Nail care tips
Do you spend hours primping and preening your nails? Make your efforts count by keeping your nails healthy with the help of this complete nail care guide.
Give your nails some caring consideration with these fingertip-friendly tips that will help ensure your nails maintain a health-polished state.
Do you spend hours primping and preening your nails? Make your efforts count by keeping your nails healthy with the help of this complete nail care guide.
Give your nails some caring consideration with these fingertip-friendly tips that will help ensure your nails maintain a health-polished state.
- The biting truth
While biting your nails is on the unsanitary side of hygiene practices and may not cause long-term harm to your nails, it can cause short-term damage. Biting off the ends of nails can expose the top portion of your nail beds to bacteria or fungi and cause infections that can spread to the entire nail, so it’s best to try to control your nervous habit for optimal nail health.
- File it!
Filing your nails is a great way to even out the tips of your nails, keeping them in a strong shape. However, be sure to file your nails in one direction, not back and forth.
- Give them a trim
Cutting your fingernails straight across with a slightly rounded top is the ideal way to keep them break-proof. If you suffer from brittle or weak nails, soak them in warm water 10 minutes before cutting them in order to prevent breakages and cracks. Trimming your toenails straight across (with no rounded top) is particularly important as it will help prevent ingrown toenails and injury to the nail bed.
- The dangerous pull
Never pull off hangnails – it’s not only painful, but by doing so you’ll expose that spot to infections. Instead, clip off hangnails; that way you won’t be pulling out living tissue and you’ll minimise your risk of infection and fingertip damage.
- Moisturise me
Our skin needs constant hydration, and so do our nails. When applying hand cream, ensure you rub a generous amount over your fingernails to prevent cracks, breakages and brittleness.
- Keep dry, keep clean
Dirty hands and nails carry bacteria, fungi and other potentially harmful organisms, while wet hands and moisture can provide bacteria with an ideal environment to spread and develop. Consequently, it’s important to dry your hands thoroughly after washing and to keep them clean. Wash your hands and remove dirt and grime under the nails regularly to minimise your exposure to bacteria.
- Avoid the chemical strip
Applying a thin coat of nail polish can strengthen your nails, but using nail polish remover regularly may weaken them. When you do need a nail polish remover, look out for more natural, acetone-free formulas, as acetone can dry out nails.
- Keep your cuticles
It’s not necessary to cut cuticles, especially when a wrong snip can lead to cuticle damage as well as weaken the entire nail. If you insist on getting rid of them, however, it’s best to push cuticles back in a very gentle manner and at a 45-degree angle, which will help minimise cuticle injury and subsequent nail damage.
- Protect and preserve
For healthy nails, a general habit to get into is to protect them in every way possible while using your hands. As an example, use gloves to do housework, which will help prevent nail dryness and exposure to chemicals or detergents.
Find out what your nails say about your inner health and get more beauty tips. Don't forget to find us on Facebook for daily updates.
