New Delhi: Our nails also need care just like our skin. Whether your nail care is a form of self-care, an indulgence, or just routine maintenance, keeping your nails in tip-top shape is a worthwhile investment. The best way to stronger, longer nails is mostly through simple lifestyle habits, not pricy nail tools.
Here are some Natural Nail Care Tips And Tricks that will help you to keep your nails healthy and beautiful.
Moisturise your nails
Just like our skin, our nails also require external moisture to stay healthy. In fact, your skin and scalp have some ability to produce oil naturally, your nails do not. Frequent washing takes away whatever little nourishment it gets. Therefore, the first nail care habit that you need to adopt is moisturising your nails regularly, and if possible, each time you wash your hands. If you regularly use sanitizer, apply a hand cream right after, and focus on your nails as the alcohol in sanitisers can make both your nails and hands dry.
Maintain good hygiene practices
Regular and prolonged contact with water can lead to split fingernails if they are not dried properly and the trapped moisture can lead to infections. Therefore, don’t let your nails grow too long as bacteria and dirt can easily accumulate inside it. Clean your nails at home regularly and sanitize the manicure tools before and after each use. While cutting your nails, trim them straight across and then around the tips to form a curve, this prevents the dirt from getting pushed into the skin.
Do not scrape off nail polish
If your nail polish has started to chip off, take a minute out of your schedule to soak a cotton pad with remover and get rid of the colour. Scraping off the polish from your nail is the worst nail habit out there. It ruins the texture of the nail, removes its healthy, protective layer and makes your nails excessively dry. As a good nail care habit, remove the polish as soon as it loses its shine, instead of waiting for it to chip or peel off.
Use a base coat and a top coat
Whether you apply nail polish frequently or occasionally, the chemicals and colours in these paints can harm your nails and discolour them. An easy way to prevent this, and ensure your nail paint stays on for longer is using a base coat and a topcoat. This is a simple nail care habit that every woman should adopt. After cleansing your nails thoroughly, apply the base and wait for a few minutes. Then apply two coats of your favourite nail colour, wait until it dries off, then apply a top coat to seal everything.
Avoid using acetone
Acetone may look like a quick and easy way to get rid of stubborn nail polish and colours, but the truth is that it is very harsh on your skin and nails. It makes them severely dry and prone to breakage. A nail care tip you should follow is to avoid using acetone or products that contain acetone on your nails. In fact, a lot of nail polish removers these days come with nourishing ingredients like almond oil and vitamin E to prevent them from drying out your tips.
Trim nails regularly
Don’t grow your nails beyond a certain length, as this makes them more prone to damage and breakage. That does not mean you have to keep them really short, just long enough to look pretty. Like with your hair, trimming nails regularly is a good nail care practice. Take some time out every two weeks to maintain the shape of your nails by cutting and filing them.