A reminder about the effects of harsh chemicals

The day before my convocation I treated myself to a manicure. I love manicures. My figures get quite sore from constantly knitting and a manicure is professional nail colouring and a hand massage all in one! I hadn't had one in about 7 years and really enjoyed it. Afterwards, I bought some nail hardener to use because my nails split along the edges (very annoying!). I used it as directed, applying one coat every day for a week. By the end of the week, there was so much laquer on my nails that it was begining to peel in large chunks, so I decided it was time to just return my nails to their usual au naturel state. I don't have any nail polish remover so when I was at Nyron's place in Brampton yesterday I used some of his mom's.

After using this stuff, I seriously marvel at the resiliance of Mrs. Ali's hands. Maybe it was the fact that for each nail I had to rub through close to 10 layers of polish and hardener, or maybe that nail polish remover is industrial strenght, but whatever the reason it did some damage to the skin on my hands. The fingers that manipulated the acetone-soaked paper towel are so dry it feels like they're perminently covered in wax; I can barely feel them. The chemicals seem to have actually likked the top few layers of skin and the tips of my fingers now look like the landscape of an Arazona desert. I've been applying moisturizer to my fingers constantly all day to no avail. It's really quite gross.

This is why I prefer to use as many natural products as possible and why I've always had a slight fear of household cleaning products. I've never had vinnegar kill off layers of skin from my finger tips.

o( )__