When it comes to taking care of your body, you often forget that there are body parts other than your hair, skin, and face that need attention. In particular, we tend to overlook one body part in particular: our nails. After all, just like any other body part, your nails reflect the state your health is in. Interestingly, your nails are already dead, so unlike other body parts that are made of living tissues, your nails cannot really repair themselves on their own.
With this in mind, we come to an important but often overlooked subject: nail care. Though it may look difficult, you will have healthy nails in no time if you just live by a few golden tips given by dermatologists.
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The following solutions will help you overcome a variety of nail care problems, including cracked nails, split nails and nails that just don’t grow.
Tips for healthy nails
1. Nail files are not meant to be shared
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Keep your very own emery board and do not let any friend or family member use it. Doctors say that a nail file is made of the most porous germ trapper. If you want healthy nails, then you must keep one just for yourself and make sure that you are replacing it periodically.
2. Moisturize regularly
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The secret behind good fingernail health lies in moisturizing your nails so as to prevent ugly nail conditions. If you don’t hydrate your nails, then they are bound to get extremely dry. When nails become dry, they will gradually become brittle or crack and peel. This will not only make your nails look worn out, but the dehydrated cuticles will also eventually get infected and give you more pain than its worth. To prevent this case of infected fingernails, make sure to rub some moisturizer all over your cuticles when you are moisturizing your hands and face. The greasier the moisturizer, the better for your nails.
3. How to prevent the white marks
We often hear that the white flecks that sometimes appear on our nails are the result of a major vitamin deficiency in our body. This is a myth. The truth is that they are caused by minor injuries and they are bound to disappear with time when the nails grow.
4. How to prevent the brown marks
If you get brown marks on your nails that just won’t disappear, then it might be something for you to worry about. If your nails have a black, purple, and brown band on them, then it could be one of the many signs of skin cancer. In that case, you should immediately check with your doctor. However, you don’t really have to stress if the mark on your nails is just a reflection of an injury like hitting your hand on the door of a car.
5. Know how to manicure
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Manicuring may seem really easy, but your nail health does depend greatly on how you do it. We suggest that you only manicure your nails when you are with an expert. You should only file in a single direction, as doing this will greatly prevent any splitting. You have to saw it back and forth and give them the perfect oval shape, as nails stay strongest that way. If you make them pointy instead, then you will be risking their faster breakage.
6. Wear the right shoe
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Sometimes it is the nails on your feet that get broken and affected the most, probably because you are wearing shoes that are either too pointed or too small. When this happens, your toenails will grow right into the skin that surrounds your nails instead of growing properly. This will lead to a burst of ingrown nails that will lead to swelling, pain, and even infection. To prevent this, wear shoes that are comfortable and the right size.
7. Never go out without shoes
This tip is as important for healthy nails as the previous one. Especially if you are in a damp and warm place like your swimming pool, locker room or a shoe store, you must always wear your shoes. These warm places breed a lot of viruses and fungi that can drastically affect your nails. Stick to wearing flip flops in such places, and thus prevent fungus from entering the delicate area of your toenail.
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8. Always keep nails clean
When you let dirt accumulate around your nails and let it stay there for what might seem an insignificantly short period of time, it can attract germs of all kinds and lead to terrible infections. To prevent this, always wash your nails when they get dirty.
9. Know how to cut your nails
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Cutting nails may seem like an easy task, but you have to keep a lot of things in mind. Take a pair of nail scissors that are sharp and cut in a round way at the very tip. This will ensure the strength of your nails. You can also use clippers for this purpose.
10. Never, ever bite your fingernails or cuticles
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Doing this might seem tempting at first, but it will have damaging results. Clip them, cut them, but never use your teeth on them.
11. Your nails are no tools
When all else fails, you may resort to using your nails to open pop cans and what not. We ardently request you to not do this, as the results can be pretty disastrous. You risk vitally injuring your nails, so it’s really not worth it.
12. Go for pedicure whenever needed
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Now that it is winter, your nails will require special attention. They will become difficult to cut and also get fairly thick. To get rid of this condition, you should warm some water and mix in a teaspoon of salt. After this, soak your feet in that warm water for about 5 to 10 minutes. When your nails become soft and smooth, you will find that cutting your nails has become much easier.
13. Know how to prevent and cure fungus
The good thing about fungus in nails is that they are not very dangerous. The bad thing is that it easily spreads from one nail to another, and it can look really ugly, and even hurt a lot. Fungus is caused by damp environments, like wearing sweaty and damp socks or shoes. Nail fungus can only be treated properly over several months. Both oral medication and topical medication can work perfectly, as long as they are prescribed by a good dermatologist and applied regularly. To prevent fungus, change socks periodically if your feet tend to sweat a lot, and keep your shoes on all the time while in public places.
14. Know how to get healthy nails while aging
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As you age, your nails become more susceptible to peeling, splitting, and breaking. The culprit usually is excessive contact of your feet with water. While using soaps, detergents or household cleansers, make sure that you are wearing rubber gloves. Also, follow up the washing process by moisturizing and rubbing some cuticle oil all over your nails.
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15. Never dig out ingrown nails
You might think that this could be a good solution to get rid of your ingrown nails, but it only does more harm than good. If you have an ingrown toenail, go to a dermatologist immediately.
These amazing tips for healthy nails are bound to improve your nail health drastically and make you feel and look better. Prevention is better than a cure, after all, so start taking good care of your nails today!
Featured image source: Pixabay, under Creative Commons License
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