Water: Good for Butter, Bad for Nails

DIY Glass Water Bottle Favors by Mary Stonecypher [Link]

Spreadable butter and nail fungus are topics usually far and between because frankly, it is uncomfortable to talk about the two in the same sentence. Salty, soft. You want to say yum and yuck at the same time. I breach the subject because the resolve for hardened butter and toenail fungus is excitingly the same: minding the water.

On the subject of butter, for your consideration, is the Butter Bell and the Butter Boat. Both claim that the evaporative properties of water keep butter fresh and spreadable for weeks at a time and I support this claim. So which one is the crock for you and which one is just a crock of...Here is the scoop:

They both hold one stick of butter. The boat holds the stick of butter whole, in all it's rectangular glory, while the bell requires a magnificent mashing of the butter into the bell part. As far as I can tell, it is only a cosmetic difference. Obviously, water does not touch any butter that chooses to ride in the boat. The boat comes in three pieces for this purpose and the bell only two pieces. 

Butter Bell by Lapella Pottery [Link]

In a not-so-scientific study, 2 out of 3 people asked What's that? when the bell was presented, as it was not immediately clear that it in fact held butter and 1 out 3 people attempted to ring it. No one in the study mistook the boat for anything but a butter dish and so there was less embarrassment all around. When all is said and done, I recommend the butter boat purely on the basis that I am selling mine on eBay this week.

On the subject of toenail fungus, I assure you I don't have it. Unfortunately, many people do. Including everyone that was getting a pedicure at the last place I walked into and ran right out of. Fungus is not a Fun Gus. You cannot kill it with expensive cremes, you can only cut it off. Our fingers and toes are extremely sensitive with the overload of nerve-endings there so a pulling-off of a nail or two would be an agony that even I could not begin to write about. Keep your toenails on! Luckily there are smart people employing smart services to help us. For your consideration is butter LONDON : Long Live Nails.

butter LONDON Henley Regatta by Michellealicious [Link]

They do not mention fungus on their website which is probably a rule you learn in Websites For Profit 101. Seems like a good rule to me. I am still paging through Google Adwords for Dummies on the chapter, When You Can't Decide What Size and Shape the Ads Should Be so I have not yet consider the role of fungus on my profits.

Back to butter LONDON. It is a company primarily famous for being the first to bring non-toxic nail products to the US; although, I think they should be famous for their waterless nail service at the airport.

Water acts as a vehicle for spreading infectious diseases and bacteria. So although water is not to blame per se, it might not hurt to avoid it at the nail salon. To help set your sanitation expectations, here is an excerpt from The Truth Behind Nail Salons, an article by Podiatrist Dr. Robert Klein.

5 Signs you’ve entered a BAD nail salon:

1)                Uncleanly facility or old equipment

a.       Debris or nail clippings are on the floor and equipment is rusty.

b.      For proper sanitation of water basin, must sit in bleach for at least 10 minutes.

2)                No sterilizer

a.       If they do use a UV light sanitizer, tools should be exposed to the light for at least 25 minutes. Trick: Check to see if the machine has a timer or is being monitored.

b.      Heat sterilizers are preferred.

c.       Best option: Look for salons that use an autoclave, which is a pressurized sterilizing system (like the ones you see in the dentist’s office).

3)               Dirty tools, water, nail technician isn’t wearing a mask or gloves

a.       The most common way that nail fungus is spread is by using utensils that haven't been properly sterilized. If you’re scared, bring your own.

b.      And if you use disposable items, make sure they come out of a fresh sealed package every time.

c.       If the salon uses blue Barbicide cleaning solution, it should be clear, not cloudy.

4)               You experience pain

a.       A manicure and pedicure should be an enjoyable experience and should never hurt or sting.

5)               They have jets

a.       Salons with spa chairs and jet baths should be avoided.

b.      Why? Salons are supposed to change the filters that recycle water after every use, but it rarely happens. The result? Used water gets circulated through the system.

c.       Instead, look for porcelain or stainless steel basins without a spa chair, or ask the salon to change the filter in front of you.