Strong, healthy nails that lack discoloration and grow fast are a desirable physical quality for most people.
However, statistics show that 20% of the US population have unhealthy nails characterized by brittleness (onychoschizia); the condition affects more women than men. Moreover, nails are also susceptible to pterygium inversum unguis, onycholysis, onychomycosis, and other unhealthy nail conditions.
Unfortunately, such conditions occur primarily due to poor nail care, including exposure to harsh chemicals, poor hygiene, and nail-biting. However, you can transform unhealthy nails into healthy nails with some regular TLC. Therefore, learn how to maintain beautiful, healthy nails below.
- Seek Professional Nail Care
Keep Your Nails Clean and Dry
Bacteria can grow under your fingernails. When you make contact with water, this can contribute to split fingernails. So, when you’re getting out of the shower or bath, you should thoroughly dry your nails. When you’re washing the dishes, you should put on a pair of cotton-lined rubber gloves to protect your nails. Also, avoid using harsh chemicals as they can damage your nail health.
Practice Excellent Nail Hygiene
You should practice good nail hygiene each day. To begin, you should use clippers or manicure scissors to trim your nails and an emery board to remove any snags. Make sure you trim straight across, otherwise there’s an increased risk of getting an ingrown fingernail. No one wants to deal with the pain and nuisance of an ingrown fingernail. When in doubt, go for a professional manicure or check out a YouTube tutorial.
Look into Biotin
Some research suggests that biotin can help strengthen brittle or weak fingernails. A daily dose of biotin may be all it takes to reduce breaking and splitting your fingernails. Biotin can also help in maintaining many of your body’s major systems. If you’re not sure whether biotin is right for you, you should talk to your doctor for more advice.
High-quality manicures and pedicures will leave a dent of sorts in your wallet. However, parting with a few dollars to get professional-level nail care is worth it. Nail technicians have the expertise to care for your nails and do a more thorough job than any DIY nail care session can ever achieve. Besides glamming your nails in the latest trends, they assess your nail health and recommend follow-up action.
Second, they keep up with nail care trends and know the best products that promote nail health. Such products include nail builder gel or gel manicure, which help preserve your nail’s length.
Unlike other rigid manicure options like stick-ons and acrylic, manicure gel is flexible, making it less likely to cause nail breakage. Moreover, you can remove a gel manicure by soaking it in acetone, eliminating the need for filing, which damages nails.
Third, nail technicians can also note early symptoms of nail problems requiring a dermatologist’s attention and recommend that you visit one to prevent the condition’s advancement. Therefore, besides nail technicians, you can visit a dermatologist if you notice unsavory changes on your nails; do not ignore any symptoms or attempt self-medication.
- Wear Protective Gear On Your Hands And Feet
Your nails are susceptible to everything you touch, including the chemicals in the detergents you use for scrubbing and dishwashing. Second, soaking your hands in water for extended durations causes excess water to accumulate in your nail plate. The nail plate features live cells prone to microbial infections, and the excess water content creates a conducive environment for bacteria that cause nail infections.
Third, chores requiring hot water use also compromise nail health because the heat from the water expands your nails, creating a larger surface area for nail moisture loss. Keratin is the nail’s structural protein and constitutes dead nails that keep nails firm, strong, and healthy. However, the protein also features a water content, and one research study shows that any element that causes keratin to lose moisture impairs its structural integrity.
Besides hot water, hard water contains minerals that may absorb moisture from the nail bed, leaving it dry. The nail bed produces the cells that die to form keratin and cannot produce such cells efficiently when dehydrated. Consequently, a dried-out nail bed can cause your nails to grow brittle, flake, and break.
However, wearing protective gear like rubber or silicone gloves will counter all the above scenarios, keeping your nails healthy. Nonetheless, it is not only fingernails that are susceptible to damage.
Your toenails are also vulnerable to accidents and friction, particularly from ill-fitting shoes. However, you can protect them by wearing high-quality socks or silicone toe pads/caps.
- Moisturize Your Nails Using Cuticle Oil/Cream
Nail cuticles play a vital role in nail health, protecting the nail bed and the rest of the nail root from pathogenic invasions. However, despite their protective role, cuticles are delicate, and constant exposure leaves them susceptible to dehydration, leading to dryness and flakiness.
However, you can protect your cuticles and nails from dehydration by moisturizing them using cuticle oil/cream. Cuticle moisturizers like oils and creams lock moisture into the nails, preserving keratin’s structural integrity.
Second, the primary ingredients in cuticle oils are vegetable oils and vitamins, which help increase blood circulation to the nail root. The increased blood flow increases cell regeneration in the nail bed, and as more cells die, they increase the dead cell reserve for making keratin. Therefore, nail moisturizers help your nails grow faster, longer, and stronger.
- Practice Proper Nail Hygiene
You spend your day touching thousands of items and surfaces; some of them play host to thousands of harmful bacteria cultures. Such bacteria can find their way into the nail bed via vulnerable areas like patches of your fingers affected by skin disease and exposed cuticles. Moreover, some bacteria like pseudomonas cause the nail and nail bed to separate, creating a pathway for the bacteria to reach the nail root.
However, maintaining proper hygiene by regularly sanitizing your hands helps keep pathogens away. Second, trim your nails or clean them religiously because long and filthy nails harbor germs and bacteria.
Third, one expert review on nail grooming posits that filing your fingernails and toenails almost straight reduces the chances of abnormal nail growth. Lastly, disinfect your nail-grooming tools with an isopropyl alcohol solution, and do not share the tools with anyone.
- Avoid Biting Your Nails
Habitual nail-biting damages the skin and tissue around your nails, exposing the nail root to infection. Moreover, biting your nails deep into the nail root can alter its function, causing abnormal nail growth or eroding the nail bed completely. Therefore, consider effective but undisruptive ways to manage anxiety.
Conclusion
Unhealthy nails cause physical pain and negatively impact your social life and confidence. However, most nail-related health problems are treatable, and following the guide will help restore and preserve your nails’ health.
