Bath Time!

Did you think taking a bath was just for little kids?!?  Hey!  Why let them have all the fun?  Taking a nice luxurious bath can be a great way to get clean, and get a little quiet time for yourself as well!  We’ll give you some hints and tips for making the most of your time in the bath tub, but as always, make sure your parents know what you’re up to!

When is the last time someone took a bath in there?  Don’t think too hard about it, just clean it!  You’ll feel much more relaxed about it later!  Ask your mom what’s the best thing to use to clean your bath – different tubs, different cleansers – and get to work!  You’ll want to thoroughly rinse the tub when you’re done cleaning it, too.  Some cleansers can be pretty tough on your tender skin!

Some things you’ll want for a great tub experience:

-Cell phone off! – it could get ruined, so turn it off and put it away.

-Accessories – bath pillows, loofahs, scrub brushes, duckies.  Make sure they’re all handy before you get in the tub!

-Low light – dim the lights if you can, or a candle can be nice, maybe even a scented one, just make sure mom knows, and that it’s set up far away from anything that might burn!

-Relaxing music – make sure your player is far away from any water, as electricity and water do not mix (!), and set it up completely before you get near any water – touching electronics when wet can be fatal to you, or if you’re luckier, it will only ruin your gadget!  Safety First, Please!  Leave it alone if mom thinks it’s too risky.

- Dry stuff - A bath mat, big towel, and a robe if you have one. Ooh!  And those neck pillows are kewl if there’s one in the house!

-Reading material – make it something you don’t mind getting wet, like a cheap paperback or a magazine you don’t want to treasure forever.  You don’t have to read, though!

- Something to drink – make sure it’s in a plastic container, as glass and water don’t mix either!

-Bath additions – you could use a bubble bath, bath salts, or those kewl bath balls that dissolve.  Read the directions so you know how and when the product you choose should be added to the water: before, during or after filling the tub.

-Fill the tub – it takes a while, but have the patience to be there while the tub fills.  Reasons?  Safety and safety:

1. It’s hard to judge how quickly a tub will fill, and sometimes the water flow will increase or decrease while you fill it, so it’s best to be on hand to turn off the water, and avoid embarrassing and costly mistakes! 

2. It’s hard to judge how hot your tub will be, so it’s good to test not only the water as it comes out of the faucet, but also the water as it gathers in the tub.  There’s physics involved, but the water in the tub will feel warmer than the flowing water.  If you have a bath thermometer, you can use that, too. 

Also, remember to leave room for your body in the tub and don’t fill it to the rim with water!  Otherwise, when you get in, it’ll overflow!

It’s a good idea to clean your face before getting in the tub, as the heat may make you a little sweaty (only in the healthiest sense, of course!) and you’ll want to get your hair up and out of the way, maybe in a chignon or a ponytail on top of your head. 

Keep your bath towel near, so you can wipe your hands if you want to use them for anything.

Get in CAREFULLY!  Reasons:

It may be hotter than you thought!

You don’t want to slip!

You don’t want to slosh water all over the floor!

Enjoy it for as long as you like, though doctors say keep it under twenty minutes. At that point, the water begins to cool and your hands and feet get pruny anyway, so it might be a good time to call it quits.

When you’re done, everything gets rinsed: You, the tub, and any scrubbers, brushes or rubber duckies you might have had along for the ride!  Leave everything neater and cleaner than you found it, and you’ll be all set for the next time a nice, hot bath sounds like the answer to all your troubles!

The Elements of a Good Mani-Pedi!

Don’t know what “mani-pedi” means?  It’s a “manicure-pedicure”, or getting your “finger-” and “toe-“nails done!  Oh, that!  Well, yes, that!  Most girls are interested in having their nails done, at least every once in a while, so let’s cover the basics for the best application possible – just like a professional, only waaay less expensive!  Even if you choose NOT to wear polish, it’s nice to have neat hands and nails that look well taken care of!

Things you’ll need:

A parent’s permission!  No point in getting in trouble!

45 min. to one hour of time

A safe space for using liquids which is easy to clean up, in case of oopsies!

Paper towels

Something to drink

Nail polish remover

Cotton balls

Something for wet garbage

Foot bath

Soaking dish

Liquid hand soap or bubble bath

Cuticle stick – wood is softest

Nail scissors

Cuticle scissors

Nail file

Nail buffer

Hand cream

Rubbing alcohol

Toe separator

Base coat

Colored nail polish

Top Coat

Q-tips

*It seems like a lot of stuff, and may take a while and some savings to collect together, but remember, the more expensive pieces can be used for years to come if cared for properly!

Find somewhere for your mani-pedi session that has the least possibility of getting damaged by spilled polish, water or rubbing alcohol.  In the movies all the girls do their nails on their beds, but in reality, that’s just asking to ruin your bedspread!  You’re looking for a room with “non-porous” surfaces, like tile, or cement.  Mom will know best, so ask her about any of these better choices:

Out on the back stoop (if the weather is good)

In the bathroom (clear away any towels or rugs that could be damaged)

Maybe even in the kitchen – but that all depends upon the kitchen!

You’ll want to have some paper towels handy to spread out under work areas, under tools, and to clean up any spills or messes as quickly as possible.

Set out all your tools, so you won’t have to go far to get them as you need them.  Nothing messes up a good manicure like rummaging around in a drawer for that top coat!  Feel free to use the above list to make sure you have everything, and don’t forget to open any bottles or cans before you begin! 

Turn off the phone!  Not only is it a good habit to get into, for your own personal peace, but you won’t be able to answer it or text for the next hour!  Unless you really want to ruin all your hard work! 

Once you have everything you will need, you can clean off any old polish with the nail polish remover and cotton balls.  Only use as much as you need, as most brands are not very good for the environment!  Also be careful what you touch with the remover soaked cotton balls – they can be very destructive to colors and surfaces – especially plastics and wood!  Put them directly into your handy trash container!

Note!:  If you’re doing both hands and feet, start by doing your toes – your feet can’t help give you a manicure, but you do need your hands for a pedicure!

Now fill your soaking dish or foot bath with warm sudsy water.  Start with just a few drops of soap and swirl – you can always add more if it’s not enough. Never fill a dish more than half-way with water if you’re going to have to carry it!  It can get REALLY heavy, and the water will slosh all over the place. 

NOW SOAK!  Not only is this really relaxing, but it gets your hands and feet really clean, and prepares and softens the nails for the shaping to come.  That means less cracking later on!  5-10 minutes is plenty of time to soak.  You can clear the bowls away when you’re done with this step. 

Once the skin on your hands is softened, and only if your cuticles grow far up over your nails, you can GENTLY use your cuticle stick to GENTLY push the skin down towards the base of your nail.  Did we say GENTLY?  Cuticles are the lip of skin at the base of your nail that may grow up over your nails.  If it doesn’t grow over you nail, skip this step.  Everyone’s hands are different, and some cuticles are short, others long, and some are very sensitive! 

Look below for more!

Mani-Pedi continued

At this point, you can begin to shape your nails.  Nail shapes can be very different, depending on the person, and the style they want to wear.  If you’re active, the best shape is one that is relatively short (not too far above the fingertip), and leaves an equal amount of free nail growth above the nail bed, all the way across. 

If you’re nails have become very long, you can shape them with nail scissors, or simply file them down if they are not that long. 

Filing should always be in one direction across the top of each nail – a back and forth motion is like scrubbing the nail top apart, and can lead to cracks.  Any cutting of the nail should always be followed up with filing to round out any sharp edges that have formed.  Cuticle scissors are intended to remove any hangnails.  Be careful, and use with adult supervision only.  No hangnails?  Skip this step.

After shaping, some people like to buff their nails.  Buffing will gives your nails a nice shine, especially if you want to avoid using polish, and can help give you an even surface for applying polish later, if that’s your plan.  You should buff gently, as it may make your nails thin if you press too hard, and use a 1-2-lift, 1-2-lift rhythm when buffing, to avoid creating friction heat.  Energetic buffing can create a lot of heat, and it can really hurt!

In many salons, the manicurists will apply some nice smelling lotion, and give your hands and feet a short massage.  Why not treat yourself to the same thing now?  And if you're not using polish, this is the end of the treatment for you.

To continue, use a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol to remove the lotion from your nails, or the polish won’t set right.  You can also take a bit of cotton and wrap it around the end of your cuticle stick, dip it in the rubbing alcohol, and clean the free area under you nails!

Now for the polish!  For this step (or three steps, really) you’ll want everything you need close at hand.  If you’re doing your toes, start by putting on your toe separators.  These keep your toe nails from knocking together and mussing your polish.  If you don’t have a separator, you can always use twisted facial tissues wrapped around your toes to keep them apart.

Make sure you have your base coat, colored polish, and top coat, and your nail polish remover and some Q-tips handy – these can be used to clean up when your polish goes “outside the lines”!

Shake your well closed polish bottles with all your might for about a minute to make sure all the ingredients are in every bit of the polish.  Relaxing is more fun with a little workout in the middle!  Always keep them closed until they are being used, to prevent accidents.

Start with your base coat.  Why?  Base coat is a clear polish that protects your nail from absorbing the color of your polish.  It also evens out smaller dents or nicks in you nail, and some even have nutrients built in to help your nails stay strong.  Base coat is a must to keep polished nails healthier!

For all polish coats: There should be only a tiny bead of polish on your brush when you start each nail.  Dab it in the center and push first toward the base of the nail, then drag color out toward the tip.  It’s easier to get more polish than to get rid of too much! 

Since you’re only using a single coat of base, you can move on to your colored polish pretty quickly.  Apply the polish as above, but this time, once you’re done applying one coat to all your nails, go back and apply a second coat to each nail.  The time in between coats helps the polish to set, so don’t just glop it all on at once!  It’ll never dry!

Finally, apply one coat of top coat.  Top coat gives extra shine to your nails, and helps protect the color layer by being more flexible, which helps resist chipping. 

Now comes the easy/hard part:  Wait about 30 Minutes for the polish to dry completely!  During this time, you have to stay aware of your polish, and not do anything with your hands or feet that might muss it! 

This is a really good time to watch TV, listen to music, or chat with your friends, but be careful of movements that will damage your work!  Humid weather can drying time longer, so be aware of that. 

After a minimum of 30 minutes, you can check your nails by putting a dab of lotion on your fingers and carefully pushing on the surface of the polish.  If it ‘mushes’, gently mush it back, and wait longer!

Good luck!  And enjoy your gorgeous new Mani-Pedi!