Our hands are such an integral part of our daily lives, and constantly, we risk their health and strength, often without even noticing, because of the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day activities. Take a few moments each day, or at least a few times a week, to monitor the condition of your nails � the color, the texture, the appearance of ridges or white marks.

Make a greater effort to take good care of your nails, and you will be thrilled with the way they complement your wardrobe and your own personal style. Consider the following tips as a way to enhance the health and quality of your nails.

Great, Healthy Nails

Apply speed-dry nail polish when time is of the essence.Drink lots of water. Keep your body hydrated everyday to maintain healthy nails.

Fortify your diet with FDA approved vitamins or supplements. Your fingernails count on you to be responsible with your health and your diet. Unless instructed otherwise by your physician, increase your daily doses of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, folic acid, protein, Vitamin B12, and zinc.

Touch up your manicure on a daily basis to prevent chips and cracks.

Your nails depend on you to maintain a healthy diet. Take in lots.

Nail polish tips:

Finish with a clear topcoat to add gloss and sheen.Start with a base coat to strengthen and protect the nails.

Store nail polish in the refrigerator to maintain a smooth consistency.

Try not to store nail polish in a room that becomes cold. The nail polish bottles may break without warning, leaving you with a big mess.

To avoid breaking nails or brittle nails:

Avoid using your nails as tools. This means no picking, scratching, digging, pinching, etc. You know who you are!Increase the amount of calcium in your diet.

Use products containing alcohol, especially perfumed lotions, sparingly. These items can make nails prone to breaking.

Wear rubber gloves when you do chores that involve continual submersion in water or contact with harsh detergents or chemicals.

Their pale pink base and bright white tips characterize the ever-popular French manicures, which are a common request at nail salons everywhere. Professional nail stylists may paint your nails alone or they may apply fake tips if you desire. Based on your personal preferences, a nail designer will give your nails a strengthening and conditioning workout prior to painting them. If you get your nails done with fake tips, you may have to make a trip back to the salon to get your French tips �refilled� when your nails have grown noticeably.

Keeping longer, healthy nails will be most conducive to sporting a French manicure. To complete your own French manicure, begin with the following steps to prepare your nails for the procedure.

• Using a cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover, wipe off any old nail polish prior to painting nails. Wash hands and soak in warm water for a few moments.
• With an orangewood stick, gently push back the cuticles so they are all even with each other once the water has softened your skin.
• With nail clippers, beauty scissors or a nail file, shape your nails evenly.
• With a steady hand, carefully paint only the tip of each nail with a white hue. A second coat may be desirable, depending on the thickness and opaqueness of the polish. Allow polish to dry between coats.
• Using a slightly transparent pink or nude color, paint the entire nail once the tips have dried. A second coat may be necessary. Allow nails to dry thoroughly.
• Once all the coats have dried, apply a clear topcoat to protect your new French manicure. To lengthen the manicure�s lifespan, make an effort to paint a clear coat on each night. Be sure it has ample time to dry completely.
• If you are feeling especially creative and ambitious, kick off your shoes and match your tootsies to your fingertips!

This procedure is best performed on a lazy morning or evening when no other pressing errands or tasks will get in the way. After painting your nails, avoid doing things with your hands while they dry.

For an easier painting technique, check the beauty section of a drug store or superstore for a French manicure kit. The set should contain, at the very least, nail polish in white and pink or beige and a clear topcoat. Some manicure sets - like COVERGIRL�s French Manicure Kit � will contain tiny, sticky nail guides. These make the manicure process 100 times easier by allowing you to place the guides on each nail individually, leaving a small margin where the polish can spill outside the tip without tainting the rest of the nail.

As the holidays approach, let your crazy side out by concocting a wildly modified French manicure - green and white for St. Patrick�s Day, pastel shades for Easter, black and orange for Halloween and red and green for Christmas. Have fun and remember, even if you find the do-it-yourself French manicure difficult at first, practice will provide you with the skills you need to create beautiful and perfect manicures all year long!

Step one: Lip balm babe

Prepare your delicate lips with a generous slick of lip balm in advance. Nobody likes cracked and frayed lips! And in this cold winter weather its important to take more care than usual. (Cold weather will dry the moisture from your lips). Make sure that the lip balm has sunk a little before you go on to step two, otherwise your lip liner won�t work.

Step two: Line and define

Get a natural lip liner, and carefully draw around the very rim of your lips. If you get a wobbly line, don�t panic (and don�t think nobody will notice it)… just carefully remove it and start again! When you have a firm line fill in the rest of your lips with the same color.

Step three: Now add some shine!

Here comes the glamorous bit, the lip-gloss! Again, keep the color natural. Forget lipstick that�s too dark or too light. One thing you�ve gotta remember though, gloss looks better but doesn�t have the staying power of lippy. Make sure you keep it in your purse and re-apply during the day.

Step four: Plump them up

This is the �hard bit�. But actually it�s not! All you�ve got to do, (after you�ve completed steps one through three), is dot a white shimmery product like eye shadow or an eyebrow highlighter in the very center of your lips. Start slowly, and blend very carefully. What you are looking to achieve is natural looking shading, with your lip color being lighter where your mouth opens. This will create the illusion of beautiful full lips.

Oh, one last thing. Remember, people always want what they haven�t got, so don�t fret… just make the best of what you�ve got. And you know what they say; if you�ve got it, flaunt it!

So pucker up, and be sweet!

* To keep lips going all day, first pencil all over lips with a soft lip pencil. Apply lipstick over and blot.

* To make lips look fuller, line lips with a pencil and then blend the edges with a sponge applicator. Cover with gloss or petroleum jelly.

* To keep lipstick off teeth, pucker lips into an extreme “O”. Cover your finger with tissue, and pole it into your moutn. Slowly twist it out of your mouth, eliminating any excess color.

* To achieve a pouty, sexy mouth, emphasize your top lip by dabbing just a touch of gloss in the center.

* Highlight your lips with a verylight eye shadow color that coordinates with your lip color tones. Place it right in the center of your upper and lower lips.

* To balance unevenly shaped lips, use a lighter colored lipstick on the smaller-sized lip.

* To keep lipstick in place while dining, keep lips off utensils. Use your lower teeth and tongue to do the work.

* Gently rub with washcloth over lips before applying lipstick to smooth out lips.

* Apply foundation around the lips give a precise look without lip liner.

For Full Lips:

You are lucky if you’ve been blessed with those large lips. Women everywhere are trying to replicate with collagen. But large lips can take over your face if you’re not careful.

* You really don’t need lip liner, but if you like the look, soften edge with your finger or a Q-tip.

* Don’t wear any lip color that is too glossy or shiny.

For Thin Lips:

* Draw slightly beyond the lip with a neutral-colored lip pencil. Then apply lipstick. Your lipstick will “catch” onto the liner.

* Apply white shadow on center of lips over lipstick and spread slightly.

* Don’t wear a very dark shade of lipstick. It makes lips more smaller.

Step 1: Prep

Smooth lips with lip balm. Avoid slick products, such as Vaseline or anything else petroleum-based (they will make the lipstick slide off).
Instead, apply a waxy balm, such as Chapstick, and massage into lips with your figertips. Then let it sink in for a few minutes.

Step 2: Pick Your Stick

Grab one that lets lips show through, such as a sheer lipstick or light gloss.
Apply…LIPSTICK straight from the tube. Blend into lips and along your lip line with fingertip.
Apply LIP GLOSS with the wand or a lip brush. Smooth out with your fingertip.

Step 3: Blot

When you are finished applying color, lightly kiss the back of your hand. This will get rid of excess product without cutting down on the sheen. Then

Lip liner is optional but if you use it, it should go on first. Don’t use liner darker than your lipstick, because if the lipstick fades and the liner doesn’t, you’re left with just an outline. Use neutral or lipstick-matched liner.

Starting at the center of your upper lip, draw a line to each outer corner, following the edge of your natural lip line.

Fill in color all over lips if you want extra holding power for your lipstick.

*Hint: Chill lip pencil in the refrigerator for a few minutes to make sharpening easier.

B. Lipstick

A dusting of powder or bit of foundation beneath lipstick can maximize its staying power. Either can dry lips, though, so use a creamy formula lipstick.

Stretch your lips and starting at the center of top or bottom, glide color to corners. Blot, reapply and blot again for longer-lasting color.

*Hint: A lip brush gives you the most precision in applying lipstick.

Virtual Kiss - Send a beautiful e-card or a kiss via email with this symbol: :-*

 STEP 2
File your nails. If they are brittle or tend to split, keep them flat across the top with smooth, rounded edges. When filing, move in one direction, from outer corner to centre-sawing movements can damage the nail plate. Choose a nail file with a fine surface that glides over the nail.

STEP 3
Coat hands in a layer of sweet almond oil, to norish and soften, then wrap in a warm towel and relax for 15 minutes. Unwrap, and gently push back cuticles using a rubber hoof stick (available from most chemists). Never use cuticle clippers, as they can nick the skin. Rinse hands with warm water and dry thoroughly to remove any oil residue.

STEP 4
Apply one coat of base coat over your entire nail and allow a couple of minutes to dry. This will help strengthen the nail. Some products also level fine ridges and imperfections, leaving a smooth surface to apply polish. There’s a wide range of base coats to choose from.

STEP 5
For a square look, paint a straight line across the tips; for a rounded appearance, follow the curve of the nail; and to get a pointed style, paint in from each side to the centre. Some manicure kits include sticky strips to use as a guide. when applying, lay your hand on a flat surface and keep the ball of your painting hand steady and keep the ball of your painting hand steady by resting it on the same surface. Leave to dry.

STEP 6
Finally, apply a coat of translucent shell-pink nail polish over the entire nail to seal the whitened tip and complete the look. Allow 10 minutes for it to dry. For extra shine and protection, apply a clear, glossy top coat.

French manicure

* Soften your hands even while you do the dishes. Add a little almond oil (about a teaspoon) to dishwater. The water will soften rought skin while the oil seals the moisture.

* Slough off dead skin cells with a solution made of sea salt lemon. Brush it into hands with an old toothbrush. Do this twice a week to soften hands and remove discoloration.

* Wash hands thoroughly with warm water, then, using a coarse washcloth, rub briskly. While skin is slightly damp, apply a mixture of one teaspoon honey and one teaspoon olive oil. Place hands in small plastic bags, then in a pair of cotton gloves for thirty minutes. The heat helps the treatment penetrate.

* Warm a cup of milk in the microwave for thirty seconds (or until warm, but comfortable to the touch). Soak your hands for five minutes to strengthen nails and hydrate skin. Not only is milk loaded with lactic acid, a natural alpha hydroxy acid that gently exfoliates dead skin, but its high calcium content will strengthen fragile nails.

What causes dandruff? Well, you see, our entire skin, from our scalps to the soles of our feet, sheds dead skin cells on a daily basis. We get a complete coating of new skin every 28 days or so, but we hardly even notice it.

Our bodies also play host to a lot of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi, feeding off on the sebaceous oils that our skin produces. Our scalp in particular is home to a kind of fungus called malassezia fungus, and its food is the oils produced by the hair follicles of our scalp. Dandruff happens when, for some reason or another, the malassezia fungus goes crazy and irritates our scalp, causing the dead skin to shed a lot faster. So, instead of shedding the dead skin cells of our scalp for a month, the shedding happens in less than two weeks, and the oil that our hair follicles produce cause these dead skin cells to clump together and become dandruff. Until now, the factors that trigger this phenomenon with the malassezia fungus are still the subject of research.

Dandruff is an embarrassing hair condition, and it can recur despite your best efforts. But with proper hair care, the recurrence of dandruff can be controlled. The best way to keep the flakes at bay is to shampoo your hair every day - picture perfect hair.

Dandruff can, of course, become stubborn, so if washing everyday with your regular shampoo does not stop the flakes from becoming haywire, the next best thing to do would be to start using anti-dandruff shampoos. Look for anti-dandruff shampoos with zinc pyrithione, selenium sulfide, salicylic acid or ketoconazole as the active ingredient. To keep your scalp from developing immunity to these shampoos, go ahead and rotate brands at least once a month.

For optimum results, you can lather your hair with the shampoo of your choice twice. The first wash will clear the scalp of the flakes and the oil buildup. The second one would let the chemicals in the shampoo get absorbed by the scalp - haute hair.

You can also try homemade remedies to wash the flakes away and to keep the dandruff from recurring. What is considered the best homemade remedy to dandruff is a vinegar wash. Mix two teaspoons of vinegar with six teaspoons of water and rub it against your scalp before you go to bed, then wrap your head with a towel. Apply the same solution to your hair once again in the morning when you wake up, then rinse it with water. You do not have to worry about the smell of vinegar in your hair, as the smell of vinegar does evaporate eventually.

Whatever you do, never, ever scratch the clumps with your fingernails. It will cause wounds on your scalp.

Dandruff is an embarrassing hair condition, but it is not unmanageable. Just take good care of your hair and the flakes will go away.

Which is better, you may ask?
Both ways of drying the hair have their advantages and disadvantages, and there are proper and improper ways of doing both. Read on and find out what these are.

Air drying. Air drying is usually done by people who have short and low-maintenance hairstyles, or by people with curly hair. There are also people who have long hair yet have their hair air dry, as air drying does not subject the hair to excessive heat. Therefore, the hair is not as susceptible to damage as hair that is blow dried.

If you are going to have your hair air dried, it is very important to remember that the hair is at its weakest when it is wet. So, take care not to rub your hair dry with the use of a towel. The friction caused by rubbing the hair with a towel will make the hair brittle and eventually break. Rather than rubbing it, you should instead blot the moisture out of your hair with the towel. Also, be careful not to tug or pull at your hair that much when it is still wet. Once the water is blotted out of the hair, fluff it out with your fingers.

Blow Drying. Blow drying the hair is the most convenient way of doing it, and because most people live fast-paced lives, blow drying the hair is the way most people want to do it. Moreover, drying the hair using a blower adds volume to the hair. But inasmuch that blow drying is very convenient, it is also dangerous to the hair, especially if overdone. It can make the hair very brittle.

If you blow dry your hair, make sure that it is not soaking. Blot the water out with a towel first. Do not hold the dryer too close to your head; keep it at least six inches away from your hair and move the dryer constantly around your head. Protect the outer strands of your hair from being over-dried by bending over and blow drying your hair with your hair hanging upside down. Also, try not to dry your hair completely with the blow dryer. Stop while the hair is still slightly damp.

Whether you air dry your hair or you blow dry it is completely your own choice based on your own lifestyle and preferences. But whatever you do, always remember that the hair is fragile. Be careful while handling it.