Health at your Fingertips: Caring for Your Nails

 

Here are some tips of cleaning and taking care of your fingernails:

 

 

1. Eat a wide range of healthy foods including plenty of fruits and vegetables to make sure you get all the vitamins and minerals necessary to keep your nails healthy.

 

2. Protect your nails and hands by wearing gloves when you do housework, gardening or any other form of labour.

 

3. Avoid using your nails to open soda cans, remove staples or do anything else that might cause them to chip or break. Use tools instead of your nails.

 

4. Protect your nails by applying a coat of clear nail hardener on either bare or polished nails. This is a good way to strengthen weak nails and helps protect them from water damage too.

 

5. Trim your nails by cutting straight across rather than into the corners. Then file using an emery board.

 

6. Keep your hands and nails well-moisturized.

 

 

Other Nail Care Tips:

 

 

•To harden soft nails, soak them in warm olive oil for about 20 minutes, on alternate days.

•To remove stains from your nails, mix one tablespoon of lemon juice in a cup of water and soak your nails in this liquid for a few minutes. Then, wash off with warm water and apply a hand moisturizer.

•It is not a good idea to remove the cuticles from your nails, as it will make the nail susceptible to infection. Rather, you should make use of good quality cuticle oil and gently push back the cuticles, with the help of an orangewood stick.

•Try to stay away from acetone polish removers as much as you can and stick to the one that make use of acetate. Still, try not to use a polish remover more than once a week.

•In case you wear nail polish, make sure to give your nails a break from time to time. In other words leave them without polish for a few days, every now and then. Otherwise, they will develop an ugly, yellow tint.

•If you want to give a natural sheen to your nails, just like the colourless base coat, rub petroleum jelly on your nails and then buff them, with the help of a soft cloth.

•If you have brittle nails or split or dull nails, then increasing your consumption of Organic Silica, Vitamin B (especially B5) and MSM (Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methane) will surely help.

•Never ever resort to nail biting, as it is extremely destructive for the nails as well as the cuticles. If you are in the habit of biting your nails, drop it as soon as possible.

•Whenever you wash your hands, while bathing as well as otherwise, make sure to dry the nails properly and apply a hand cream or lotion, using it on the nails as well. This is because soap makes the nails dry and brittle.

•The best time to file your nails is when you are already wearing a polish. This will prevent splitting or breaking of nails.

•If you have brittle nails, it is advisable to wear a nail polish, or at least the colourless base coat, as much as you can.