Good cuticle health is tough to maintain when your skin gets dry.

Many of us can’t stand dry skin and start messing with it. Today’s article shows an example of what can happen when the nipping compulsion goes too far. 

It also shows the miracle that are bodies are. When given the time and a product that helps the body repair itself, miracles do happen.

Today’s article is a little different. Kimber was so generous to send me daily—and sometimes hourly—email updates of her 7 day challenge using Pure Nail Oil™. She has created an amazing record of her experience which I really want to share with you.

I’ve added many portions of our email correspondence with the photos. Feel free to skip through them if you just want to see her amazing photos. I’ve arranged them in the article in the following order.

1. The14 day difference of her right and left hand 
2. Kimber’s right hand daily with emails in between
3. Kimber’s left hand without text between

You can find Kimber’s complete review on her webpage Kimber’s Lacquer Korner

Kimber’s 7 Day Challenge

Kimber’s Results

“I would bet my entire year’s salary that everyone who tries Pure™ would not go back to anything else! It’s really *that* amazing!” ~Kimber

Before and After – Right Hand

Kimber’s before shot was photographed with special filters and angles to conceal damage.

 

 

Before and After – Left Hand

 

 The Progression

Days 1 – 7 – Right Hand

KIMBER 11:18 am: Here are the Day 1 photos! The improvement is amazing to me. It may not look like much to anyone else, but I can see a HUGE improvement! And my nails and cuticles feel amazing. I wish I had a naked photo of my right hand. The nails are so much whiter and brighter. This stuff is “Liquid Gold,” I tell you. I will never ever be without this.

It’s taken ALOT of oil so far. My skin and nails have been so dry for so long. I’m reapplying at about 90 minutes now, which is better than yesterday which around 45 minutes.

I don’t mean to photo spam you, but I had to share my progress so far. I’m just in awe of what Pure Nail Oil™ can do!!!

I cannot thank you enough for creating this and sharing it with all of us!!!! You are my savior!

I certainly will never forget you! Out of all the people that claim to have the answers to nail and cuticle problems, you’re the only one that is honest and true.

I’ve been pouring over your articles lately and it’s just amazing how much bad advice is out there and how even the blogging community is guilty of passing along the wrong information. And you’re just so sweet and approachable. I couldn’t resist sharing my progress ! I’m so glad I found you ( and your miracle oil!)!

P.S. My husband is so amazed with my results that he tried Pure™ last night and loved it too!

Day 1 — May 7th

KIMBER: 11:11 am  Hi Ana, I woke up this morning and thought aliens had secretly replaced my cuticles, but it’s really just the miracle that is Pure Nail Oil! I am so thrilled that I’m alternating between crying and jumping for joy. If my cuticles can’t convince people that this is a miracle in a bottle, then nothing can. AND it truly is a miracle.

These photos give you an idea of the state my cuticles are in all the time. Once I used cuticle remover, my cuticles disintegrated into what’s shown from yesterday. I don’t think they ever really got any better, it just looked like it on the surface. 🙁  Feel free to zoom in on those puppies.

Check out that pinky..ugh! The ring finger just kept getting worse, as did my index. The only nail that looks decent is the middle finger, and that’s because it was never bad.

My OCD leads to compulsive hand washing (I’m amazed that I have been able to wash mostly my palms, only including my fingers twice yesterday!) and serious nipping issues.

My hands are also slathered in CND Solar Oil™ and lotion here—ugh! It covers up some of the dryness but not all of it.

I know it’s hard to see the real level of damage in these since I’m good at camera angles that hide the problem as much as possible and lighting that doesn’t highlight those cuticles. I wish my battery hadn’t been dead yesterday, so I could give you before photos of my right hand without polish, but there was no way I could wait 2 hours for it to charge before using my Pure Nail Oil!!

ANA: 4:20 pm: Thank you so much for the compliment. You are a customer that makes the hard work a joy.

I want to ask you for a huge favor—will you postpone your big reveal for one more week? Here’s why.

I’ve helped another customer who had red, swollen skin behind the cuticle line. Yours is from clipping. Hers was from cuticle cramming. She pushed her eponychiums back so far that they folded under, causing immense irritation and redness…..and pain. I see the same in your fingers.

Please forgive me if I’m telling you information you already know. I’ve included a picture of my nails (right). See the nice tight band of skin? That’s the proximal nail fold of your eponychium.

The cuticle is actually a thin layer of skin that grows out under the eponychium and remains on the nail plate. You can see the cuticle really well in the picture below. This is what needs to be removed before a manicure, since polish doesn’t bond to skin well. ; ) Removing the cuticle requires gentle scraping, not clipping.

In one week, I’m hoping the proximal nail folds of your eponychiums grow back and create the nice seal that they are supposed to have to keep bacteria and infection out. If you wait until that point for your big reveal, it will be significantly more powerful.

KIMBER: 5:54 pm: I cannot thank you enough for your support and advice. Breaking the nipping habit is hard – I still have moments where I want to snip off a small bit, or attack a calloused spot, but I just run my fingers over my nails and cuticles and feel how much softer they are already and that helps to stop that urge. You have perfect cuticles, BTW. I’m working towards eventually having cuticles that are even half that nice!

8:44 pm: The strangest and coolest thing just happend too! I took a bath with my little one, and when I got out and dried my hands, a literal TON of dead skin just sloughed right off!! All that’s left of the giant sheets of dead skin where all that swelling is/was are a few little red spots. Same with the dead skin on the eponychium on my pinky and ring fingers. Crazy! I swear I see serious and dramatic improvement every few hours.

ANA: 9:11 pm “I meant to mention earlier, when you mentioned your OCD with washing….All the oils in Pure™ are anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. So applying a thin layer of Pure™ on your hands can replace some of your washings. It will also help kill the infections in some of your cuticle lines.”

KIMBER: 10:48 pm: Wow! I did not know that! I knew that Tea Tree Oil is a great natural anti-fungal, but was not aware that the other oils had anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Is there anything Pure™ can’t do?

That is great news for my OCD, which is a blessing and a curse right now. It’s definitely making sure I stick with the regimen and make sure to oil when I need it, but it’s also evil and wants to nip at every little imperfection. Thankfully that goes away once I realize how much progress I’ve made in less than 48 hours.

 

Day 2 — May 8th

KIMBER 2:34 pm: Okay, here’s day 2’s results. You can tell it’s definitely time for my cuticles to have some Pure™! I had actually just washed my hands twice in 30 minutes since I was at a client’s house and had to clean up dog poop and was slobbered on ALOT.

At first I was I though these didn’t show much, since you can see the red spot on my fingers from where those gigantice (like the size of the entire area between the eponychium and first knuckle) pieces of dead skin sloughed off yesterday, but since those are just the spots that were healing underneath and the dead skin is long gone, I guess that’s improvement as well! Especially since that skin had been there for weeks.

I can also see alot less curling on my left hand, and the ring and pinky on my right has greatly improved. Considering what I’m working with, the improvement is still epic. 🙂 I’m going about 2 hours and 15 minutes between applications now, which is much better than yesterday’s 90 minutes. I knew I would need more oil than most people so I’m not surprised. Very glad I’m going 7 days though!

 

 

ANA: 9:20 am: “I know…it’s crazy how awesome this oil is! I’ve even had a customer use it on her eczema. Cory and I are testing it with foot and toenail fungus as well. We wear slippers practically all year long in the Pacific Northwest.

I’m proud of you with having your husband holding your nippers hostage.

At some point you may need them back for only one thing…..the hard hangnails that show up in the middle of your sidewalls, if you get those. I find that those are really hard to keep soft, unless I’m oiling about 8 times a day. My usual is 2-4.

So I use little tiny baby clippers. They’re sharp and can get in to clip just that hard piece without grabbing a bunch of live skin with it. My personality is that I will pick at those until I bleed. So those baby clippers are a lifesaver for me.

KIMBER: 9:30 am: I love my square nail shape. The reason I have the stilettos on my right hand (which are fun, but not very versatile for nail art, which makes me sad since I used to do a ton of nail art but those have limited me) is due to the extreme curling that I have with my index and middle fingers on that hand.

When I had my horrible down to the quick break on my left hand, my nails were pretty long and I decided instead of cutting my right hand down, I would try a new shape. It’s alot of fun but I will probably end up going back to squares as soon as my left hand evens out. I love stamping too much to give up those gorgeous full nail images.

ANA: 9:40 am: The curling corners of your nails were because of dryness. My nails do the same thing. I was checking out your blog and the square shape (or squoval)  is really flattering to your hands.

The other thing that will really help stop the curling so much is to do a basecoat and topcoat wrap completely around to the underside of the nail.

The curling happens when your nails are dry on the underside. The polish on top is holding your nail in shape and preventing moisture and oil loss in your nail plate. This is good.

But if the underside is unpolished, then your oil and moisture evaporate and get washed away….and in your case, get washed away very quickly. So the free edge can only dry and curl up like an autumn leaf.

I went back to your blog and checked out your nails when they were square. Your nails are exactly like mine, except I think your nail bed is a little wider than mine. Our strong natural C curve can only get tighter the more it dries out.

A person with flatter nails wouldn’t notice it as much because when their flat nails dry, they start to get a nice C curve. Oye!

The Basecoat Topcoat Wrap has changed my life. It’s delightful to get out of the shower and my nails have the exact same curve as when I went in.

Can’t wait for your next update! 😀  ~Ana

KIMBER: 12:14 pm: Funny you mentioned the baby clipper! I used those when I first started polishing! I “graduated” to nippers because I thought they would be somehow better. Little did I know! Those things are pure evil. I told my husband he can just toss them out since I will NEVER be using them again. With this kind of progress now that I have Pure™, I am never going back.

I’m sure we all say that we’re your biggest fan, but I swear if I’m not number 1, I’m way up there! I can’t wait to show you today’s pics. The progress is just incredible. I’m still so amazed and just beyond thrilled. I look at my nails and cuticles now and feel hopeful instead of depressed. Anyway, I always have baby clippers around since Dex is still a little one (he’ll be 3 next Tuesday!).

I actually had a male friend of mine email me about Pure™ today! My husband wants to start the 3 day hydration treatment as well. But since I’m so in love with mine, I told him he has to get his own. 😉

And just hearing that my nails are like yours makes me grin! I do do have fairly wide nail beds, but if my nails could look half as gorgeous as yours? I’d be the happiest nail blogger on earth! The first time I saw your nails I called my hubby over to show him and told him that I want nails that that! He’s actually very interested in all things nail related (which is good for me since I spend so much time blogging about nail polish!), and he was in awe of how perfect your nails are.  I’ve honestly never seen such gorgeous natural nails before. That is my ultimate goal.

I am definitely going to start wrapping my base and top coat all the way under my nails. I read your article about that last night and thought…”well, that makes perfect sense!” Why aren’t we all doing that yet? Just like you said, I lose moisture very quickly (hopefully that will be decreased now!) and that curling starts quickly. It drives me buts, since I wait until my nails are completely dry to to polish, hoping that will reduce it a bit, but no go. I’m pretty excited to try your technique – I really think it will make a huge difference for me. Pure has already shown me that I can help the curling by using oil, now it’s time to protect those oils that I’m working so hard to replace!

ANA: 4:30 pm: You’re becoming such an amazing testimonial! I can’t thank you enough.

I’m not sure if you’re my #1 Fan….a few other girls might fight you on that one 😉  But you will certainly be my most transformational.

Don’t worry about the skin under your nails. It needs the oil too.

If you haven’t been doing both sides for the last 48 hours, then they are dryer than the top, so they will be thirsty. I always do both sides. It also keeps me from sticking my nails in my mouth, not that I have ever been a biter….but Crisp™ tastes horrible to me!

KIMBER: 4:43 pm: Hahaha! Smells amazing but the taste doesn’t match!

I’ve been doing both sides but I have a feeling that pesky skin under there was sucking up some oil. There’s a lot less under there now and this last round held on much longer under my tips. I think I may have been going too light under my tips as well. I’m so focused on the tops!

I had a feeling I was winning the “former worst cuticles” award! I knew that Pure™ would work, but I knew that if it could do for me what it has done for others, then it was honestly the miracle product that it appeared to be. And it is! Honestly this is the first product I’ve tried that die everything it claims, and more. I’m still wondering why the entire nail community isn’t using it. Although I’m working hard to convince them!

I think I’ve found my giveaway idea for my 2nd blogaversary too. I think I’ll buy a starter kit and use that as the prize!

ANA: 8:39 pm. “You are adorable! 😀  It’s pretty fun to find an amazing product! And I wouldn’t claim it if it wasn’t true. The entire nail community doesn’t use it because they’ve never heard of it. I’ve been wanting to approach many of the big bloggers to send them samples. I’ve just been really busy.

I need to create a badge for blogger’s pages stating that they exclusively use Pure.™ I seriously need to clone myself! 😀

May 9th, Day 3

KIMBER: I’m at 3 hours without having to oil now! And when I do oil, the oil is starting to spread over my fingers instead of just being sucked in by my cuticles and sidewalls! Woohoo!!!! I can only imagine what day 7 will look like, and a few months from now? I have a feeling nails, cuticles and hands will all be different!

1:30 am. I had another EPIC moment tonight. I caught a nail on my freezer door and was convinced it was broken. Normally a whack like that would break my free edge right off. I’ve had to file my nails down to nubbins at least 4 times in the past year due to hits like that. Not even a chip tonight!

I do have one more question though….forgive me for picking your brain so much but I really do value your advice. I have a bit of a fear of my cuticle remover at the moment. I don’t need it now obviously, but when the time comes, I don’t want to risk having the same issues I’ve had in the past. I was using Blue Cross Cuticle Remover since nothing else would get the cuticle off my nail plate (maybe because everything was so dry?), but its incredibly hard to wash off, and it is so powerful that it will eat away at any and all skin it touches (I routinely had flaky fingers for days after using it), and seems to damage the nail plate easily as well. Do you have any suggestions for a good cuticle remover that is gentle? I refuse to willingly undo any of my progress!

ANA: 9:35 am: “Yay for Pure™ and the freezer! That happens to me all the time too….it’s amazing to look down cringing in expectation and see it didn’t happen!

Cuticle Remover: I’ve used Blue Cross without the issues you have. It shouldn’t eat away at your eponychium. Flaky skin tells me that you may be having an allergic reaction to the potassium hydroxide, also known as caustic potash in Blue Cross.

I tend to keep reaching for my Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover because I like the gel consistency over the wateriness of BC. But it’s main ingredient is potassium hydroxide.

A natural solution would be to very gently remove the cuticle after a shower. Add a little Pure™ to keep the skin soft and remove the cuticle with an orange wood stick or metal cuticle remover tool.

 

Day 5 — May 11th

KIMBER: Hi Ana! i know you’re probably busy as a bee over there today since it’s Friday Shipping day, but wanted to send you my Day 5 pics! I’m still seeing results! I do have some older, dead skin that still needs to come off, but with the condition that my cuticles were in before Pure™, that’s not surprising at all.

What is surprising is that there is so little of it! Even on my worst fingers, there is just a bit of it. I think they’re looking wonderful and by Monday afternoon which is day 7? I’m certain my nails and cuticles will look better than ever! I can’t believe how white my nails are now too! And, even the damaged areas on the nails seem to be fading out. I’m not having as much wear anymore, which means I can shape my nails less than every 5 days. So thrilled! I hope you see as much progress as I do!

 

 

Day 7 — May 13

KIMBER: It’s reveal day! I’m so excited. The changes are so wonderful – I cannot thank you enough for all of your help and encouragement! You are truly one of the sweetest women around and such a blessing to know.

I forgot to tell you that my stiletto nails on my right hand are gone – it wasn’t a break though! I had decided to take them down to squares so that they would be closer in length to my right hand and so I wouldn’t scratch my son (not to mention nail art!), and the same morning I made that decision, managed to whack that nail with a large knife while cutting watermelon. Pure™ does alot of things, but it can’t protect me from my own inability to cut a watermelon. 🙂

So far my post is HUGE! I’m uploading photos right now, and there are a lot of them! I have the reveal, plus days 1,2,3,5 and 7! I’ll also be updating at week 2, 3, and 4, and every couple weeks after until I hit 3 months. I have a feeling that at 3 months, my nails, cuticles, and hands will entirely transformed into something that I’ve always dreamed of.

 

KIMBER: It still boggles my mind that I’m still seeing improvement. I can’t wait until I hit that 120 day mark. I’m certain that I will not recognize my own nails and cuticles at that point. Funny you mention using it on paper cuts – the other day (actually you can see it in my day 7 photos I think) I was changing a razor blade and they have those trimmer blades at the top. I forgot about those and managed to give myself a papercut-like slice on my ring finger. I started using a bit of Pure™ on it and the darn thing hasn’t bothered me at all! It’s almost entirely healed in the shallower areas at the ends. The center of the cut was deeper, but still looks great.

I have a feeling that Pure™ will reduce any scarring as well! I love that the oils have anti-bacterial properties. It really has accelerated my healing in a big way, and I’m no longer washing my hands 40-50 times daily with anti-bacterial soap. I love that Pure™ has led me to learning about nail and skin care!

 

Day 10 — May 16

KIMBER: 2:06 pm. My results just keep getting better. I’m starting to see itty bitty eponychium on those poor fingers that were nipped into oblivion. My middle finger on my left hand is always last, and I started seeing a very tiny bit this morning. And those heavily callused spots along my sidewalls are still improving—they may just go away!! NOTHING has ever touched those at all. Even if my cuticles managed to look semi-okay, those always stayed exactly the same. Just another reason Pure™ is soooo much better than anything else out there.

I’m glad that my fanatical love for Pure™ is a good thing! I’m always more inspired to buy something if I see people that have tired it raving about it. Although in all honesty, I never had the sense that you were hiding anything from us or that you were stretching the truth. I mean, I saw your results and that was a big catalyst in ordering. Yours and Erica’s. I looked at your pics and decided that I want hands, cuticles, and nails like that!

ANA: 5:32 pm: My plan has always been to be as honest as possible….and think. So many of us have forgotten how to think. We’re so easily swayed by advertising, myself included.

KIMBER: Ana, you do a great job at making people think. It’s all too easy to just let the big marketing companies do all of that for us. I’m certainly guilty of it. For years I was convinced that I needed strengtheners to keep my nails healthy. Since finding you and Pure.™

I’ve become much more aware of only of what my skin and nails need, but ingredients in most everything that I use. Right down to my shampoo and conditioner. I’ve started researching more and more, and not only am I more knowledgable, but I’m saving a ton of money since I’m realizing exactly how much I’m paying for some nice words on a package and chemicals that really do nothing! It helps that I love science and am always fascinated with how things work and why they work.

Day 14 — May 21

KIMBER: You can see all the improvements though, as well as the damage on the ring and pinky fingers on my right hand from all that nipping and scraping. The pinky is still being a pest, but my doc said he was surprised that I managed to retain the nail given what I had managed to do to it, so it’s actually a huge improvement.

These pics were taken right after removing my big ole nail art manicure so sorry about the acrylic paint under my nails that would not come off! I’m incredibly happy with all my improvement – I would never have shown anyone my skin and nails after removing polish before! NO WAY! 🙂

The latest cool thing is that all those pronounced, hard callused areas? They’re coming of…and I mean they lift up, almost like a hangnail, and I have to snip them off with the baby clippers.  Those spots were horrible! Hard as a rock, scaly and icky. I hate having to snip them at all, but if I don’t, they hang there until I do. Kinda gross, but healing isn’t always pretty, right? Once they’re gone, they don’t seem to come back, which I’m a-ok with!

 

Days 1 -7 Left Hand

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ana’s Thoughts

I don’t think I could say anything that Kimber hasn’t covered with her incredible enthusiasm about Pure Nail Oil™. She’s such a joy to chat with and she definitely has a way with words. My favorite part though, is the Cons portion of her Pros and Cons List.

Cons:
-Does not come in “Vat” size, since Ana makes small batches to keep the oil fresh.
-Does not protect against knife wounds.
-Will not do my laundry or vacuum, no matter how nicely I ask.
-Works so well that my husband wants to steal it.
-Apparently tasted very lovely— according to the cat—who likes to try to lick my nails now.

 

The Simple Solution

The solution is quite simple? Put the oil back in your nails.

 

If you liked this article . . . please share!

*Disclaimer: The actual science of the relationship of water, oil and keratin is way too complicated to explain with 100% accuracy in a simple fashion. Science is complex. My descriptions are meant to create a picture that is easy to understand for all who never took or understood Chemistry and Physics in high school or university.

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