Daily maintenance methods for healthy nails

Don’t make false nails, give adequate nutrition to the periungual area, and don’t believe in the “repair remedies” on the Internet. If you are currently troubled by problems such as thin and easy to break nails, nail separation, and recurring hangnails, if you follow this core, most people will see significant improvement in 4-8 weeks.

I was particularly obsessed with extension manicures in the past two years. At the longest time, my nails were almost 2 centimeters long. Later, I thought it was too troublesome to go to the nail salon to remove them, so I peeled them off at home. After that time, the nail surface was so thin that it stung when I touched hot water.

Many people actually don’t realize that their daily habits are the culprits of nail damage: opening cans with the tips of their nails, tearing off express delivery tape, and biting their nails when they have nothing to do. Over time, these small actions will either cause the edges of the nails to split, or directly damage the nail bed. As for manicures that are commonly done by everyone nowadays, the opinions of different schools are actually very different: many Japanese manicurists will say that "as long as the thickness of the carved nail surface is controlled within 0.1 mm, it will not hurt the nails." However, according to clinical statistics from dermatology departments Excessive polishing is one of the top three causes of thinning of the nail surface and shrinkage of the nail bed. If your nails are soft, don’t ask the shop assistant to polish the nail surface until it becomes astringent every time you do a manicure. Even if you keep it for a week or two, it is better than damaging your nails.

Oh, by the way, the habit of cutting your nails is also very important. Don’t always cut your nails until they are bare, or even dig the sides into the flesh. Last year, I suffered from paronychia because I cut my nails too hard. The pain lasted for almost half a month, and it was difficult to even wear sneakers. Later, the doctor said that as long as the nails are cut flush with the fingertips, leaving a slight curvature on the sides, I can avoid a lot of suffering.

After talking about don’t make things up, let’s talk about nutritional issues that many people ignore. I once had a colleague whose hands were so dry in the winter that the edges of his nails were full of small cracks. When the barbs grew, he would tear them off, causing his fingers to bleed. He would always complain that his nails were not long enough. I told her not to buy those internet-famous finger oils that have a bunch of fragrances added to them, but to go to the drug store and buy the cheapest oil mixed with Vaseline and vitamin E capsules, put it in a small bottle and carry it around with her. After washing her hands, she would apply a little to the periungual area. She tried it for half a month, dubious, and then came over and told me that the hangnails had really stopped growing and her nails were not easy to split.

To be honest here, the oral biotin and collagen tablets recommended by many bloggers on the Internet are said to be able to nourish nails, but whether they are useful or not is quite controversial. I have checked relevant clinical studies and found that only people who are severely malnourished or truly deficient in biotin will have significant effects by supplementing them. If you usually eat a well-balanced diet, the effect of eating these is really not as direct as applying finger oil after washing your hands every time. Don’t waste your money.

There are also those amazing folk remedies posted on the Internet, so don’t try them blindly. I read a while ago that someone said that applying lemon juice to nails can remove yellow and whiten them. I happened to have a manicure at that time and left some pigmentation, so I tried applying it once. As a result, the skin around my nails burned and hurt for several days. I later asked a dermatologist to find out the pH of lemon juice. If the value is too low, it will directly destroy the cuticle of the nail surface, but it will be more likely to retain pigment. Soak your nails in white vinegar to treat onychomycosis, and apply garlic on your nails to kill bacteria. These folk remedies may irritate the skin at best, or aggravate the problem at worst. Don't experiment with your own hands.

Oh, by the way, there is also the habit of doing housework. My mother has been doing housework all her life, and her hands and nails are very smooth. She has never had problems with hangnails or brittle nails. Her secret is to wear rubber gloves when washing dishes and clothes.

By the way, there is another pitfall that is easy to step into: many people have soft nails that break easily, so they buy hard nail polish and apply them. This also depends on the situation. If your nails are just naturally soft and you don’t have problems with nail bed damage or nail separation, applying hard nail polish can indeed protect you. However, if you have already made your nails thin and have painful nail beds due to nail picking or excessive nail polishing, applying hard nail polish will cause the nails to be unevenly stressed, making them easy to break in the middle with a slight touch, which is not worth the gain.

Actually, there are not so many bells and whistles about nail care. Just treat it like the skin on your face. Don’t overdo it. Apply moisturizer when it’s dry. Don’t try random remedies. Most minor problems can be cured over time. If your nails really turn black, become thicker, and cause severe pain when pressed, don’t search blindly on Baidu to deal with it. Go to the hospital to see a dermatologist as soon as possible. It will be much more effective than buying hundreds of dollars of skin care products.