Choose Nail Tips Over Full Extensions
All our experts told WebMD that, in general, nail extensions are bad news for nails, frequently leading to fungal or even bacterial infections — and, says Stern, sometimes to permanent damage. If you must wear nail extensions, she says, opt for just tips. While they can still cause problems, the potential for damage is less since the surface area covered is smaller.
Commit To Monthly Maintenance
Which brings us to our next point: monthly maintenance. Whether you opt for a DIY manicure or take a trip to the salon, a regular tuneup is key to keeping those tips strong. Your nails can tell you a lot about your overall health, so use that time to make regular check-ins as well. “When you take your nail polish off, check your nail color and the strength of your nail plate before you go ahead and apply polish or treat your nails,” says Lin.
If a bare nail is more your thing, Lim still recommends proper nail hygienethat is, keeping them clipped, cleaned, and filed. “Take your fingernail and raise the free edges to see if there are any snags, and you can smooth them out. That’s a great way to maintain your nails,” she says.
Minimise Exposure To Water
Now this one may sound like a contradiction, but Im actually talking about keeping your nails out of water as often as you can. Too much soaking your nails in water can also cause them to become weak and brittle. Its impossible to keep your hands out of water all the time , but its important to keep this tip in mind.
To minimise the amount of time your nails spent submerged, try using rubber gloves when washing the dishes, and maybe rest your hands on the bath when youre bathing.
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Choose A File With A High Grit Number
Did you know every nail file has an accompanying grit number? It’s typically a tiny number stamped either on the packaging or on the file itself, and it conveys how coarse the board will be against your nails. The higher the grit number, the softer the file.
In terms of maintaining strong nails, you’ll want to go with a file that has a higher grit number . “You want something that’s just a little bit more coarse than a regular buffer,” says Lim. No need to go scratching up the nail plate, here. If you can’t find a specific grit number on your file, Lim says you can just take your finger and run it across the board: “You shouldn’t feel much friction.”
Ways To Keep Your Nails Healthy
Maintaining healthy nails that look fashionable doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Follow these tips and impress with your sexy, strong nails.
Regular nail care results in healthy nails that you can be proud to take to work or out on the town. Your nail care plan can be simple and inexpensive. In fact, says dermatologist D’Anne M. Kleinsmith, MD, of the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., being overly aggressive with cleaning and maintaining nails might actually put your normally strong nails at risk for yeast or bacterial infections. You won’t need frequent manicures to maintain good-looking nails if you follow these eight simple tips.
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Take A Closer Look At Your Shampoo
If youre using a shampoo that is drying or aims to strip oils , it might be drying out your nails and causing weak or brittle nails. Try changing up your shampoo for a couple of weeks and see if you notice a difference.
If youve tried multiple things for several weeks and havent noticed any change in your nails, see a dermatologist. They can take a look at your nails and ask you questions about your routine and overall health.
If need be, they can prescribe a prescription-strength nail treatment that can help to strengthen your nails.
Wear Protective Gloves To Strengthen Your Fingernails Naturally
Contact with chemical products is a factor that contributes greatly to the deterioration of our fingernails. Therefore, to maintain fingernail strength, you must wear protective gloves when it comes to domestic tasks that involve cleaning products.
Also, its helpful to only use environmentally-friendly products. After all, whats good for the environment is also good for your body!
No matter what, gloves act as a barrier that keeps chemicals from coming into direct contact with your fingernails. Whats more, they protect your hands when they need to be submerged in water for long periods.
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Strengthen From The Inside Out
Along with addressing nails from the outside, all the experts we spoke with agreed that the right supplements can help strengthen your tips from the inside, out. One good option? Collagen. An essential protein for hair, skin, and nails, ingestible collagen peptides are easily incorporated into your daily routine and can help promote healthy nails.
“Collagen has really made a difference in the health of my nails. They feel resilient and stronger,” says Holford. Try: NeoCell Super Collagen Powder. Another good option? Biotin. The B vitamin is one of Tuttle’s top picks for strengthening nails. Choi adds that along with supplements, you can also get these internal benefits by focusing on incorporating biotin-rich and collagen-synthesizing foods in your diet, such as salmon, avocados, sweet potatoes, leafy greens, and nuts and seeds.
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Why Are Your Nails Brittle Fragile And Breakable
As with any issue, finding the root cause can be a great first step in tackling the problem head on. If you notice that you have or are beginning to have brittle nails that break or bend somewhat easily, it can be frustrating to deal with. There are numerous reasons why your nails may not be as strong as they should be. Finding the reason will help you determine the right method to strengthen them. Here are a few causes:
- Nail-biting habit
- Hypothyroidism
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Best Supplements To Make Toenails Grow Faster
A healthy lifestyle and balanced nutrition will promote the overall health. It means that your nails will look shiny and beautiful again. They will no longer be crumbly, and they will not have to be covered with colorful nail polishes. Heres what you have to add to your diet if you want to grow long nails faster:
How To Get Strong Nails
This article was co-authored by Mohiba Tareen, MD. Mohiba Tareen is a board certified Dermatologist and the founder of Tareen Dermatology located in Roseville, Maplewood and Faribault, Minnesota. Dr. Tareen completed medical school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she was inducted into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. While a dermatology resident at Columbia University in New York City, she won the Conrad Stritzler award of the New York Dermatologic Society and was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Tareen then completed a procedural fellowship which focused on dermatologic surgery, laser, and cosmetic dermatology.There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 100% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 259,365 times.
Weak fingernails can lead to splits, ragged edges, or painful hangnails. Despite many popular and dubious beauty tips, there are really only a few solutions that work. For most people on a healthy diet, daily moisturizing and a switch to gentle nail care routines are the only changes worth considering.
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Remember Toenails Count Too
Everything that applies to your fingernails applies to your toenails, which experts say may be even more prone to problems due to careless pedicures. “Because feet are more often inside shoes — a dark, moist environment — fungus can grow more easily,” says Ravits. If you get regular pedicures, experts say take your own instruments and never let the tech dig under the nail or around the cuticle. Moreover, Ravits says cutting toenails at an angle — instead of straight across — increases the risk of ingrown toenails, which can be painful and sometimes develop into an infection.
Try A More Natural Nail Polish
Quashie recommends giving ‘free from’ varnishes a go, which purposefully exclude any potentially toxic chemicals. ‘In terms of natural credentials, the scale runs from “three-free” all the way up to “13-free”, which means that brand does not have any of the most commonly used chemicals that have been identified as potentially harmful in their varnishes.’
So, which brands to go for? ‘Some great ‘free-from’ brands are Kure Bazaar, Nailberry and Butter London some of the larger brands such as Nails Inc and Orly are bringing out similar formulas too.’
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Do You Skip The Base Coat
As for makeup, priming your face is of utmost importance for the makeup to stay longer, likewise, trust base coat to let your nail paint stay for a long time. Be it a neutral shade or a bright one, before putting on any nail color, applying a base coat is a must. This will provide a protective layer to your nails and will help your nails stronger and healthier.
Change Your Daily Habits
Adjusting your daily habits can also help your nails grow stronger over time. “Be gentle with your nails and try to minimize using your nails as tools to open things,” says Dr. Garshick. “Try to keep your nails trimmed so they don’t snag on things which may make them more susceptible to breakage.” Another tip is to avoid exposing hands to water for a prolonged period of time. If you’re washing dishes, for example, she says to wear gloves.
Dr. Graf agrees and lists other habits such as eating a well-balanced diet , avoiding nail-biting, and taking breaks from using nail polish can also help the health of your nails. She adds that some abnormalities to the nail are harmless texture and color can change temporarily if you’ve been wearing fake nails or polish for a while. But if areas around the nail start to hurt, change in color for a long period of time, bleed, swell, or separate from the skin, then consult a professional.
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How To Make Your Nails Grow Longer And Stronger
Buh-bye, brittle nails.
Maybe its been the lockdown boredom , but it seems so many of us are attempting to grow our nails longer and stronger right now.
If youve ditched the acrylics and taken a much-needed break from the gels, yet your nails are still brittle and flaky, we feel your pain.
On a mission to achieve the long, resilient talons of our dreams, weve tried out all the hacks and enlisted some of the best experts to reveal exactly how to make our nails grow longer, stronger and healthier for good. Stay with us for everything you need to know..
How To Grow Longer And Stronger Nails
Reach For Nail Strengtheners
Nails Inc Nail Strengthening Illuminator, $14,
Nail expert Kimmie Kyees told Huffington Post, “Nail strengtheners are composed mainly of keratin protein, which is what the nail is mostly made up of. The strengthener bonds the molecules in the nails together creating a stronger nail.” I guess a good strengthener is worth investing in after all!
Want more beauty tips? Check out the video below, and be sure to subscribe to Bustleââ¬â¢s YouTube page for more hacks and tricks!
Images: Brooke Cagle/Unsplash Fotolia Courtesy of Brands
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Take Breathers Between Manicures
Bottom line: Your nails need to breathe. Constant use of polish, even non-toxic polish, can weaken the nail, says Dr. Solomon. If you find that your nails have become especially fragile , give them a month off from nail polish to allow them to grow and strengthen. Applying a keratin treatment between manicures, such as CND RescueRXx, can help nourish your nails during the hiatus.
Finally Get A Manicure Once In A While
Getting your nails done professionally once in a while can improve their health and strength. This is because a nail technician will use professional products and is trained on nail health. Your therapist will apply a strengthening base goal to prevent the nails from peeling or becoming weak by using polish too often. Getting a regular manicure will remove rough edges and dry cuticles we tend to pick at or get caught and break. Take a look at the manicure options we have at Tay Medispa here:
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Home Remedy Nr 1 Coconut Oil & Honey
Warm three teaspoons of coconut oil andone teaspoon of honey in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Soak your nails inthe mixture for about 10 minutes. Do this every day for about a month to seethe full result. You can also wear cotton gloves and let the mixture soakovernight and have natural overnight nails treatment.
Foods That Make Your Nails Stronger
It is more than a known truth that to have a healthy body, skin, hair and even nails, one must be mindful of their diets and foods they consume. Our food intake has a direct effect on the way our body functions. If you want to know how to make your nails grow faster, you should make sure you’re consuming growth-inducing nutrients. Read on more about the food that helps in making your nails grow faster.
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Moisturize Your Hands And Nails Regularly
Frequently moisturizing your nails and the surrounding skin with a hand cream can prevent further impairment of the integrity of the nails, says Philadelphia-based dermatologist Rina Allawh, MD. Ointments, such as Aquaphor Healing Ointment and Vaniply Skin Protectant, pull a double-duty by nourishing your nails and protecting them from future damage by locking in moisture.
Cuticle oil helps to repair, nourish, and moisturize weak nails as well, says North Carolina-based board-certified dermatologist Sheel Desai Solomon, MD. I recommend LOccitane Shea Nourishing Nail & Cuticle Oil, she says. Its formulated with a high concentration of shea oil to help soften cuticles and nourish nails.
Use Nail Hardeners Sparingly
“The take-home message here is that a lot of them do more damage than good,” says Stern. She reminds us that these products are not studied clinically, so most claims are not backed up by science. Unless nails are exceptionally weak and fragile, she says, most people don’t benefit from a nail hardener.
Healthy nails are flexible nails, she says, so to keep yours from breaking, avoid anything that makes them more brittle.
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Ditch Nail Polish Removers That Contain Acetone
A nail polish remover loaded with acetone is harsh on weak nails and can dry them out something fierce. This can cause peeling, splitting, and those unsightly white, mottled marks, says Dr. Solomon.
Her rec? Tenoverten Non-Acetone Polish Remover. Its essential oil-based, removes polish in a matter of seconds, and feels very gentle on nails and cuticles, she says.
Be Careful When Cutting Your Cuticles
It is a common misconception that cuticles need to be cut and for those who choose to do so, actually cut the eponychium, says Gray. The eponychium is the slightly thicker skin around the base of the nail and should be removed as it protects the nails from infections.
The true cuticle that does need to be removed is the small, scaly area of dead skin cells stuck to the nail plate. However this should not be pushed back as this is how the nail matrix becomes damaged.
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Do You Bite Your Nails
Are you the one who starts biting fingernails at the hint of any anxiety? Here is the time to tell you to absolutely stop this practice. If you want your nails to grow faster, you need to stop biting them. Not only biting nails is unhealthy for your body and stomach, but it may also lead to bacterial infections. Biting nails can also lead to chipped nail paints. Now, who wants that? No one, right!
Foods To Strengthen Nails Naturally
Many foods can help strengthen nails naturally, making them stronger and less brittle. Vitamins and minerals found in foods provide the necessary nutrients for our bodies to grow and remain healthy and strong. Lets look at several of these powerful foods and how they can help you maintain healthy, strong nails.
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Home Remedy Nr 3 Horsetail
Add one teaspoon of dried horsetail stemsin two cups of boiling water. Steep it for about 10 minutes and finally drinkit as a herbal tea to cure brittle nails and enhance nail growth. If you dontlike the taste, add some honey. Soaking your nails in this mixture can alsohelp you to grow long and strong nails.
Foods For Amazingly Strong Nails: Are You Eating Them
Theres certainly truth to the saying You are what you eat. We all want beautiful strong nails and nail strengtheners can only help so much. So you really need to try to get as many vitamins and nutrients as possible in the foods you eat, particularly if growing your nails seems like a hard task. Eating the right foods can make your nails stronger and healthier, naturally, in no time!
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