When is the last time you really looked at your fingernails? Do they look and feel healthy and strong?
Or are they unusually colored or shaped with dents and ridges? Unfortunately, many women deal with nail health issues.
While this is true, you can use some nail health tips to help ensure your nails remain strong and healthy. Keep reading to learn what those tips are.
Avoid Cutting or Manipulating Your Cuticles
Whether you go to a professional or do your nails yourself, you need to leave the cuticles alone. This is a top tip from women’s health experts, such as Lindsay Giguiere.
Your cuticles act as a natural barrier to bacteria and fungus. Once you breach this layer of protection, it’s gone.
This will cause the cuticles to look ragged, swollen, and red but can also cause a serious infection that impacts your nail bed and causes permanent nail damage.
While cutting the cuticles needs to be avoided, you should not push them back, either.
Consider Adding a Biotin Supplement to Your Routine
If you eat a varied, healthy diet, you won’t require dietary supplements for strong nails. However, if you are one of the many people dealing with weak nails, you may benefit from a biotin supplement, which is a B vitamin.
Biotin has been proven to help strengthen and grow nails. This is a great option for those who don’t have naturally strong nails.
Keep Your Fingernails Clean and Dry
Keeping your fingernails as dry as possible, and dirt-free, helps prevent bacteria from growing beneath them. If your nails are repeatedly exposed to water or submerged for prolonged periods of time, you may suffer split nails.
Be sure to wear gloves if you have your hands in water, which will protect your nails.
Limit Your Use of Nail Hardeners
If possible, avoid using nail hardeners. These products have not been extensively studied, which means the claims are not backed by science.
Unless your nails are extremely weak and very fragile, you probably won’t benefit from this product anyway.
Use Nail Polish
Wearing nail polish won’t hurt your healthy nails. However, you should give them a break from the polish from time to time.
As part of your at-home manicures, be sure to choose a nail polish remover that is acetone-free. Also, wear gloves when doing housework, gardening, and other activities to keep dirt out of your nails.
Use These Nail Health Tips for Superior Results
As you can see from the nail health tips above, there are more than a few things you can do to ensure your nails remain strong and healthy. Be sure to implement these strategies to minimize issues and breakage.
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