How To Increase Nail Health

Beauty

How To Strengthen Nails: ix Skillful-Canonical Tricks For Shiny, Smooth Tips

mbg Acquaintance Beauty & Health Editor

By Jamie Schneider

mbg Associate Dazzler & Wellness Editor

Jamie Schneider is the Associate Beauty & Health Editor at mindbodygreen, roofing beauty and wellness. She has a B.A. in Organizational Studies and English from the Academy of Michigan, and her work has appeared in Coveteur, The Chill Times, and Wyld Skincare.

Image by BONNINSTUDIO / Stocksy

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Terminal updated on March 22, 2022

Even if yous take immaculate, polish-to-the-touch nails—nary a fray in sight—keeping them strong is an entirely unlike story.

Certain, your nails might not feel dry out, or brittle, merely that doesn't mean you're completely off the claw. You wouldn't shrug off your daily skin care routine just because you don't come across any blemishes or areas of concern, would yous? Aforementioned goes for nail care: The best offense, after all, is a good defense.

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Experts would agree—they've weighed in on ix ways to strengthen your nails, so you can keep those tips in peak shape:

Apply cuticle oil daily.

Cuticle care is ever a skillful idea, problem nails or not. That's considering dehydrated, frayed cuticles can lead to damaged nailbeds and infection if they're left untreated (not to mention, information technology's pretty painful); rehydrating and moisturizing that surrounding pare is primal for top-notch boom care.

Add a cuticle oil to your daily routine: Many options include fatty acids and vitamins that nourish the nails and fill in whatever micro-cracks in the peel.

While using the dropper daily is enough to go along nails good for you, chief educator of Paintbox Evelyn Lim says you can utilize a cuticle oil up to three times a day if your tips are feeling especially dehydrated (from, say, over-sanitizing). "Utilise cuticle oil at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Why not?"

ii.

Take a collagen or biotin supplement.

"Pay attention to your diet," explains Amy Lin, the founder of sundays—a smash intendance brand focused on wellness. "Your nails are fabricated of proteins and naturally need a lot of vitamins."

Specifically, your nails consist of keratin, and so information technology'due south important to make sure you're getting your fill up of keratin-building amino acids. Two of the most popular (and widely studied) are biotin and collagen, every bit they tend to be the nigh effective in supporting nail health.*

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three.

Push your cuticles dorsum.

Equally mentioned, cuticle care is crucial. But across oil, Lim mentions regularly pushing your cuticles back can keep them from overgrowing.

"When [the cuticle] becomes thick and overgrows onto the nail, information technology'due south tough to push back. You lot don't desire to always go to that indicate," she says. "When that happens, your cuticles are decumbent to cracking and infection."

Yous don't have to get besides meticulous virtually information technology; a great tip is to gently push them back every couple of days later on stepping out of the shower, as the nails will be softened from the spray.

Not to mention, pushing your cuticles back helps your polish last longer—merely in instance you lot've decided to go for an calm mani.

Commit to monthly maintenance.

Which brings usa to our next point: monthly maintenance. Whether you opt for a DIY manicure or take a trip to the salon, a regular tuneup is key to keeping those tips stiff.

Your nails tin can tell you a lot virtually your overall wellness, then apply that time to brand regular bank check-ins as well. "When y'all take your blast smooth off, check your nail color and the force of your smash plate before you get ahead and apply polish or treat your nails," says Lin.

If a bare nail is more your thing, Lim notwithstanding recommends proper boom hygiene—that is, keeping them clipped, cleaned, and filed. "Take your fingernail and raise the free edges to meet if there are any snags, and yous can shine them out. That'south a neat way to maintain your nails," she says.

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Invest in make clean polish products.

Of course, brand sure the polishes yous employ (that includes base coats, colors, and pinnacle coats) comprise nourishing, conditioning ingredients rather than harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, camphor, and toluene.

Aforementioned goes for polish removers to swipe off your mani: "If you desire to go along your nails strong, you don't want to use 100% acetone removers," Lim says.

Instead, try to observe options that contain moisturizing ingredients for the natural nail, like a soy-based remover—these tin effectively dissolve polish while simultaneously strengthening the nail, and they're typically pumped with other vitamins and hydrating ingredients.

Stick to a natural smash.

Gels, dips, and acrylics may offer a candy-trounce lacquer you adore, merely they can actually be quite harsh on your nail plate.

"Not simply are acrylic and dip pulverisation nails full of potentially blast-harming ingredients, but the process and clothing can be very dissentious to your nailbeds, and if washed improperly can even pb to infection," organic manicurist Eunice Montes-Hamaguchi has told us.

To keep your tips good for you and strong, y'all might want to forgo the faux nails and stick to a bare-nailed look or coat of clean polish.

And if yous do accept gels, dips, or acrylics, don't (we repeat: don't) peel or pick them off, every bit this can only impairment your nails more—you can actually rip off pieces of the blast plate along with the polish. Instead, use this step-by-step guide to remove your faux nails.

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Choose a file with a high dust number.

Did y'all know every nail file has an accompanying grit number? It'south typically a tiny number stamped either on the packaging or on the file itself, and it conveys how coarse the board will be against your nails. The college the grit number, the softer the file.

In terms of maintaining stiff nails, you'll want to go with a file that has a college grit number (aka, a softer file). "Yous want something that's only a footling bit more than coarse than a regular buffer," says Lim.

No need to go scratching up the nail plate, here. If you can't detect a specific dust number on your file, Lim says you lot tin can just accept your finger and run it beyond the lath: "You shouldn't feel much friction."

Use a nail strengthener.

While these tips zero in on how to strengthen your nails naturally, sometimes you need a little actress help. Understandable!

A nail strengthener on hand can work wonders—just make sure you're choosing 1 that doesn't take formaldehyde (which is what traditional nail strengtheners are made of, as information technology makes smooth dry stiff).

Good news is, in that location are enough of natural-leaning options on the market (normally advertised as nail serums or base of operations coats) that include plant-based ingredients like vitamin Due east, olive oil, garlic, and tea tree.

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Protect your nails from chemical and UV exposure.

In case you lot didn't know: Your nails can experience sunday harm, too, turning them yellow, brittle, or dimpled.

To protect your tips, experts recommend a UV filter polish that'due south able to absorb the rays (you can also paint on an opaque shade to physically block the sun).

On the chemical front, it's important to be mindful of any harsh ingredients seeping into your nails. You lot might have swapped your acetone polish remover, sure, but retrieve near other means your nails are exposed to chemicals on the daily.

For example, if you accept traditional dish soap in your kitchen, perhaps wearable gloves while cleaning to avert drying out the nails. (And even some natural-leaning dish soaps tin can take drying ingredients, similar vinegar or lemon.)

"It might be a small pace, merely over time you'll observe the difference in your health and the appearance of your nails," says Lin.

Shop these products:

sundays CS.02 Hydrating Cuticle Serum

$ eighteen

ella+mila Soy Smash Polish Remover

$ 11.50

Paintbox Similar Glass Nail Lacquer

$ 22

Sally Beauty Tropical Smooth Cushion Nail File, Fine 400/600

$ i.49

Sally Beauty Tropical Shine Cushion Nail File, Fine 400/600

The takeaway.

Like near aspects of skin care (and life in full general), prevention is primal. While y'all can seek tips and tricks to restore nail wellness later noticing brittleness or frays, the best thing to exercise is combat those issues before they fifty-fifty make their appearance.

*If you are significant, breastfeeding, or taking medications, consult with your doctor before starting a supplement routine. It is always optimal to consult with a health care provider when considering what supplements are correct for you lot.

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