Aside from hair and skin care, nail care is of primary importance amongst women---students, housewives, and career-empowered ladies.  In fact most ladies (and some men too) deliberately give time for some self relaxation, pampering and maintenance to project a good image of one’s self amongst significant others—friends, colleagues, strangers we meet.

This image doesn’t just entail the physical aspect.  While it is true that caring for our hair, skin and nails through availing hair spa services or perhaps body scrub and some classic manicure and pedicure services can help us enhance our looks, these services when done on a regular basis (like once or twice a month) can help us mitigate stress and overcome anxieties brought about by the daily problems we encounter in our lives. 

 This is true as the very idea of seeing yourself given care or being pampered makes you feel good about yourself in an instant! 

Perhaps the only problem is, we do not want to be spending too much on these right?

Good thing that there are spa centers that offer services at a very reasonable rate without having to sacrifice the quality of service and the presence of good available options to help us achieve that goal of pampering ourselvesJ

Being a single mom, I consider this a major concern.  Having a baby while thriving to succeed at work, juggling the two while maintaining a good positive image is in fact a tough work. 

I am working on something that I owe to myself—to my body, including my nails!

“Mad About Nails”

I have been staying in Bulacan for two years now.  Bulacan being a province far from Manila ( I meant San Rafael Bulacan; 2 hours away from Manila under normal traffic conditions), gave me a hard time looking for the places I used to go to such as my favorite/ trusted salon, waxing station, nail spa center, body massage center or facial care center. I figured out that, I have yet to explore the nearby towns such as San Ildefonso and Baliuag, Plaridel and Pulilan to check out the available establishments I can go to for my pampering needs.

There are a number of centers actually but only a few I can trust.  Mad About Nails is one them!

Today was my fourth visit to this nail spa center and they haven’t failed me since; I even referred them to my relatives.  Here are some points why I LOVE this nail spa center that it made it to one of Everything Lovely’s top picks!

1.     Mad about Nails offers reasonable rate for manicure and pedicure and foot spa packages, with no additional cost for the type of nail polish brand you want to use.  I always avail their manicure-pedicure-foot spa package because it is budget friendly especially to a single working mom like me!

2.     Unlike in other mall-based nail spa centers, Mad About Nails carries sophisticated and high quality nail polish brands, all imported and have complete collection. Check out the photos!

 I tried OPI lacquer limited Edition Mariah Carey Collection. The liquid sand texture is lovely and suggests sophistication. I’m happy with my pick!

3.     Friendly staff, competent nail technician.  Like other mall-based nail spas, Mad About Nail’s (nail techs) trim toenails and finger nails in a gentle manner. They remove only the dry skin unless you ask them to remove your in-grown.  In this way, the toenails do not look off and unsophisticated.

4.     They offer waxing services at a reasonable rate compared to mall-based spa centers!  I have tried their underarm waxing, the brand that they use doesn’t contribute much to the darkening of the skin. 

5.      Cozy place! I love the ambience.  The interior design gives you that ohh-factor.  You’ll think you are in a city mall or something like it, when actually you’re in Bulacan! Nice interior, whoever designed it, good job. 

Mad About Nails also offers Hand Care, Nail Extension, nail art, foot care, paraffin spa treatment, Mani and pedi for kids, eyelash enhancement, threading, waxing, whole body scrub and ear candling.  Avail any with discount when you get a pampering card! 

They likewise accept nail spa parties.  Visit Mad About Nails at 2nd floor PLM building DRT hi-way corner Benigno Aquino Ave, Bagong Nayon, Baliuag Bulacan.  The building in front of Jolibee flyover across Puregold Bagong Nayon Baliuag.

What’s your mad nails story?

Xoxo
Caroleen

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“Kili-kiling maputi, kili-kiling maitim, kili-kiling brown, kili-kiling magaspang, kili-kiling may buhok, kili kiling may “putok.”

Let’s admit it. We tag so many labels for that small part of our skin we can never hide--- though we try so hard. (forgive my pun) especially when we are lazy about keeping our armpit looking "sweet".

Armpits, under arms or in tagalog, kili-kili is one of the delicate parts of our body.  Delicate in the sense that, there will be times that even our emotional or social aspect is affected whenever “it lets us down.”

Issues concerning underarm are various and tends to be subjective in nature---cultural, racial and gender-based. Filipinos like it hair-free, French women love it otherwise and yet they find it sexy and seducing. Men and women struggle from their individual issues concerning their pits, different nationalities have unique regards on their armpits. Individual and commercial preferences likewise apply (such as… how do you think models sell themselves? Kili-kili is included of corz!).

Men worry mostly about the odor since underarm hair is just natural to them, though sometimes it is an issue amongst their partners when their pits do not grow much hair like (they are supposed to be there, right? 0.o). Women on the other hand worry about the texture of their pits—how smooth they are, how chicken-skinned as well.  Odor is an issue as it gives them a negative impression amongst crowd (men and women), skin tone also matters---the question whether why it turned brown or “sunog” or why it is so Belo-white! (And. HOW).

The thing is, how your kili-kili looks like apparently suggests something about the kind of person you are (or so they say). Who wouldn’t appreciate white, smooth and hair-free kili-kili right?

But is this proper? I mean, if she is a morena, why would you expect her to have rosy white pits? 

Major concerns of the Pit:

Arm pit color and hair aside from odor or too much sweating are the major concerns of Filipinas. 

According to research, the most common cause of darkening of armpits is its natural characteristic. Our pits’ skin are located UNDER arms hence it is just natural that friction transpire because it is “under” and hence, it causes skin irritation due to the rubbing of skin.  Those that have fairer complexion may not suffer significantly from this but those that are morena or those who have darker complexion (kayumanggi, morena, etc.) may have darker armpits due to the darkening pigments called melanin that work whenever skin cells die due to irritation from friction.

“The most common cause of darkening of the armpits is in the anatomy, the rubbing of the armpits against each other,” says dermatologist Isabel Ballesteros-Mangubat, MD. She explains that, as a rule, anything that traumatizes the skin darkens it. Trauma or irritation alerts your melanocytes, cells that carry the darkening pigments known as melamin. Once stimulated, the melanocytes grow bigger. Consequently, your skin becomes darker (direct quote from femalenetwork.com).”

Other causes may be due to hormones, pregnancy (but not all), irritation from shaving, peeling, waxing, plucking, and deo use.  Hence our desire to be hair-free may consequently be affecting our normal armpit skin-tone causing two problems now.

Based on the researches I made, shaving traumatizes the skin 100%.  When we are shaving, it is actually the skin that we are shaving and not our hair!  We are causing damage to the skin just to keep it free of hair.  If you are then tempted to shave, think about the blades that glide on your skin.   

I must admit I had this bad habit for many years until I listened to my pits.
Underarm products, services, commercials and brands should then be reviewed critically before we just apply one to our pits!

Bottom line

It is just normal and proper that we look after the welfare of our dear armpit.  However, I just hope that people would also try to lessen the stereotype they created amongst people who have darker underarms or those who prefer it with some hair present.

We do not really know what happened along the way.  Allergies, hormonal changes, pregnancy, and even economical status can be factors that may have affected negatively people’s armpits. 

We shouldn’t be OC about armpits of other people.
"Mas maganda parin ang taong may totoo ot mabuting ugali kaysa maputing kili-kili lang. "
BUT OF COURSE, let’s still keep our kili-kili clean.  Our kili-kili is part of our entire body, so give it extra-care.

Caroleen’s brief pit tips:

a.    STOP shaving. The blades remember.
b.    take a bath regularly and make sure you rinse off the soap in that area well.
c.    Mind your deo/anti-perspirant brand.  Some are too strong they burn your underarm skin.
d.    Go for natural treatment like use dayap, or kalamansi to whiten or smoothen it as other chemicals from your underarm whitening set can WORSEN the case.