably won't ever need 100, just wanted you to see what they were.)
  
  
• Acetone or Nail Polish Remover (100% Acetone is much more concentrated than most polish remover, but it can be very drying on your skin. I use it for clean up, but if she's just starting out, nail polish remover should be fine.)
  
  
• Cotton balls
  
  
• Something to carry all this stuff in (I have a pink tool box, but a make-up box will work too)
  
  I've given you a lot of stuff to check out, but don't run out and buy everything at once. I would pick 3 or 4 things from this list and go from there. For a very basic "start kit" I'd go for two colors of polish, dotting tools or brushes, a mani/pedi kit, and something to carry it all in. You can always get her more, or she can add to her collection herself.
  
  Best of luck!
  

After a mild brushing of the head with Dawn or similar dishwashing liquid and a soft toothbrush I use a wooden cuticle pusher to remove any remaining scum hardened onto the head.

I tend to use a blade for 20-25 shaves and clean at least once or twice before actually changing the blade.

Oh! I've been drooling over that color forever. Good choice! ;) Are you a big red fan?

If you have patience, Amazon is seriously a steal for building an arsenal! And if the answer to the patience question is yes... may I suggest...

• Guides for basic designs!
  
  
• If you want to organize your collection! These are super helpful when it starts growing and you want to be able to catalogue and match colors for manis. :)
  
  
  
• Striping tape, for all the lines!
  
  
  
• In case you want to up your cuticle care game :) or maybe this set instead?!
  
  
  
• Dotting tools are you best friend! And if you're into cleaning up your nails, this is a fantastic bundle!
  
  
  
• Gotta keep the nails healthy! and a different option if you'd like
  
  
  
  
• Makes removal so much faster!
  
  
  
  
• A trusty quick dry top coat
  
  
  
• Pair your top with a trust bottom coat!
  
  
  
• Maybe you want to try your hand at nail art?
  
  
  
  That's what I've got for now... Hmm.. What did I miss?

My new favorite (extremely cheap!) tool is to use cuticle sticks. They work perfectly for smoothing small details and they feel natural to handle.

I also recently purchased some rubber tip clay tools that have really helped when smoothing/defining details. My only issue is that they are long-handled tools so I can't always reach the areas I need for refining.

Amazon links:

Cuticle sticks: http://www.amazon.com/DMtse-Cuticle-Remover-Manicure-Pedicure/dp/B009WLX83Y

Rubber tip clay tools: http://www.amazon.com/COMI-Shapers-Sculpture-Polymer-Modeling/dp/B013WKV8JQ

This is a 'proper' spudger, made of a plastic just a bit firmer than plaplate, used by folks servicing hardware (smartphones, laptops, etc) to push delicate parts around without breaking things: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Spudger/IF145-002-2

Here is an alternative that I use: small soft wood sticks, usually used for cleaning under/around nails: https://www.amazon.com/DMtse-Cuticle-Remover-Manicure-Pedicure/dp/B009WLX83Y

The wood sticks don't have the most sturdy tip, but that's why you can get lots of them. I wouldn't use bare metal tools, they'd be too harsh.

I use an orange stick or a reusable one. Also like /u/ToLovesEternalGlory said, keeping them polished or at least a french manicure on will help keep you from worrying about it and constantly digging under your nails.

To address all your points:

I have the worst habit of not washing off nail polish remover and I never thought about the effects it could be having on my nails. I'll force this into the front of my mind!

I've heard about the electric toothbrush + shea butter method before so now seems to be the best time to give it a go!

...now realizing it's been forever and a day since I've taken my vitamins.

I've gotten a lot better with picking hangnails ever since I noticed how weak my nails are. It's a blessing and a curse I suppose. I'll keep them nice and trimmed just in case!

I definitely know what you mean about the "against the grain" part, but what does it mean to be filing "from the outside in"? Is it just the direction you file in so it's not against the grain?

I've heard a lot about these orange wood sticks but I have literally no clue what they are lol. I suppose that would be these but what exactly do you do with them? How far back would you push the cuticles?

I've never heard of the Mavala product, I will definitely pick some up this month. It sounds amazing and easy to use!

I feel the exact same way about wearing polish!! My confidence has increased so much since I quit biting but i still feel self-conscious without polish on.