To the rescue.
Nail products to strengthen and lengthen.
Nails are the one thing that are literally right under our nose daily. So, there is nothing worse than when you are conscious about them not being in their best condition. Also, if you are like me and talk with your hands its kind of difficult to hide them.
No 1 rule I would say is to avoid biting picking or pulling them, seems obvious but people don’t realise the damage that they are doing. Especially when you have a product such as a gel overlay on them it can be tempting if one just lifts a little to help them along. The problem is that as you pull and pick a lot of your natural nails comes off along with it. My suggestion would be to book in to have them soaked off professionally or just file the nails gently where they are catching.
Also try avoid having your nails in water too much as this does soften them and make them more flexible and easier to break. If it is totally unavoidable then wear gloves, if possible, a great tip is especially when putting on those lovely rubber gloves to clean the house, put a great thick layer of cream on or even some cuticle oil and you will feel like you have had a mini manicure after.
Now that we have covered most of the don’ts… lets have a look how you can grow your own nails long and strong. My first and foremost tip would be to have a look at your diet and make sure you are eating a balanced nutritious variety of food. The old saying “beauty comes from within” is so true, making sure you are getting enough of vitamin B, calcium, iron, zinc and fatty acids. A great supplement to take would be Nail Science by Advanced Nutrition Program, available to purchase in our salon.
Another thing to really monitor would be your water intake as you know more than 80% of the body is made of it, make sure to stay hydrated and drink a min of 2 litres a day. I know it sounds very basic, but sometimes we forget, a great tip is to just carry a big bottle to fill up and whenever you see it, take a sip.
Keeping your nails on the shorter side will avoid any unnecessary breaks, also avoid using them as tools to pull off labels and open tins, again something we all know but don’t always practice. When filing your nails down use a 180-grit nail file and not a metal file one. Filing is also always a better option if you trying to grow them and won’t take off as much as cutting them would.
Apply a good nail strengthener to you nails, one coat every other day removing it totally once a week and starting again. Also make sure you have cleansed the nails totally of oils before you start as this will help it to stays on nails longer. How it helps is by covering the nails and protecting them.
A great ritual to get into is applying cuticle oil and hand cream daily, even as often as you remember throughout the day. Especially now that we are sanitising our hands in every place we walk into. All the washing hands and alcohols sanitisers used are stripping our hands and nails of their natural oils. By massaging oils or creams onto the cuticles will help to stimulate the nails to grow, a good cuticle oil will contain vitamin E, lavender and rosemary oil.
Now that you have beautifully long and strong nails why not treat yourself to a lovely manicure or gel overlay for that extra special occasion, Also, if done in a professional salon the nail health will be no one priority.