An Edmonton winter is hard on hands. Stretches of minus twenty and colder are a normal part of December to February, and air that cold holds very little moisture. Then you come inside, where the furnace has been drying the air all day.
Your nails and the skin around them live in that swing, cold and dry outside, warm and dry inside, for months. Here's what it does, and how we help.
Why cuticles split in the cold
Skin needs water to stay flexible. Cold, dry air draws it out of the thin skin around the nail faster than it's replaced. That skin tightens, then cracks, usually at the corners, where it moves the most.
A split cuticle is small, but it's sore, and it can bleed or get infected if it's picked at.
- Don't pull, bite or cut a hangnail. Pulling tears it further back into live skin, and trimming at the kitchen table makes it easy to nick live skin and start a new split.
- Leave it for your next appointment instead. Cuticle care is part of a regular manicure, done with sterilised tools by someone who can see the whole nail.
- If a split turns red, swells, or is getting worse after a few days, have a pharmacist or doctor look at it.
Keeping cuticles tidy heads off most splits before they start, which is why a manicure every few weeks matters more through the winter than at any other time of year.
For hands that feel dry and tight, add Paraffin Hot Wax to your manicure: a warm paraffin wrap for dry or aching hands and feet, about five minutes. Feet go through the same winter in socks and boots, and our Deluxe Spa Pedicure includes a collagen mask, paraffin wax and hot stones.
Gloves help, and they cause their own problems
At minus thirty, gloves aren't optional. They still come with trade-offs.
- Hands sweat inside insulated gloves, especially when you're shovelling or walking fast. The skin softens, then dries out quickly once the gloves come off.
- Wet mittens are worse than none. Snow melts into them, and damp skin chaps faster than dry skin.
- Rough wool and stiff seams rub the same spots every day, often right at the fingertips and nail edges.
That rubbing and drying shows up first at the cuticles and the nail edges, which is exactly what we look after at every manicure.
Dry indoor air
Heated indoor air in winter is often very dry. Nails lose moisture the same way skin does, and dry nails are brittle. They chip, peel in layers, and snap instead of bending.
If your nails are already peeling and snapping, leaving them bare isn't the kind option it sounds like. A short, light set, or a hard base added to your manicure, protects a brittle nail through the worst months better than a bare edge that catches on every glove, zip and car door. It's the same case we make in how long a gel manicure lasts.
What winter does to gel and acrylic
Gel and acrylic sit on top of your natural nail. When the nail underneath dries out and turns brittle, it no longer bends and moves the way the product on top expects. That's when you tend to see:
- Lifting at the edges, often near the cuticle.
- A crack across the tip of an acrylic nail after a knock that wouldn't normally matter.
- A natural nail that peels or breaks at the free edge as the set grows out.
Quick changes in temperature can add to it. A warm car, then minus twenty-five, then hot water indoors: the nail and the product on it go through that several times a day.
Your nails and the skin around them live in that swing, cold and dry outside, warm and dry inside, for months.
None of that is a reason to go without a set until April. It's why a set needs slightly closer attention while it's cold.
- Ask us for a practical length through the coldest months. Longer tips take more knocks and more leverage.
- Keep your refills on schedule. A long overhang gives the cold and every knock more to work with.
- Don't pick at a lifted edge or try to fix it yourself. Pulling off gel or acrylic takes layers of natural nail with it, and winter nails have less to spare.
- Use your nails gently, not as tools, and wear gloves for dishes and cleaning.
And if a nail does lift, don't wait it out. If it breaks or lifts within seven days of your appointment with light, everyday use, we fix it free of charge, so let us know as soon as it happens and book it in.