Most of the women dream of getting healthy, lovely nails, and they always prefer to go to a salon for a good manicure; instead, it can be done by yourself at home (
1). Combo of
proper diet, good hygiene grants you salon-worthy nails with less cost. They also look equally shiny and exquisite compared to manicure done by professionals in the salon. Hence, follow proper
nail care to keep them healthy (
2).
Nail Care Tips to Get Healthy Nail
1. Keep Your Nails Clean and Dry
Remember to keep your nails clean and dry as germs and bacteria accumulate in fingertips. Wash your hands frequently and ensure to dry them after every wash to prevent dirt lying under your nails. Apply some salt on a toothbrush and gently scrub your nails and skin around them to make sure your nails are dirt free.
2. Moisturize Your Nails
Your nails will grow and remain healthy only when they get enough moisture. Lack of moisture causes the nail to break, crack, and split. The cuticle is a protective barrier for your nail, so keep it moisturized with cream or oils to restore moisture and repair damages. Constant hydration of nails and skin around them keeps them beautiful and healthy.
3. Wear Gloves for Protection
The main concern of women who do the household chores is about the chemicals in cleaning detergents, which might harm their skin and nails. Wear gloves to
protect your skin from these chemicals and continue doing your chores happily without any worries. It helps your skin to stay fresh and healthy. Ensure you wash the gloves thoroughly after every use and sanitize them by hanging in the sunlight.
4. Quit Biting Your Nails
Biting your nails exposes the nail tip to bacteria or fungi, which cause infections (
3,
4). It may even spread to the entire nail, so refrain from your habit of biting nails. Constant contact of the nail with saliva harms cuticles and makes your nails weak and brittle (
5). It also transmits germs and dirt from your fingers to mouth. It’s best to maintain nail health by controlling your habit of nail-biting.
5. Take Off Your Old Polish
Remove your nail polish before trimming and filing of nails. Also, when you accidentally smear polish on your skin or if the nail polish started to look dull, remove your old polish by using nail remover.
6. Trimming, Filing and Shaping Your Nails
To get a neat, even look, always cut your nails and do not let them grow too much. Longer nails tend to break often, so consider keeping your nails short. The best time to cut the nails is post shower when they are easy to cut. Cut the nails short, straight, and round them off at the tips. To avoid breaking and chipping your nails, file them gently in one direction. Never file your nails after shower or washing hands as wet nails break easily. File uneven edges of the nails in the same direction as back and forth filing may weaken your nails. You can easily shape the tip in any manner you want and can achieve a smooth tip by filing in the same direction. Aggressive filing of nails leads to blunt tips, so always file from one corner to center and then from the center to the other corner. This method allows you to achieve a smooth finish, and your nail beds remain unharmed.
7. Make Your Nail Polish Last Longer
Apply a base coat to form a protective layer on your skin, which secures nail bed. It also prevents your nails from getting discolored. Enhance the nail polish color by applying a thick coat on your nails. Nail color lasts longer with the help of a top coat. So apply a top coat to add shine to your nails, and it also prevents them from chipping off. The top coat helps to keep your manicure to stay on longer.
8. Clean Extra Polish Off Cuticles
While painting nails, you might have extra color on your cuticles or the sides of nails. Remove them by dipping an earbud in a nail polish remover and wipe off the nail paint gently. It helps to maintain a neater manicure, which makes your nails a pretty sight. They look dazzling and shiny, which in turn attracts people’s attention in public.
9. Never Scrape Off Your Nail Polish
Don’t scrape off your nail polish as it makes your nails rough and patchy. It also clears your nail’s top layer. It is the worst thing you can do to your nail. Also, you need to apply a couple of nail paint coats to prevent the polish from chipping off.
10. Eat Well
Healthy eating can fix anything. Nail problems are caused by improper diet and calcium deficiency. Include an adequate amount of calcium, magnesium, iron, protein, zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin E in your routine diet by having greens, fruits, and vegetables for strong and healthy nails.
