LADYLIKE NAILS A WOMAN'S PREROGATIVE

Awaken Your Sleeping Beauty: Edgar Cayce as told by Polly Guerin

LADYLIKE NAILS

THE HEALTHY WAY
Manicure Make Overs for Beautiful Nails seems to be a top priority with women today not only for good hygiene but for vanity as well. The desire to have attractive nails may refer historically to the old adage that a ‘Lady,’ who led a life of leisure and did not work, was the only one who could maintain such an image. Acquiring beautiful nails is not for the privileged few but available to most all women in the sisterhood of feminine vanity. Career women consider it their prerogative to maintain beautiful nails and so do most other women. However, hygiene is one of the most important considerations when you’re having a manicure. A well groomed hand says a lot about your health and can mirror a wide range of possible problems.

RISKS AT NAIL SALONS

To satisfy demand, in big cities there’s a plethora of nail salons, but caution is advised that you check that these pop up salons are truly adhering to safety and board of health standards regarding implements and sanitary conditions. The use of non-sterilized instruments can lead to infection. In an accredited salon, manicure make overs each week can maintain and even prevent nail problems. In most beauty salons, the beauticians may attempt to trim the cuticles. This is harmful to your nails because it is the cuticles, which protect your nails from germs and bacteria. Instead ask the beautician to only, push the cuticles back with an orange stick. Better yet, the beautician should ask you first whether you want the cuticles cut before proceeding.

Nail Absurdities

When it comes to nail length some women like to go to extremes. Obviously some nails need to be longer to accommodate space to decorate with designs or works of art. I wonder when I see such extended nails on a woman what kind of work can they possibly perform with such extended appendages? Such a person must be an extrovert and if attention is what they want to achieve those decorated nails do the job of attracting attention. Nail lengths were probably at their most absurd during the Ming dynasty or 14th-17th China, when Mandarin royalty thought it the height of elegance and their prerogative to grew their nails up to ten inches long. With such extreme appendages these royals were completely helpless and needed servants to feed, bathe and dress them. Obviously they could not do any work, hence they led a vacant lifestyle that today we might considered the ultimate in decadence.

Nails Mirror Your Health

The foremost requirement for healthy nails concerns proper diet, and good elimination and circulation, which according to the Edgar Cayce's readings are essential for the growth and maintenance of good nails. The eminent psychic advises that particular attention should be paid to obtaining adequate amounts of calcium and minerals in your diet. When severe conditions occur it is best to check with your doctor, because such nail problems as ridges, white spots, discolorations can be warning signs of heart disease, kidney or thyroid metabolism problems. Many older women may notice that their nails become yellowed with age but this may be a warning sign of decreased circulation or undiagnosed heart or lung disease.

Common Nail Problems

In ancient times a doctor would merely check your nails, eyes and tongue to determine what treatment to ascribe to your condition. Fortunately modern medicine similarly can offer medication to normalize the nails’ appearance. When a woman inquired “What can I do to keep my fingernails from splitting?” Edgar Cayce replied, “Add the vitamins necessary so that the glandular forces and specifically the thyroid, are improved. Take a few drops of Atomidine occasionally, say once a month in half a glass of water before the morning meal, or three to five days. Also massage the fingernails with Atomidine. It may stain for at first, but it will get the system going better and we will find this will be different. (2448-1) Cayce also suggested the use of Castor Oil pack treatment to improve the condition of problem nails.

NAIL BITING HABIT

It’s hard to believe that aside from children forming the bad habit of nail biting many grown women have developed a nail biting habit, which may be caused by anxiety and stress. When Cayce was asked “What can I do to correct the nail-biting habit?” he replied, “This is the effect of nervousness---from the gnawing that has been indicated that has been existent for some time in the system, see? And with these corrections, and with the tendency for the body to watch or be careful with self, this (habit) may be eliminated. For, if we take away the cause, the habit is more easily changed. For we correct habits by forming others! That’s everybody! (475-1) Obviously, Cayce means that by examining the cause that is driving the nail biting habit it can be addressed mentally or physically and eventually eliminated.

Natural Product Care

Purchasing expensive nail care products may be your choice, but you do not have to spend a great deal of money to improve the appearance of your nails. The main task is patience, time and effort applying natural products to create beautiful nails. The products mentioned here Atomidine and the Castor Oil packs can be purchased at the Cayce A.R.E. center in New York City, www.edgarcaycenyc.org. Most important in nail care is consistency in the treatment. When cuticles become hardened in winter or irritated due to work-related conditions just apply some warm Castor Oil and rub it into the nails and massage the hands with same. For best results do this at night before retiring.

Beautiful nails are your finest showcase of a healthy and lady-like appearance.