When most women think about taking care of their nails, they think about putting polish on them, or possibly applying fake nails so that they look longer. However, there are a host of physical things that can happen to nails unless you take care of them, along with your hands and the rest of your health. Here are six tips for taking better care of your nails.
1. Limit the number of alcohol products that you put on your hands.
If you’re in the medical field you might not have much choice, but for everyone else too much alcohol isn’t good for your hands. There’s alcohol in nail polish remover, some soaps, some lotions and even some nail polish itself. Alcohol dries the skin, but it can also make nails dry and brittle, and start to remove the luster from them. Using it every once in awhile won’t hurt, but if it’s something you’re doing every day, try to find other products that will work just as well, but don’t contain alcohol in them.
2. Wear gloves when cleaning around the house.
Even if alcohol isn’t in certain products, there might be other chemicals that can damage your nails. Cleaners especially have lots of products that work hard at removing stains, even those that are used to shine floors or metals. It’s not just your nails specifically, but your cuticles and the other skin around your hands needs protection as well.
3. Give your nails a break from too much glue. You might like wearing fake nails, but your nails don’t like it as much. Wearing fake nails constantly doesn’t give your nails time to get any air, which means they could get soft or they could dry out, depending on what’s in the glue. Cuticles also suffer damage from too much glue. One shouldn’t constantly be wearing fake nails for your own good.
4. Cut your nails straight across.
This is counter to what many women feel is a beautiful looking nail, but the truth is that cutting and then shaping your nails into a rounded shape makes them weaker and more susceptible to breaking. This more specifically applies to having longer nails, but can mean the same thing for shorter nails. Luckily, more fashions are showing women with nails cut straight across, so you might be on the verge of making a major fashion statement.
5. Buff your nails.
Buffing your nails brings out the natural oils that are contained within them, making your nails shiny and healthy before you put anything on them. More women in today’s world are buffing and leaving them alone, as the natural luster can be quite appealing on its own.
6. Take care of your cuticles.
When you go for a manicure, often they’ll cut your cuticles, which lessen the protection around your nails. Try to limit how often you do that, if you do it at all. Also, think about using cuticle oils to help keep your cuticles soft, which also helps to protect your nails, as you don’t ever want them hard and crusty.
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