Brittle nails are pretty frustrating, considering how they crack up quickly, are weak, ragged, split fast and result in panful cuticles. I am sure you have already navigated several websites to find out the best guide that will give you all the information on how to strengthen nails. However, you have finally found the piece you were looking for so long. In this post, I will share with you some effective, yet very practical steps that can strengthen your nails without you having to go bankrupt!
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Suggested read: 14 Superbly Effective Home Remedies For Dry, Cracked, And Brittle Nails
How to strengthen nails
The following steps will help you with your brittle nails. They will treat your weak cuticles, and make them softer and more beautiful.
1. Styling your nails correctly
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Do you buff your nails to even out ridged fingernails? If yes, then you need to stop doing that immediately. Most people aren’t aware of the fact that ridges in nails are a very significant part of the finger. Since it is a thick part, it protects the nails. By buffing them you are actually thinning the strong and healthy part of your nail, thus making your nails weak.
An alternative that you can resort to if nail ridges really bother you is using a superior quality top nail coat. This coat will fill in the dips in your nails without thinning the ridges, which in turn, prevents the weakening of your nails.
2. File your nails in a proper way
How you file your nails determines the strength of your nails. Improving your filing technique, therefore, can strengthen your weak nails naturally.
Always file flat against the nail edge. Once you have filed to your heart’s content, then take the emery board and begin filing at a 45-degree angle away from the nail you are working on. This technique will help you smooth your nail edges, which will prevent snagging as well as help avoid the undesirable hangnails.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is that you should be filing your nails with a fine-grit nail file. Using a coarser grit can wreak havoc on your soft nails. You can use the coarse ones on artificial nail, but not on your natural ones. Metal files too aren’t a great option when you are trying to strengthen your nails. Try going for an emery board that has been softened.
3. Start clipping your hangnails
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Did you know hangnails can cause nail splitting or improper cutting or nails? Well, yes it’s true. Once your nail rips away, the skin or the nail bed is left susceptible to damage. The nail bed can even get torn. If the skin gets torn even a little, then infection occurs and quickly spreads to your fingers. To avoid all of this, start using nail clippers and clip off your hangnails.
Again, chewing off your hangnails is not an option, because this will only contribute to transferring the bacteria from your mouth into the wound.
4. Do not remove your nail cuticles
You need to leave your nail cuticles alone. While many people think cuticles should be removed, it is just another myth that is widely accepted as truth. Cuticles help seal the nail bed, which in turn, aids its protection. Cutting nail cuticles can even cause damage to your fingers.
For people who think their cuticles look dreadful, then how about moisturizing them and not clipping them? By moisturizing your cuticles using a hand ream or even essential oils, you will actually improve your nail growth while also strengthening the nails.
Suggested read: 12 Of The Most Amazing Home Remedies For Nail Growth
5. Protect your nails by giving your hands a nail soak
To prepare this nail soak at home, you will need to combine essential and carrier oils. Try coconut or olive or argan oil with essential tea tree or vitamin E oil. While tea tree oil keeps the nails clean and free of fungus, vitamin E oil can help keep the cuticles soft, and prevent the nails from splitting.
After mixing the oils of your choice, apply the mix on to your nails using a clean cotton ball. Leave the oils on for at least 15 minutes. This will help provide your nails the much needed moisture.
6. Improve your diet
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Try to add supplements to your diet that will improve nail growth. For example, biotin helps strengthen nails. Biotin is also called vitamin H. It improves the keratin in your nails, encouraging nail growth. You can get your biotin from eggs, whole grains, salmon, tomatoes, almonds, cucumber, milk, soybeans, oats, walnuts and cauliflower. You may even take biotin supplements, but do consult your doc before doing the same.
Invest in nail health supplements. These will also help your hair because your nails and your hair are made of the same protein. These supplements contain vitamins A, C, D, E, and B. They are also rich sources of folic acid, iron, zinc, calcium, biotin etc. Taking these on regular basis will help enhance the strength of your nails naturally.
Evaluate your regular diet properly, and then make necessary changes to it. If your everyday meals do not contain multivitamins, then you are bound to have brittle nails that crack at the drop of a hat. Visit a doctor and get him or her to prescribe the right multivitamin for you.
You need to also make sure that your diet contains the necessary content of omega 3 fatty oils. These help reduce the risk of weak and brittle nails. Fish oil is a rich source of omega 3, and so are, dairy products, eggs, legumes, nuts and olive oil.
7. Stop using your nails as tools!
People tend to grow their nails, and then use them as tools. Remember, the tip of your nail is the weakest part of it, and when you stress that part, it highly likely that it will pull the rest of the nail up and then tear it apart. To prevent this, try to keep your nails short. This will also help keep them clean and tidy, while avoiding chances of a nail infection.
How do you regain your nail strength?
Here are some steps that will help you protect your nails from factors that tend to damage nail health and growth.
- Always wear gloves while handlings soaps or detergents or harsh chemicals. If you hand-wash clothes, then be sure to wear a pair of plastic gloves first to avoid exposure to the water as well as the chemicals which tend to make the nails brittle and the hands rough and dry.
- Try to avoid alcohol-based hand sanitizers at all costs. These sanitizers tend to be very drying. You should instead go for a moisturizing soap that will not only help cleanse your hands, but also soften it at the same time.
- Keep the nails short. This will provide lesser surface area to the water and chemicals, and thus, less of them will be absorbed by the nails. Use biotin to improve nail health and growth. Nails usually replace themselves in six months’ time, and so it is advised by experts that you take biotin supplements at least for four months to see if it works. It is also advised that you visit a doctor and get the right dosage for you, instead of self-medicating.
- Use cuticle oil or cuticle cream to avoid dry skin as well as hangnails. Honey is definitely one of the best ways to get rid of hangnails. Honey will moisturize your nail beds, and ensure it remains supple. This is because honey is a natural moisturizing agent. It is a natural humectant that locks the moisture. Honey is also antibacterial as well as anti-inflammatory. As a result, it fights different kinds of infections and lowers inflammations, both of which are common symptoms associated with hangnails. So which kind of honey is best for hangnails? Manuka honey, definitely. This is because added to all the qualities of honey in general, Manuka honey is a potent antimicrobial agent. For the remedy, apply some Manuka honey on the affected nail. You will have to leave it on for several hours. This will soften the nail cuticles. You should repeat this remedy several times, through the day, until the problem is completely cured.
Suggested read: Here’s How You Can Grow Long And Healthy Nails With Ingredients From The Kitchen Cabinet
That is all we have on today’s post on the ultimate guide that will tell you everything about how to strengthen nails. Was this helpful?
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