The Three Cs of Nail Care

CND’s Jan Arnold shares her nail care advice and top tips for nails that deserve to be noticed.

We caught up with Jan Arnold, co-founder and style director of the hugely successful CND nail company, recently for a chat about all things nails-related. She told us about her three-step system for healthy nails, and her advice on achieving different nail looks was a bit of a revelation! When it comes to nail enhancement and adornments, Arnold says ‘the sky’s the limit’ and we have to agree.

Behind every great nail is a good manicure and a good, even shape – be it short and square or something else. ‘Designers these days are favouring lengthier nails,’ Arnold says, ‘and more of an almond shape because it adds length to the look of the hand and the fingers. It’s like what a stiletto does for the leg – it’s a very elegant, elongated look.’

This longer, almond nail was seen all over the catwalks at the recent Rosemount Australian Fashion Week and trend-wise for the upcoming season, Arnold says there will be a noticeable swing away from darker shades. ‘The dark nail has been prevalent for so many seasons but there’s a brand new interest in shedding the dark and revealing what lies underneath,’ she says. ‘It’s about healthy-looking nails, getting back to doing spa manicures and pedicures and wearing plastic finishes: synthetic, high-shine tints of colour. To actually see your nail again, after wearing dark tones, seems really new.’

Nail enhancements are a great, instant way of obtaining beautiful nails but Arnold also has a three-step system to keeping your own natural nails in tip-top condition. ‘If women practice these tips, they can have fantastic nails,’ says Arnold. ‘I call it the three Cs. Firstly there is care: that is a regular regime of nail care. If you want to get fit you have to have a regular regime of fitness and caring about your body. The same thing is true of nails. So subscribe to whatever care regime fits into your lifestyle but make it routine. Regular care keeps nail length under control and keeps cuticles at bay.

‘The second C is condition. Use CND’s Solar Oil ($13.95) every night before bed. The oil that we use in Solar Oil is very lightweight and the key ingredients are Vitamin E and jojoba oil. When you apply it before bed, the oil penetrates through the layers of the nail plate as you sleep. The nail plate is very porous, like a shingle roof, so the oil will migrate through the layers, pushing water out and filling the spaces and voids with oil. The more you use it, the deeper it drives into the nail plate so that it almost waterproofs your nails and keeps them resilient. The furthest layer of nail plate at the edge line is the oldest and has a tendency to want to delaminate with a lot of wear and tear so that brings in the third C: keep nails coated. A coating could be just a base coat and top coat or if you have weak, thin nails a nail-enhancement coating.

The furthermost layer is glued down to the next layer with protein and cystine, which the nail cell produces and over time with wear and tear those layers try to delaminate. The coating keeps those layers sealed down, the oil keeps them resilient, working as one and the care makes sure the length doesn’t get out of control.’

Nail art

You don’t have to restrict yourself to one colour when it comes to nails. Instead, consider them mini canvases and let your imagination and nail polish run wild. Here are some brilliant techniques Arnold suggests for achieving unique results.