New Delhi: Yellow nails can be quite unsightly and may in some cases embarrass you. While some of the common reasons for yellow nails is excessive use of nail polish, there could be other causes like a fungal infection or even a vitamin deficiency, smoking, diabetes, kidney disease or psoriasis.
Lemon and baking soda: Lemon, is a great bleaching agent and in this mix, with the added exfoliating action of baking soda, becomes a great remedy for yellow nails. You may also like to read about the health benefits of baking soda.
How to use this remedy:
- Take the juice of one lemon in a bowl.
- Add a teaspoon of baking soda (the amount can vary depending on the amount of lemon juice you have) to the lemon juice to make a paste.
- Now apply this paste to your nails and allow it to stay for about 15 minutes.
- You can then, wash it off with lukewarm water.
- Doing this twice a day should give you great results.
Apple cider vinegar: This type of vinegar works well in whitening yellowish nails as it contains acetic acid and malic acid which help reduce discolouration. Apart from that apple cider vinegar also has antifungal and antibacterial properties that can help keep your nails free of any kind of infection (in case you have yellow nails due to a fungal infection). You may also like to read about the health benefits of apple cider vinegar.
How to use this remedy:
- Take one cup of lukewarm water and add one cup of apple cider vinegar to it.
- Now, dip your hands in the bowl and leave it in for about 20 minutes.
- Once done wash your hands with cold water.
- Pat dry and apply some olive oil to your nails and cuticles.
- Do this two times a day for effective results.
Lemon: While other remedies like lemon along with baking soda work, using only lemon juice also helps. Due to its bleaching properties, lemon juice is great to help whiten your nails. It also has antifungal and antibacterial properties that help get rid of any kind of infections — especially fungal infections.
How to use this remedy?
- Take a teaspoon of olive oil and add a teaspoon of honey to it.
- Mix this well and apply this mixture on your cuticles (not on your nails).
- Now take the juice of a lemon and apply it to your nails.
- Allow it to stay there for about 15 minutes and then wash off with some lukewarm water.
- Make sure you don’t leave the lemon juice on your nails for long as it can make them brittle.
Lemon and glycerine: Glycerine is great for your nails. Due to its moisturising properties, glycerine helps moisturise your nails and gives them a healthy shine. At the same time, lemon helps bleach your nails so they are yellow no more. here’s why lemon and glycerine work really well to get rid of blemishes on your skin too.
How to use this remedy:
- Take equal proportions of glycerine and fresh lemon juice.
- Mix them well and apply this mixture to your nails.
- Leave this mixture on for about 15 minutes and then wash it off with lukewarm water.
- Do not scrub your nails as you wash off this mixture as you will end up washing off the glycerine residue as well. it is best to leave some of the glycerine residues on your nails so that they remain healthy and shiny.
Hydrogen peroxide: Not only does it help disinfect your nails (in case of fungal infection), but hydrogen peroxide also helps whiten them. But like we mentioned before, make sure you use less than 3% concentration of the liquid.
How to use this remedy:
- Add three tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to one and a half cups of lukewarm water.
- Now dip your hands in this solution and leave it there for about 15 minutes.
- Once they have soaked, take your hands out of the bowl (with the solution) and gently brush them with a soft brush.
- Wash your hands with lukewarm water once you are done.
