Emory Boards Better Than Metal Nail Files
Categories: Beauty Tips
I used to be waaaay more into my nails than I am these days. Now, I’m lucky to keep a fresh coat of nail polish on my toes in the summer time – but I am pretty dilligent about at least that since my feet generally aren’t the prettiest part of my body to begin with.
I actually used to get my nails done for about a year when I was in my early twenties and lots of girls were doing it. I started to realize how pretty it looked when I got them professionally done for a wedding I was in. I liked the way they looked so uniform and perfectly rounded. They also held the nail polish on them a heck of a lot longer than my “real nails”.
But they were toxic. The chemicals they used to apply them were so volatile that the girl who did them would always wear a mask when she was doing my nails, and the smell was very pungent and chemical-ish. But back then I just wanted to look beautiful – ah, the carelessness of my youth.
One thing my nail girl always used to tell me was that emory boards, those cheap flimsy things you can buy a dime a dozen at any drug store, were better than a metal nail file any day for your nails. She said that metal files were bad for the nails because they increased the likelihood of splitting, cracking and breaking. Plus, they didn’t even “file” as well as an emory board did anyway, making it almost impossible to get the nails down to the level you needed.
You simply need a texture that’s more like sandpaper to get that effect, and that’s what a good old fashioned emory board does for you. One tool I really like is this multi sided buffer I got from one of those people in a stand at the mall that incessantly bug you to buy their stuff. Yes, I did fall for it.
It’s a buffer on one side, a file on the other, and then there are two sides the you rub on the surface of the nail that makes them shiny. They actually look like they have a coat of clear polish on them when you’re done so it’s pretty cool.
I always use emory boards. I even use them to file the bottoms of my feet when I give myself a pedicure, so they serve a few purposes for me other than just simple manicures.
