Woman all over South Africa cried into their unmanicured hands when Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma announced that hair and beauty salons will remain closed during level 4 of the lockdown. This after members of the public submitted requests to have these services made available.
“We heard you, but that cannot be allowed. There will be no social distancing at those hairdressers. The people will be in contact with each other. It is too risky to do so,” Dlamini Zuma said.
So, for now, ladies, you’ll, unfortunately, have to continue perfecting your DIY hair and beauty skills.
We’ve seen haircuts gone wrong and women dying their hair in the outrageous colours.
A simple mani is doable if all you need is a fresh lick of nail polish but if you go the gel way, which many women opt for these days, then you’re most likely sitting with unsightly nails as the gel has now grown out.
You can’t simply remove the gel polish with your everyday nail polish remover.
It has to be professionally soaked off.
Now what? Here are some tips on how to remove the gel polish without causing too much damage to your nails.
First of all, do NOT start picking at the polish or try and bit it off. Yes, I know you’ve probably already tried. Peeling or chipping off pieces of the hard polish can easily remove the top layer of your nail bed.
There is a safer, though more tedious way, to remove the stubborn polish.
You will need a coarse nail file, cuticle oil, cotton balls, acetone and foil.
Slowly and very gently start by sanding down the top layer of polish, the shine. Be careful not to file too far into the colour.
Then apply cuticle oil to the skin around your nails including the fingertips. This will prevent the acetone from drying out the skin.
Soak cotton balls in acetone and place on fingernails.
The wrap pieces of foil over each fingertip.
After 15 minutes check to see if the gel polish has started lifting. Once the polish has loosened it can be removed by using the soaked cotton ball and with a bit of pressure remove the polish. If there are bits that haven’t lifted gently remove with a nail stick.