Chipped Off!

by Kris Pitcher

Despite the fact that I need massive cuticle treatment, hydration and possible transplant...I am pretty chipped off. I ebb and flow between wanting to be girly and needing to be utilitarian.

Our dishwasher quit working, I don't know, a year ago. Hand washing all the way. And that really doesn't bother me because in a household with two people filling a dishwasher is silly. We would run out of dishes before it was full. Then what?

So, my hands get a lot of abuse. Then there are the workouts. That takes a toll as well. I don't baby them either. I put lotion on but there's no way to keep up with the constant trips to the bathroom and the hand washing to follow.

A dry climate, lots of water and you're going to have dry hands. Realizing I'm hard on polish, I almost never paint my nails. Then I got a girly bug and went for it. Sunday night I painted following best practices.

Soak, cleanse, push back, trim, base coat, two coats of color, and a top coat. Plenty of dry time. I didn't even do any dishes that night. Then came Monday morning. I got ready as usual. And this is what I saw.

Are you kidding me? Chips on every single finger? Every one! What gives? How do you women keep your nail polish on?

I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? Not even one day of wear from my polish. Not one day.

So much for my ebb toward girly prettiness. I will now flow back toward my natural nails. Bare nails. No paint nails. At least I know they'll last me a week. And I won't be, chipped off.