THE NECESSITY OF SHORT NAILS NOW

Short nails are a necessity now. Give them a subtle sheen with Dior Nail Glow, a universal shade that enhances your natural nail color.

It has always been my style to keep my nails short.

But as soon as I read reports that COVID-19 was spreading in the U.S., I trimmed them even more. It only makes sense with all the Public Health warnings calling for us to be extra vigilant about washing our hands, especially under our nails where bacteria can lurk.

Even though long nails are popular, giving them a good trim is one simple thing we can all do to help fight the spread of the virus. Even before this pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that nails be kept short and trimmed often to prevent the spread of germs.

How short is short? Try for the same length that doctors and nurses strive for, which is as short as possible while still leaving a sliver of white at the top of your nail.

Going short doesn’t mean you have to forgo nail polish. My go-to is OPI Nail Lacquer in Passion. For a no-fuss subtle sheen, my favorite is Dior Nail Glow. It’s a universal shade that enhances your natural nail color.

Painting shorter nails does increase the chance you’ll get polish on the tissue surrounding the nail, but it’s easily cleaned up with a Q-Tip dipped in nail polish remover. I also have a tiny paint brush that I use just for that purpose.

With all our extra hand washing, polish is going to chip faster. For tiny touch-ups, straighten out a bobby pin and dip the rounded tip in polish and apply where needed.

There are two new nail polish lines I’m interested in experimenting with while I’m at home:

Pure, a new vegan line by Sally Hansen, comes in 30 shades inspired by nature. They are all plant-based and made without the 16 chemicals often found in nail polish including formaldehyde. Based on the online color charts, Romantic Peach looks similar to the shade I normally wear.

And Essie has launched Expressie, a one-step color and shine that comes in 40 shades and dries in a minute. Although that’s not really a problem right now. I have some extra time on my hands.

WINTER SKINCARE TIPS

Winter is the ideal time for the skincare experts at Charlotte Plastic Surgery to take your skin from whoa to wow with a combination of modern nonsurgical procedures and products. To book your free consultation, call 704-372-6846 or go to charlotteplasticsurgery.com.

We dare you to find anyone 50 and up who doesn’t have some sun-damaged skin. It’s inevitable. But with modern techniques, the damage can be easily erased thanks to the award-winning skincare experts at Charlotte Plastic Surgery.

Winter is the best time to start turning back the clock on your skin - so consider trying a combination of these problem-solving procedures and products now.

Microneedling with PRP helps you produce collagen and elastin - the key to youthful skin.

Dull Skin: As we age our bodies produce less and less collagen, which is what our body creates to make skin look youthful.. To get glowing again, try Microneedling with PRP. This highly advanced treatment uses your skin’s natural healing process and growth factors from your own blood plasma to give collagen and elastin production a major boost. The results are an improvement in the texture and firmness of your skin. It also diminishes lines, wrinkles, thinning, dullness and age spots while helping to reduce scars, pore size and stretch marks.

Broad Band Laser therapy gets rid of sun spots, uneven skin tone and fine lines.

Broad Band Laser (BBL): After Microneedling, try Broad Band Laser (BBL) to get rid of the signs of aging, such as sun spots, uneven skin tone and fine lines. This laser treatment removes sun damage in days, without any downtime. Winter months are the optimal time to have this done since your skin has to be tan-free. It’s non-invasive so you can go right from your treatment to your next appointment.

Protection: We know we have to protect our skin from the sun and weather but now we have to consider the pollutants in the air. Plus blue light from our cell phones, tablets, television screens and computers that glare in our face every day. To combat the problem, try the Lumivive system, which has a serum for day and night.

Using HA5 is a game-changing trick to to achieve optimal hydration.

Hydration: Cold temperatures instantly zap the moisture from skin. Change your moisturizer to a more emollient cream to lock in moisture and keep your skin hydrated all winter. The game-changing trick for even more moisture is using a product that pre-hydrates your skin.

By the time we are 50 years old, skin has lost 50% of the HA it had when it was 20. So start with HA5 Rejuvenating Hydrator. Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is a natural substance our bodies create which works as a natural hydrator for our skin, holding in the moisture which keeps our skin looking healthy and youthful.

Moisturize: Moisturization creates a barrier that works to hold in the hydration we need for our skin. As the weather gets colder the air offers less and less of the moisture our skin craves, which is exactly why we need to use a richer/more emollient moisturizer during those months.

Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 35.

Sunscreen: It’s a must even when it’s cloudy and cold outside. Sun damage happens 365 days a year, so your skin must be protected year-round as well. Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks the damaging rays (UVA, UVB and infrared) to your face, neck and hands every day to avoid further sun damage. Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 35 blocks the damaging UVA/UVB rays that cause our skin to age and it’s also rich in antioxidants.

To learn more or to book your free consultation, call 704-372-6846 or go to charlotteplasticsurgery.com.