How to grow strong and healthy nails

Are you taking care of your nails? Are your nails strong and healthy looking? Are you one of those people who chips a nail every time you open a draw? If answer to any of these is yes, then this slideshow below, might be for you.

SLIDESHOW: 17 tips for strong and healthy nails

If you have very soft nails, file them while the polish is still on to prevent them from cracking. Got stains? Soak your nails in juice of half a lemon for a few minutes, scrub with an old toothbrush, wash off with warm water and find clear, shining nails! If you have very weak nails, try painting your base coat and nail polish under the tip of your nails to give them extra strength. Soak nails in a bowl of olive oil once a week to strengthen them. To make nail polish last longer on your nails, just take a cotton ball & dip it in vinegar. Then swipe it over your un-polished nail. After it’s dry, polish your nail! Apply hand cream every time you wash your hands. The oils in the cream will seal moisture into your nails. Use a cotton bud (swab) with a pointed end to clean under your nails – it’s gentler than scrubbing with a nail brush. You can dry nail polish quickly by blasting nails with a cold jet of air from your hairdryer. Always getting nail polish on your fingers? Try applying a little petroleum jelly on the skin around your nails before painting your nails. Yellow nails are usually caused by wearing dark-colored polish without using a protective clear base coat, so wear one in future to prevent this from happening. Clean ink and stains from your finger tips, by using a toothbrush and toothpaste on the affected areas. Let your nails breathe by leaving a tiny gap at the base of the nail where the cuticle meets the nail – this is where the new nail cells are growing. Don’t have time for nail polish to dry? Fill a bowl with ice water and dip your hands in it for just 5-7 minutes. Before doing gardening or messy work, drag your nails over a bar of soap. The undersides of your nails will fill up with soap, which means dirt won’t be able to get in. Whiten and clean fingernails by soaking them in 1 cup lukewarm water & the juice of 1/2 lemon for 5 minutes, then rub the inside of the lemon peel against the nails. Avoid using acetone nail polish removers, as these can strip your nails of essential moisture. Choose the conditioning variety, instead. If you use hypo-allergenic make-up, use hypo-allergenic nail polish too – you constantly touch your face with your hands. which can easily trigger a reaction.

The guide above is compiled from a series of very short blurbs written by me over the course of a year and a half, as part of the daily beauty tips section. Just thought it might be helpful to combine all my short posts into a single one. I hope it is useful for you. The blurbs from which the above slideshow is combined is listed below. In some instances, the blurb below has more details on each tip. So check it out if you find the slideshow interesting.