Manicures are not the only remedy for nail problems. Instead, your cuticles require regular care and attention. So, here are some helpful hacks, tips, and methods for nail care. Continue reading to discover 10 tips and techniques for maintaining beautiful nails and common nail care errors to avoid.
1. Keep Your Fingernails Dry And Clean
All issues originate from pathogens and bacteria. You must eliminate all breeding opportunities for them. Regularly clean and thoroughly dry your cuticles after washing.
This also prevents the accumulation of dirt and bacteria under your cuticles. However, don’t overdo it; nails that soak in water for too long may separate.
When washing dishes, it is recommended to wear gloves to protect your fingernails. Additionally, you must ensure that the epidermis surrounding the nails is clean and free of debris.
We recommend that you apply salt to a toothbrush and use it to delicately scrub your nails and the skin surrounding them.
2. Stop Biting Your Nail
Nail biting causes significant damage. In addition to making your cuticles appear pitiful, contact with your saliva weakens and brittles them. It also damages the mucosa. Additionally, placing fingertips in the mouth transfers dirt and bacteria from the fingers to the mouth.
To help you stop biting your nails, we recommend using a nail polish that smells awful and is unpleasant.
Onychophagy is the medical term for nail biting and it is typically addressed by applying a clear, bitter-tasting nail polish to the fingernails. Denatonium benzoate, the chemical compound considered to be the most bitter ever discovered, is the most common constituent in the formulation of bitter nail polishes.
3. Maintain Your Cuticles
Tame your cuticles for healthy, glossy nails. Cuticles are extremely fragile and readily ruptured. Cuticle maintenance is an essential aspect of nail care.
If you have a hangnail, trim it gently so that it does not protrude or cause additional discomfort. Avoid biting or picking the cuticles.
Apply either coconut or almond oil to your cuticles and massage them gently to hydrate them.
4. Maintain Hygiene
Nail hygiene is super essential! Regularly clean your nails and ensure that your nail care instruments are washed and sanitized. Ensure that your nails do not grow too long, as this will make it simpler for dirt to accumulate beneath them.
Apply natural disinfectants such as tea tree oil to your cuticles to repel bacteria and protect them from germs.
5. Use A Moisturizer
Dryness and flakiness are equally detrimental to your nails and epidermis. Nails are extremely fragile and frequently break off. Hydrate them to strengthen them.
Moisturizing your nails is essential, so choose from a variety of hand creams, cuticle oil/creams, and moisturizing oils to keep your nails and cuticles healthy and glossy.
6. Trim Regularly
Similar to how regularly grooming your hair is beneficial for its growth, so too is trimming your nails. Utilize a nail trimmer to trim them precisely.
Take the time every few weeks to trim and shape your nails as you see fit. It is ideal to trim your nails in a straight line and then square or round the ends.
7. Apply A Base Coat For Protection
A base coat protects the nail and may promote its health. Using a base coat forms a protective layer on the epidermis and prevents discoloration and staining of the nails.
It extends the life of your manicure and improves the polish’s application. Therefore, the next time you decide to paint your nails, do not forgo the base coat, as it is beneficial.
8. Top It Up With A Top Coat
A top varnish gives your manicure a polished, professional appearance and helps your nail color last longer by preventing chipping. You can choose from a variety of top coatings based on the desired appearance; if you want a matte finish, choose a matte top coat.
Applying a top varnish to your nails every couple of days will help your manicure last longer.
9. Never Scrape Off Your Nail Polish
Removing manicure polish by scraping is the worst thing you can do to your nails. It causes the nail surface to become rough and irregular. Additionally, it removes the upper layer of your nails.
Additionally, to prevent the polish from flaking off on its own, you must apply the nail polish in two thin layers rather than one thick coating.
Do not scrape and peel your cuticles. Use an acetone-free nail varnish remover instead.
10. Wear Gloves For Protection
If you perform your own domestic duties, continue reading. Many of your cleaning detergents contain harmful chemicals that will damage your nails if they come into contact with them.
A straightforward solution for protecting your nails is to wear gloves. Ensure that you wash your gloves thoroughly after use and air-dry them to disinfect them.
11. Avoid Using Gel And Acrylics
Gels, acrylics, and nail art are undeniably beautiful, but unfortunately, they cause severe injury to the nails. If possible, avoid them altogether.
Acrylic powder contains numerous chemicals that are capable of penetrating the nail bed and entering the circulation. Additionally, the UV lamps used in gel manicures are harmful to the skin surrounding the nails and palms.
If you are determined to achieve this particular nail look, it would be smarter to choose press-on ones, which are less harmful and easier to apply.
12. File Your Nails In One Direction
Slowly and carefully, proceed in a single direction. Otherwise, the nails become brittle and break easily.
Additionally, filing in the same direction helps you achieve a smooth tip and makes it easier to achieve the desired nail shape. If nail filing is performed aggressively, it can cause splitting and damage to the nails.
Start by filing the nail from one corner to the center, followed by the opposite corner to the center or vice versa. This method helps you attain a smooth finish without harming your nail edges.
13. Stop Water-Based Manicures
Water-based manicures should be avoided because the nail polish tends to chip more quickly. The nail bed absorbs water and swells when submerged in water, but returns to its original shape when removed from the water.
Applying nail polish when the nail bed is expanded is not good because once it shrinks, the nail paint cracks, leading to chipping.
Instead, go for an oil-based manicure, where you cleanse your nail and nail beds with an oil-based formula.
14. Choose Safe Polish
You need to be very careful while picking nail polish. It’s very important to choose ‘3 Free’ polish. This means it does not contain ‘the toxic trio’ — dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, and formaldehyde. Studies have shown these three nail polish ingredients to be Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). This makes them incredibly harmful to human health.
Also, eating with hands that have paint on your nails is not a good idea as bits of the nail paint can chip and fall into the food, which will eventually go inside your body and cause harm. Instead, choose natural and chemical-free nail paints that are eco-friendly and cruelty-free.
15. Buff Instead Of Color
An au natural look is alluring any day. Instead of painting your nails, which is still putting chemicals on your nails even if you choose the most natural brands available in the market, buff your nails.
Buffing elevates the nails and adds a shine to them. It is essential that you remember to buff gently and not too often to avoid spoiling the texture of your nails.
16. Use Cuticle Oil To Avoid Brittle Nails
Your nails need regular nourishing. A nail treatment or a weekly manicure will keep them strong and healthy.
Use cuticle oil after the treatment to nourish your nails.
17. Make Your Manicure Last Longer
In order for your manicure to last, you need to follow a series of steps. Start by removing all nail polish, applying a cuticle softener, and soaking your hands in warm water for 5 minutes. Then, gently push back your cuticles with a cuticle pusher tool. Buff and file your nails. Apply a base coat, followed by two layers of nail paint and a top coat. Let them air dry.
You need to reapply the top coat once every few days to make sure the paint does not dry and chip off. In case that happens, file off the chipped nail and seal it again with a top coat. You can even add a thin layer of white coat to fix your chipped nail.
18. Cut Nails Straight Across
Cut your nails evenly to avoid any ingrowth. Do not let your nails grow too much. Always keep them leveled and even for a neat look.
Growing nails too long makes them long and curved and causes issues like broken skin and ruptured cuticles. Best to cut them short and round them at the tips.
19. Choose A Good Remover
Choose acetone-free nail polish removers as these will be less harsh for your nails and skin. Pick removers from good and sustainable brands.
20. Try Natural Nail-Strengthening
Treatments
Take a trip to the nail salon and opt for some conditioning treatments that can strengthen your nails. Conditioners that contain CF formulas are a good choice. They hydrate and nourish your nails and make them healthy and strong.
21. Eat Well
A healthy diet fixes everything. Nail problems are caused by a poor diet, and issues such as brittle nails are the result of calcium deficiency. It must be present in adequate quantities in your diet.
For healthier and stronger nails, add vitamin E, protein, iron, vitamin D, zinc, and magnesium to your diet in the form of nuts, beetroot, soy, beans, lentils, whole cereals, and vegetables.
22. Avoid Nail Hardeners That Contain The Toxic Trio
Use a non-toxic nail hardener that is formulated without dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, and formaldehyde to protect your nails from daily hazards.
23. Stay Away From Acetone
Choose an acetone-free nail varnish remover at all times. Acetone is extremely damaging to the nails and epidermis. It causes your cuticles to become brittle and brittle.
24. Avoid Rough Emery Boards
When filing natural nails, use a nail file with 100/180 fine grain. Choose one that won’t harm your nails with its rough texture and is completed in an effective manner.
25. Clean Extra Polish Off Cuticles
While coating your nails, you will inevitably get color on the cuticles. Using nail varnish remover will result in a cleaner manicure. Take an earbud, dip it in nail polish remover, and delicately wipe the cuticles to remove nail polish.
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