There is a lot of discussion about manicure for children. Some argue that varnish harms children’s nails, as they are very fragile, thin, contain a lot of water, and therefore have increased elasticity and flexibility. They cannot be polished, risking ruining the nail plate for life.
Others, knowing the desire of girls to always look beautiful and well-groomed, to match real princesses, believe that manicure instills in a child from early childhood the care of their hands. After all, a manicure is not only varnished nails, it is a cosmetic procedure for caring for the entire hand.
A girl who takes care of her hands will never bite her nails.
Taking care of yourself from an early age gradually becomes a habit and remains for the rest of your adult life. A mother who helps her daughter master the art of manicure becomes a friend to her daughter who can be trusted with her secrets.
Features of hand care for children
You can start teaching your child to manicure from the age of five. This is the age when a girl can already understand why this procedure is needed, what benefits it brings. Until this age, the nails are simply trimmed and cleaned of dirt.
But when accustoming the baby to nail care, mom needs to know some rules:
- A nail file for filing children’s nails is suitable only with very fine grain from 240 grit and below according to the grit table.
- The cuticle on children’s fingers is not cut off, the only thing that is allowed to be done is to remove the formed burrs with thin manicure scissors, and then only after pre-soaking them in a bath with a warm decoction of herbs. A burr appears due to the rapid growth of the cuticle. An infection gets into the damaged skin around the nail plates, which leads to inflammatory processes in children’s fingers.
- Wet hands can also cause bacteria to multiply. Therefore, the child must be taught to wipe them well, without leaving water.
- In the summer, during the period when the heating is on, dry indoor air can cause fragility of the nail plates. The nails begin to exfoliate, the cuticle dries out excessively. To cope with dry skin and prevent brittle nails, any cream designed for children’s skin will help.
- For children, special water-based children’s varnishes are produced without solvents, with essential oils and vitamins to strengthen children’s nails. Do not allow babies to use adult coatings, as well as liquid to remove them. They break the structure of the nail plate, making it brittle.
Before the age of 15, it is not worth exposing the nails of teenagers to an adult manicure, since by this age the nail plate is just finishing its formation.
Also, do not forget that the condition of your baby’s nails largely depends on nutrition. The child’s diet should include vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin B7: cucumbers, cabbage, bananas, strawberries, raspberries in the summer, fruits are replaced with juices in winter.
Sea fish will help to saturate the body and strengthen the nails with polyunsaturated fatty acids, which must be introduced into the diet of children, as well as adults at least twice a week.
Little girls, of course, are big monkeys, striving to be like their mother in everything. And nail polish is no exception. There is nothing reprehensible in the desire to be like a mother, but when starting the manicure procedure, the child needs to be explained that not every color will suit her elegant dress.
In general, each mother decides for herself whether to give her girl a manicure or let her grow up first. But if you still decide on this event, then do not disappoint your baby. Let the first acquaintance with manicure bring positive emotions to the child, the desire to repeat the procedure. The further attitude of the girl to the care of pens will depend on this.
For teenage girls who are not yet 14 years old, the European manicure technique is suitable, which involves removing the cuticle by applying a special remover liquid.
Its principle is based on the action of fruit acids, which, when they get on the keratinized part of the cuticle, soften it to such an extent that it remains only to remove it with an orange tree stick.
The European manicure does not injure the cuticle, unlike the edging one, it only pushes it closer to the edge of the nail plate. After it, no wounds remain on the skin, there is no risk of infection.
Older teenagers can already try other manicure techniques, but at the same time you need to figure out how close to the surface of the skin the blood vessels are located so as not to harm them.
Step-by-step execution of children’s manicure
Any manicure procedure for children’s fingers is associated with a risk of infection. And it doesn’t matter if the procedure is done at home or in a beauty salon. Therefore, the master, before starting work, must disinfect the girl’s hands and his own, it doesn’t matter that he works with gloves.
In the processing of nails, nail files of large grain size and high abrasiveness should not be used. Only the edge of the nail plate is polished, the surface of the nails cannot be touched.
Stages of processing a child’s nails
The first is hand disinfection with an antiseptic spray. There is always a risk of infection. And this is dangerous for the fragile children’s immune system. This is especially true for fungal infections.
Next comes the filing of nails with a nail file or cutting them with nippers. After all, not all children like the sound of the nail file. When cutting nails, at least 1 millimeter of their length is left. But do not go over the three-millimeter length of the nails. Our children love active games, caution, this is not about them.
Nails longer than the prescribed length prevent them from enjoying time spent with their peers. Even while changing clothes, children will have to control themselves so as not to accidentally damage the beauty of the applied manicure, not break it. Children at their age need to move more, and not constantly watch their nails.
For the same reason, a pointed shape is not suitable for children’s nails, which can easily inadvertently injure yourself or other children during games. The nail plate is rounded or left in a square state.
It should be ensured that during filing no cracks form, the nail plates do not exfoliate. Only its edges are polished.
Next in line is work with the cuticle, which begins with its softening by applying special products and baths with decoctions of herbs. After softening, the cuticle is pushed back to the edge of the nail, the excess is protected by an orange tree stick. Nail scissors with rounded edges or nippers remove the formed burrs. Fingers are treated with any antiseptic. In case of damage to the skin, the wounds are filled with glue intended for this purpose.
After all these manipulations, we proceed to applying a coating on children’s nails, which should not in its …
