Dear Answer Angel Ellen: Professional picture framing is so expensive that I’m doing it myself. I now buy frames on sale at Michael’s or at Goodwill or other thrift stores.

But what am I doing wrong? I can manage the whole job except I have had so much trouble keeping fingerprints and smudges off the glass on the inside of the frame. Also, teeny bits of dust (and even an errant white dog hair) showed up when I thought I had finished the job.

It’s maddening to have to take it apart to get rid of the hard-to-see fingerprints and tiny particles. Any tips?

--Daniel W.

Dear Daniel: I’ve had the same frustrations but have learned the hard way how to avoid the problems you describe.

First, wear disposable gloves that you can buy in packs at grocery, drug and big box stores like Target. With glass cleaner, use newspaper (not paper towels or dish towels) to wash and dry both sides of the glass. Yes, newspaper.

Touch only the edges when setting the glass into the frame. To avoid trapping dust, etc. inside your framing job, use a microfiber cloth and/or a new, never-used soft bristle small paint brush to capture any dust or dog hair.

Now, place the picture backing into the frame, Before sealing the whole thing up — with gloves on -- hold the framed art in good light to check for tiny particles still clinging to the inside of the glass. Then — and only then — seal it in just a few temporary places and take another good look before the final closure.

Now give the outside glass another cleaning and pat yourself the back for saving a bunch of money.

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: The gray eyebrow hairs: keep plucking them? But if I keep getting more and more and keep plucking and plucking soon there will be nothing left! So cover up the gray ones? With what product?

--Judie C.

Dear Judie: Put the tweezers away. You are asking for trouble. Many of my readers have lamented that they tweezed away the grays and they never grew back.

Yes, you need to color your brows. Drugstores have loads of products, sort of brow mascara, for a very temporary fix. Or, you can have it done more permanently with tint or dye at the beauty salon or spa.

But I’ve found—and readers agree—that the products professionals use on your hair for root touch-ups just doesn’t last on eyebrows, which are coarser. After trying many products, I always return to Just for Men brand Mustache & Beard color (drugstores, amazon.com, under $10).

Consider yourself warned: It is a messy project. No matter how carefully you apply it with a Q-tip or some other tool, it quickly turns a dark color and somehow the application expands to cover more skin than you bargained for. And this stuff is hard to get off your flesh. What price beauty!

A few crucial tips:

-- It is possible to do this without endangering your eyes with dye or the dye cleanup but extreme care must be taken! Seriously. If you don’t trust yourself, don’t DIY it with this stuff.

-- Do not get it near any clothing, towels, etc. (it is permanent!). It is even hard to remove from the sink and counter—and you need to act fast on bathroom fixture drips.

-- Keep it on longer than the instructions. I use 15 minutes.

-- Wipe it off with tissues first, then Q-tips rubbed strenuously after dipping in ammonia-free glass cleaner. I prefer Sparkle.Angelic Readers

Monika S. writes: "This comment is in response to reader 'Amelia J.' with her 'very long fake fingernails.' The potential amount of disgusting germs under her nails should just be the indicator to get rid of them. Her 'problems' like removing a credit card after inserting it at a gas pump, ATM etc.? If you need other people to help you perform basic daily tasks, that should be the clear indicator that it's a mess. I cringe EVERY TIME I see people with such excessive long nails and the bacteria that's probably collecting under there. Seriously.... cut your nails. This may be a indicator of Amelia’s executive functioning difficulties.” Similarly, Margarete G. writes: “Frankly, just how clean are those nails. Just wonderin’.”Reader Requests

Where readers turn to other readers to share recommendations based on their own experiences…

From Sandy V. says: “Looking for a truly hypoallergenic mascara. Has anyone had success with a particular brand. Send links, please!”

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