FINGERNAIL HEALTH and BUFFING MANICURE SYSTEMS

Compiled by SpaIndex.Com

**SpaIndex.Com does not stock, sell, earn commissions or collect any revenue of any kind from NAILBUFFS.  Our endorsement of NAILBUFFS is solely the result of our staff receiving, collectively, hundreds of manicures, and the comparison between those typical salon manicures and the NAILBUFFS buffing system.**

    As part of our  goal to not only provide my readers with the best spa related travel information we can find, but also to educate and inform you as to the latest and most beneficial spa and spa related treatments, we are often asked for recommendations to spas giving "the best manicure" or spas offering specials on manicure and pedicure treatments. As part of our "Spa at Home" feature, we are also regularly asked to profile home manicure treatments.

    We've only answered a manicure-related question a few times, most recently when a reader asked us to explain the origin of a French manicure and a recommendation for the best at-home French manicure kit. The request corresponded with our focus on French Vichy spa treatments, so we included the manicure information as part of a themed newsletter. We provided the historical information, however, we were reluctant to recommend a specific home manicure kit because we've have never found a home manicure kit we personally would recommend to anyone.   Collectively, we just don't like nail polish. Manicures yes, but polish and faux nails? No.

     Ask yourself this basic question about French Manicures: Why do you spend so much time, energy, and money on a salon manicure designed to paint your nails so they mimic the LOOK of  fresh, healthy nails?

     Because the most attractive nail is a healthy nail, free from embellishments. 

       The so called French Manicure mimics the look of a healthy nail by painting the nail in a pale color and painting  a contrasting white or paler translucent tip -- the choice of brides everywhere.   If this is the look you're going for, why not do it for real?  

     A buffing system is your answer. Not pink and white polish with little tape strips to even up the lines.

    We met  Donna Taras, co-founder of NAILBUFFS by Taras,  and were given NAILBUFFS by TARAS to evaluate. We learned from Donna a wealth of information not only about the NAILBUFFS system, but information regarding natural nail care and healthy manicure concepts.   The education we received as a result of Donna's vast experience in the field, and our own independent research, made it easy for us to recommend NAILBUFFS.

    Donna Taras, and her sister and partner, Royce Taras, developed NAILBUFFS between 1978 and 1981.   Rather than being simply another manicure system designed to present the nails as colorful works of art or to artificially enhance the appearance of nails, NAILBUFFS was created as a system of total nail care.   The unique tools and products in the NAILBUFFS system, when used properly, will help your nails outshine nails with polish, naturally, by replacing and maintaining the critical  oil/moisture balance within the structure of nails (both layers and fibers), thereby preventing nails from splitting, peeling or layering.  Those common complaints are almost always the direct result of manicures and nail treatments which rely on chemical and artificial ingredients, including the worst offenders, nail polish and nail polish remover.

    Early in the development of NAILBUFFS, Donna and Royce offered and sold their product exclusively in fine department stores, including Bloomingdale's, where it has developed a popular and loyal following, without a single return having been made in nearly twenty years.

    Our chief product reviewer admits being biased against salon manicures with feature nail polish or chemical based ingredients, and is quite reluctant to get them, especially on any kind of regular basis.  "I find it difficult to wear nail polish for any length of time because I feel as if my fingernails are suffocating or not getting enough 'air.' I also happen to find it distracting to look down at 10 spots of brilliant color all day, which is a personal preference, but its the suffocation feeling which has always been my chief concern.  Call it a quirk, a phobia, or just plain nuttiness, but I once overhead a bank teller explain to a customer with long faux nails that she could never wear them as she'd 'feel like her hands were running out of oxygen.' I knew exactly what she meant and thought there was, at least, one other nutcase in the world besides me.  I told her so and we laughed and said "Oh my gosh, you too?!""

    Still, there were special occasions where we wanted a more glamorous, beautiful, sculptured set of nails, and we'd break down and get them. However, within days we'd be picking, worrying, and loosening the faux nail.  If it was just polish, it would be peeled off, nail by nail.   Always a waste of money for such a brief period of glamour.  In retrospect, the fact we could never leave artificial nails or polish on our  nails for any length of time greatly protected the health of the  nails, as we came to learn. 

    The more we learned about nail health, the more we realized our bodies were simply telling us to avoid what is essentially an unhealthy practice. In researching better and more healthful manicure treatments, we discovered NAILBUFFS, which is a really marvelous manicure system that is natural, healthy, nonabrasive and far superior to any faux nail treatment. 

     For those of you who have recently removed faux nails after extended wear, Donna warns that the worst possible thing to do is to apply fresh nail polish to the nail, either to hide the damage or to "strengthen" the weak nail.  It may hide, but it doesn't strengthen.  It worsens the problem by adding a chemical component to the now very damaged and porous surface, further breaking down the integrity of the nail.  Instead, Donna recommends daily fingernail soaking in warm olive oil and then nothing but NAILBUFFS to restore nail strength and health.

    We had the NAILBUFFS system in our office and offered to give a buffing manicure to a secretary who was quite fond of her salon nails.  "Come in without polish tomorrow" we instructed.  She did, and within a few minutes (using first a microsmoother, then a snow stone, followed by application of a buffing compound and then buffing), we'd completely manicured ONE  nail on her hand, leaving the others void of any polish or treatment.  "Now look at your hands" we instructed her.  She was instantly impressed "It's so SHINY" she exclaimed.  "Even more than nail polish and there is nothing on my nails."  

    We know what some of you are saying to yourselves. 

    Give up your faux nails? Never, you say.

    Give up beautiful coordinate shades of nail color? Never, you say.

   We also know there are those of you who will say "My man loves long, red nails" and that's not uncommon, but my guess is the majority of men find the parade of other "more adventurous" nail art and embellishments offered up today as silly, even garish, and a waste of money.  We've never once heard a man say "Honey, those candy cane striped nails with Santa Claus and all the reindeer are sexy."    We think women put on Nail Art Parades for each other.  We're betting a poll of our men folk would back that up.

     Our response is simple. Don't say you'll give them up.

     Just consider adopting NAILBUFFS as your day-to-day nail care system, reserving faux nail and color treatments for rare or special occasions, and then only if your nails have been buffed and cared for with  NAILBUFFS, in advance.

     If you are like us, soon you'll come to appreciate your NAILBUFFS nails much more than you ever did your salon nails.  But, for the die hard color fanatics, NAILBUFFS will completely protect your nails by buffing a tough, protective shield of shine on nails that puts a natural barrier between the yellowing caused by the pigments in nail polish and the chemical damage caused by the toxins in the nail polish and remover.   Nail polish removers are detrimental to nail health because any kind of remover, acetone or not, strip and leech the nail of its healthy oil and moisture balance, which is what prevents nail layers from separating, splitting, peeling and layering.

    If you're with us thus far, indulge us while we share some basic fingernail health facts and attempt to persuade those of you addicted to salon or home manicures (particularly those involving faux nails and color treatments), to try NAILBUFFS. This is not an advertisement for a product, it's simply an endorsement for the benefit of our readers, to introduce you one product that does it all, and naturally. An incomparable system that promises, and consistently provides, absolutely beautiful, natural, healthy fingernails to everyone, men and women, young or old, regardless of skin tone. Even (perhaps especially) to those of you who think your nails are hopeless and can only be seen in public if painted or covered to hide their dismal condition.

    Most men and women probably don't give much thought to nail health. Some people treat their nails as accessories, while others either use them as tools, or bite or chew them. Fingernails are a far more interesting and complex part of the human body than many of us realize.

     Fingernails are mirrors of the general health of the body and are often checked by medical personnel during both routine and emergency examination. For that reason, you should NEVER attend a medical or physical examination of any kind with faux fingernails or polished nails -- they mask vital clues to your health, including disorders such as asthma, emphysema or heart disease, improper nutrition and stress.

    Finger and toenails are a part of your skin -- made of the same protein and keratin as your skin and hair. Nails are composed of the hardest keratin, and are one of the body's strongest tissues. If you want attractive and healthy nails, you must treat them as carefully as you treat your skin and hair. Consider how harsh chemicals, dyes, and permanent solutions negatively affect the condition of your hair and skin. So it goes with your nails. Manicure treatments that focus on faux nails and fingernail polish needlessly and harmfully coat your nails with the harshest of substances -- and you have paid for the damage. Consider the following:

     A vicious cycle is created when you receive or give yourselves manicures utilizing faux nails, polish and nail polish remover. Chemical damage and moisture stripping, caused specifically by nail polish remover, occurs to a degree with even a single application. Your nails will weaken and continue to deteriorate with each use, and as they do, you are less and less pleased with both the overall health and the appearance of your nails. So you go back to the salon, and continue to damage and weaken your nails, or decide that you now need so- called hardeners or strengtheners, which only further perpetuate decline in nail health.   

     As Donna points out, the color of your nail tips is a wonderful barometer of nail polish, remover, strengthener and hardener or other chemical damage. "The whiter and more opaque your nail tips are," she explained, "the less oil and moisture remain within the structure of your nails. White, opaque nail tips are an indication off severely dry, damaged nails. Healthy nails exhibit strength, resiliency and transparency."

     NAILBUFFS receives countless letters, many of which we've seen and read, from satisfied customers exclaiming that their nails were in such a state of disrepair as to be embarrassing to look at in their natural state. The very self-esteem and feeling of attractiveness, which prompts us to manicure our nails with faux and color treatments, ends up damaging our nails, often leaving us feeling LESS attractive or unnecessarily self-conscious.

     Attractive, well-groomed nails are an integral part of our overall appearance. In fact, the sign of a well-groomed man throughout the early part of the century was his well-buffed fingernails, a practice that has fallen out of popularity due to the shifting focus of the nail care industry to the then new, and burgeoning, highly profitable product called nail polish which was emerging on the fashion scene and more recently, especially in the eighties and nineties, of the nail care industry, once again, focusing on the highly profitable acrylic nails, accessories, products, and other artificial nail processes for women.

    The nail cosmetics is a booming industry with more than $6 billion spent annually on nail cosmetic salon services in the United States alone. While most nail cosmetics are generally safe, there are some instances where nail cosmetics can cause problems and be harmful to nails if left untreated. In fact, consider the medical personnel are governed by strict guidelines which prohibit them from wearing these products when treating us:

    Speaking at Academy 2000, the American Academy of Dermatology’s Summer scientific meeting in Nashville, dermatologist Phoebe Rich, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, discussed the common problems associated with nail cosmetics and tips to treat them.

    "Basically, problems from nail cosmetics can be divided into four general categories - allergic reactions to nail cosmetic ingredients, irritant reactions, traumatic factors, and infectious conditions," explained Dr. Rich. "In many cases, once the problem is identified it can be easily treated."  Donna Taras adds "In many cases, problems such as bacterial or fungal infections, are not easily treated. Treatments often take months, are expensive and not always effective. It's just not worth the risk."

    Allergic reactions are the most common complication from nail cosmetics. These reactions occur when the skin becomes allergic to an ingredient in the product and subsequently the consumer develops symptoms of itching, burning and tenderness of the nail bed, cuticle area, and areas of the face and neck. The most common allergens in nail cosmetics are methacrylate (MMA) compounds in acrylic nails, toluene sulfonamide formaldehyde resin in nail lacquers, and formaldehyde in some nail hardeners.

    "Although the liquid form of MMA that is used in acrylic nails has been banned by 23 states and the FDA has issued warnings about its hazards, the substance is still being used in some discount salons because it costs so much less than the safer acrylate alternatives such as ethylmethacrylate," warned Dr. Rich. "MMA is a highly allergenic substance that can cause an allergic reaction so severe that the entire nail can be lost. In addition, nail enhancements containing MMA are much harder, making them more difficult to file and remove."

     An irritant reaction from nail cosmetics occurs when the hands and nails are exposed to irritating substances such as chemical solvents. While nail polish remover is the most common cause of irritant reactions, detergents and even water can cause chapped skin and dry, peeling nails. Irritant reactions include loss of the cuticle - allowing bacteria and fungus to invade the space around the nails - and brittle nails that break, peel and chip.

     Donna Taras advised us that antibacterial soaps and related products containing the chemical called Triclosan are also to be avoided, as they can be very irritating and drying to both nails and skin, sometimes even causing loss of feeling in fingertips. Triclosan is categorized by the FDA, as a pesticide with high risk to human and environmental health, and suspect in the creation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

    The use of sharp instruments during a manicure can result in traumatic nail problems, as the cuticle is often clipped or removed with small nippers or metal scrapers. The cuticle serves an important function in protecting the nail from organisms, and when it is removed there is a space where bacteria and fungus can enter.

    "Electric drills that are often used to remove acrylic nails can be quite dangerous to the nail," cautioned Dr. Rich. "I have seen some cases where these drills actually thin the nail plate or accidentally drill right through the nail plate, resulting in injury to the underlying nail bed."

    Perhaps the most serious health risk related to nail cosmetics is the threat of contracting an infection from manicure tools and instruments that have not been properly sterilized. Viral infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and C and warts can be transmitted to unsuspecting consumers from improperly sterilized instruments.

    Dr. Rich recommends the following tips to all consumers who are using nail cosmetics:

    So now that we've shared this dismal but compelling information, how does a manicure, the NAILBUFFS way, work?

    Each time you indulge in a manicure of faux nails, or apply layers of nail polish to the living cells in your fingernails, you are killing vital nail cells and robbing those cells of essential oils and moisture that result in splitting, peeling, layering, weak and brittle nails which can take weeks and months to strengthen and regenerate themselves. Every time you use a traditional emery board or steel file to shape and file your nails, you are fraying delicate layers and fibers.

    One reason we are personally sold on NAILBUFFS is simple -- the NAILBUFFS System gives everyone we demonstrated the product on, no matter what stage of nail health they exhibit, instant, dramatic, results which brought about exclamations of amazement.  The astonishing improvement you will see will only encourage you to continue to buff your nails and naturally nurse them back to maximum health and well being. NAILBUFFS will ultimately provide you with the most attractive and well-groomed nails you've ever had -- Spa/Salon perfect! Keep in mind too that because NAILBUFFS is so simple to use, it can be used anytime, anywhere.

    NAILBUFFS is the only nail buffing system available that uniquely restores the natural and essential oil and moisture balance within the structure of abused and chemically damaged nails. NAILBUFFS guarantees that your nails will stop peeling; splitting and layering forever, no matter what condition they are in when you begin. The natural, non-abrasive buffing formula results in a glow that both outshines and outlives ordinary fingernail polish -- and looks superb on both women and men, young or old, regardless of skin tone. The unique combination of the finest ingredients, moisturizers, conditioners, essential oils, vitamins, antioxidants, protein and keratin, to name a few, restores and protects your nails, and counteracts damage inflicted by toxic nail polish, removers, faux nails, base coats, top coats, so-called strengtheners and hardeners or just simple every day abuse, naturally! You will be nothing less than amazed by the transformation resulting from using NAILBUFFS.

    After having several informative discussions with Donna Taras, co-developer of NAILBUFFS, she graciously provided us with a NAILBUFFS Essential Kit in order to test drive her product and profile it to our readers. Our kit included:

    In addition to the employees at our office, we also tried NAILBUFFS on our brothers.   They marveled at the natural, brilliant shine of a clean, healthy looking nail with a surface like a mirror. NAILBUFFS not only makes nails look impeccably clean and well groomed, but will reduce bacteria colony counts on nail surfaces making it an invaluable nail buffing system for anyone in the medical profession.

    For those of you who, after consultation with Donna Taras via telephone or email (as an aside, the customer service which accompanies this product is excellent), feel a more intensive treatment is required, NAILBUFFS also offers Deep Therapy Cuticle and Nail Formula, and Deep Damage Formula Nail Oil, which penetrates all severely damaged nail layers, delivering immediate, results to moisture starved nails.

    So what of the lesser priced three-sided nail buffing tools sold in drugstores and salons? Why not simply buff with those?  First, they are comprised of synthetic materials which wear down very quickly.  The more you use them, the quicker they lose their effectiveness.  That synthetic surface you are rubbing across your nail briefly shines it, yes, but it is wearing off the surface of the buffer itself, at the same time, and quickly.  They get dirty and worn very quickly and don't handle a candle to NAILBUFFS in terms of strength or longevity. Second, they offer no benefits of moisture repair: they do NOT restore moisture or essential oils.

      These are the same inexpensive three-sided buffers offered at the dead sea themed kiosks in shopping malls -- with those charming but aggressive salespersons who try to drag you out of the aisle to buff one of your nails for you.   Here's a tip:  They are looking at the hands of passing shoppers, trying to spot which of you have no nail polish on and thus are good targets for a buff job.  Put your hands in your pockets and keep your eyes fixed straight ahead!   The exceedingly expensive kit sold by this kiosks works.  Yes, it does. But these kits use the same inexpensive synthetic buffers you can purchase at any grocery store.  The last time we checked the price in the mall it was $60 for this kit. That translates to roughly $1.00 for a temporary, inexpensive plastic and foam buffer and $59 for an ounce of cuticle oil (which is Jojoba oil) plus body lotions you didn't need but were required to purchase to get the kit.   They sell the cuticle (Jojoba) alone, online, for $14.95 for 1 oz. You can buy 4 oz bottle of pure Jojoba oil at Trader Joe's for approximately $5.00.  Moving along.

     NAILBUFFS kits include a Natural Buffing Formula which you're recommended to use a minimum of twice a week to achieve maximum nail health, strength and well-being. However, because NAILBUFFS is nonabrasive, and gentle to your nails, you may buff as often as you wish. The more you buff, the more you shine, and no matter what shape your nails are in to start with.

     For those of you who enjoy the pampering of a salon manicure, you can bring your own NAILBUFFS kit with you and ask that it be used (a very common and safe practice) or simply introduce your nail tech to the NAILBUFFS system and request that they offer this healthy, natural approach to nail care to their clientele.   Your manicurist will be impressed in any event, when he or she uses it on your hands.  In fact, the NAILBUFFS system is growing in its popularity with spas facilities which until recently did not offer natural alternatives to traditional nail care.  NAILBUFFS is presently offered at the Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, as well as several day spas.  Check with the NAILBUFFS website to inquire of new spas offering the product.  

     If you are own and operate a spa or salon facility and you wish to offer the NAILBUFFS system, wholesale spa pricing is available on the SPA NAILBUFFS page, on the NAILBUFFS web site. NAILBUFFS is also available retail and wholesale online directly from NAILBUFFS or by emailing Donna Taras through the website. The NAILBUFFS website has shopping cart capability, or Donna will be happy to assist you with your order, personally answering any of your questions about your nail problems and about her products. 

Portions of this article regarding nail health in the medical profession were reprinted from Better Homes and Gardens, July 2000