Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic
Welcome to our new weekly column on the YOU magazine website, www.you.co.uk Below you will find the current question and our advice, with a list of where to source the products mentioned. To look at past columns, click here. And for lots more solutions to your beauty dilemmas, visit Q&A, just click here.
May 9th, 2010: Weak nails
Q I made the bad decision to get acrylic nail extensions and now my nails are sore, soft and very ridged; have you got any tips to help them?
 A Oh dear. That doesn’t sound good. To start with we recommend taking a silica supplement to help build up your nail strength from within. However do remember that this isn’t an instant fix (but look what happened when you tried one…). The product to get is Silica 2500 Plus Horsetail Herb Extract by Kordels, £14.76 for 90 vegetarian tablets. Silica is important for giving strength and elasticity to your nails, as well as helping hair and skin, also connective tissue. Bit of a wonder supplement really (and silica the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust, after oxygen).
 Then get in the habit of oiling your nails every night – and whenever else you remember. Much of the problem is down to dryness and oiling them daily can work little miracles. Natural beauties will love Green Hands Organic Cuticle Oil & Nail Strengthener, £7.15 for 5 ml, from www.victoriahealth.com, which romped into first place in our Tried & Tested Nail Strengthener category for The Green Beauty Bible, with an impressive 8.61/10 average score.
It combines cold-pressed jojoba and sweet almond oils, enhanced with neroli and frankincense. Comments included: ‘my splitting nails are stronger, more flexible and less brittle – I would buy this again’ and ‘ I am a nurse and the cleaning products we use are so strong my nails suffer terribly; they now look better, are stronger and a lot smoother, and don’t break so easily – I would recommend this product to everyone’.
  We also highly recommend the Jessica range of nail care products, specially formulated for different problems. Susan Gerrard, Managing Director of Jessica UK, advises having regular manicures if your budget permits ‘so that your manicurist can prescribe a treatment programme and monitor the results’. In between appointments, use Jessica’s Restoration Base Coat for post-acrylic and damaged nails, with healing echinacea to help the nail recover and rebuild, £14.95. Susan also points out that it’s vital to look after your cuticles as that’s where new nail growth begins, so massage them twice daily with Jessica’s Nourish, £11.45 for 14.8 ml and Phenomen Oil, £7.35 for 7.4 ml.
Finally, says Susan, always keep your nails covered with a base coat, colour and topcoat, sealing the nail tip with each coat to provide a protective layer – as well as looking gorgeous!
 We  . . . W7 The Perfect Palette, £4.95 (at www.magicmakeup.com). Most palettes, we’ve always found, have one or two great shades (so you’re carrying around the other duds). But not this super-affordable option from London brand W7: an ultra-slim quintet of ultra-wearable lightly shimmering neutrals, spanning bone to pewter, with a great mirror for shadow application.
Where To Find Products
Silica 2500 Plus Horsetail Herb Extract by Kordels, £14.76 for 90 vegetarian tablets, are available to purchase online from www.victoriahealth.com. Don’t forget your exclusive 5% discount with all online orders.
Green Hands Organic Cuticle Oil & Nail Strengthener, £7.15 for 5 ml,is available to purchase online from www.victoriahealth.com. Don’t forget your exclusive 5% discount with all online orders.
Jessica’s Restoration Base Coat, £14.95, is available to purchase online from www.lookfantastic.com
Jessica’s Nourish, £11.45 for 14.8 ml, is available to purchase online from www.lookfantastic.com.
Jessica’s Phenomen Oil, £7.35 for 7.4 ml, is available to purchase online from www.lookfantastic.com.
W7 The Perfect Palette, £4.95, is available to purchase online from www.magicmakeup.com.
Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Archive
May 2nd 2010 - Calming hair products
April 25th 2010 - Skincare for PCOS
April 18th 2010 - Tinted Moisturisers
April 11th 2010 - Stretch Marks
April 4th 2010 - Red Veins
March 28th 2010 - All-Over Sensitive Skin
March 21st 2010 - Foundation Recommendations
March 14th 2010 - Ingredients
March 7th 2010 - Laser hair removal
February 28th 2010 - SPF Moisturisers
February 21st 2010 - Eyelash enhancers
February 14th 2010 - Night-time skincare
February 7th 2010 - Moisturisers
January 31st 2010 - Concealers
January 24th 2010 - Primers
January 17th 2010 - Choosing skincare products
January 10th 2010 - Parabens free make-up
January 3rd 2010 - Cosmetic Dentistry
Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Archive 2009
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