Anatomically, nails are envelope like covering on the fingertips and the tips of the toes in most primates, human or not. The nails are made of keratin- a tough protein which protects the tips from harm. While the nails perform a protective function, their overall health and appearance is also of great importance. When you look down on your hands won’t you prefer clean and healthy nails as against dirty and unhealthy nails? Of course we all do.
But it is not that easy to maintain clean and healthy nails. If you keep wondering about how to keep your nails healthy and are not aware of the perfect ways to maintain it, below is a list of pointers that are sure to help you out.
- The first tip to maintaining the health of the nails is to keep them clean and dry. If the area under the finger nails is dirty, there is higher risk for bacterial infections building in and hampering the health of your nails.
It is important to keep your nails dry because frequent and prolonged contact of the nails with water is recorded to result in splits in the fingernails.
- The next tip for keeping your nails healthy is to wear cotton or silicone gloves when performing daily chores like cleaning the house, washing the dishes or doing laundry. In fact, you must remember to protect your hands whenever you are making use of any sort of harmful chemicals.
- Clipping your nails regularly and getting rid of the excess dead-skin is also essential for keeping them healthy. For this you must regularly trim your nails and round them up with the use of a buffer.
- There are many nail hardeners available in the market today. Application of such hardeners on the nails protects them from damage and keeps them healthy. If you cannot get a hardener, applying a top coat can also be beneficial.
- The next important step to keeping your nails healthy is proper miniaturization. Whenever you are applying moisturizer on your hands, be sure to apply some on your nails and on the cuticles as well.
- A lot of people are habitual nail biters. But this is one habit which is extremely harmful to the health of your nails. So the next time you are tempted to bite into your nails, abstain. Just try keeping your mouth away from your nails for just one week and the difference you see in the growth and overall health of your nails will be motivation enough to get rid of this bad habit.
- Brittle, dry and weak nails are often a result of vitamin A and calcium deficiency in your body. So, if you too have brittle nails you must increase your consumption of foods that are vitamin and calcium rich. Both vitamin A and calcium help keep the nails hydrated and also increase their strength.
- If you are fond of applying nail colors and cannot do without applying some, try and shop for products that are acetone free, since acetone is harmful for your nails.
