Elegant Tips To Prevent Your Nails From Breaking And Chipping
If you are someone who loves keeping your nails trimmed and primmed, then you understand how terrible chipping or breaking your newly manicured nails feels. If you constantly have to deal with the annoyance of breaking, splitting, peeling, and chipping of nails, we have a few solutions to your problem! Elegant, strong nails don’t just happen overnight, but with a few simple tips, you shall have them! So follow these eleven tips to have those nails you’ve always dreamed of:
1. Keep Your Hands And Nails Clean
Keep Your Hands And Nails CleanSave
To have beautiful hands, you need to have beautiful nails. And you need to keep them pretty clean. So wash your hands with a bar of gentle soap and ensure that you clean your nails with a nail brush. Scrub them thoroughly along the folds, at the top, and underneath where dirt is usually hidden.
2. Moisturize Your Hands
Moisturize Your HandsSave
Water may hydrate your skin, but it also dehydrates your nails. To compensate, you will need to moisturize your nails and your hands each time you wash them. Just use your regular hand moisturizer. While rubbing your hands together to make sure they are moisturized, check to see if your nails are getting moisturized as well.
3. Wear Rubber Gloves While Washing Your Dishes
Wear Rubber Gloves While Washing Your Dishes1Save
One of the most common ways in which we can damage our nails is by washing our dishes. Yes, you may be thinking, “It’s an important chore, and I can’t keep breaking my nails over it!” but excessive dishwashing can cause your nails to get brittle and dry. If you have to wash your dishes by hand, ensure that your hands are covered in a protective rubber glove first. This will lower the risk of chipping those nails.
4. Ensure That Your Nails Are Hydrated
Ensure That Your Nails Are HydratedSave
Harsh soap, water, and other cleansing products can greatly dry out our nails. In addition to this, our nails can get drier as we age, and to make up for the loss of hydration; we need to moisturize our nails daily to prevent breakage, chipping, or splitting. So in order to keep your nails hydrated, you must make sure that your nails are moisturized. You can rub some petroleum jelly onto your nails after you are done bathing and showering. Besides this, you can also use jojoba oil, castor oil, and olive oil to keep your nails hydrated.
5. Polish Your Nails
Polish Your NailsSave
Yes, as much as your mom might have tried to warn you about applying nail polish, it can actually be quite beneficial to you. Nail polish can protect your nails while also reducing any loss of hydration and moisture. To properly apply nail polish, you need to apply a base coat, one or two coatings of the chosen nail polish, and finally, a topcoat. The base coat is quite essential when it comes to ensuring that the rest of the nail polish has adhered to the nail plate. The base coat might also prevent any nail discoloration that is caused by using dark polish.
6. Avoid Using Too Much Nail Polish Remover
Avoid Using Too Much Nail Polish RemoverSave
The problem with nail polish removers is that they contain strong solvents like alcohol, butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, and acetone. All of these are extremely harmful to your nails. Hence you must avoid using your nail polish remover too often. This will help ensure the integrity of your nails and make them strong and resilient.
7. Make Sure You Don’t Clip Or File Your Nails If They Are Dry
Make Sure You Don’t Clip Or File Your Nails If They Are DrySave
It’s crucial that you understand that your nails are made of multiple layers and held together by their natural oils. Filing, or even clipping your nails can cause them to separate or split. In the end, the best time to file or clip your nails is after you have showered, taken a bath, or washed your hands. This is when your nails are less likely to break.
8. Keep Your Nail Tips Well Rounded
Keep Your Nail Tips Well RoundedSave
One of the most annoying things about having pointy and long nails is that they tend to break really easily. It’s better to keep short or medium-length nails and ensure your tips are well-rounded.
9. Stop Biting Your Nails
Stop Biting Your Nails1Save
You need to remember that your nails are not always clean, so biting them is a terrible idea. If you bite your nails, then this is a habit that you need to quit. We understand that this is easier said than done, but biting your nails can lead to bleeding, ingrown nails, pain, and splits.
10. Avoid Using Your Nails To Open Things
Avoid Using Your Nails To Open ThingsSave
Look, we understand that we are all guilty of using our nails as tools at certain times. We use them to scrape off stickers, open up cans, and even scratch dirt. Misusing your nails like this will put them to plenty of wear and tear. So you need to ensure that your nails are just used as nails and not as tools!
11. Cover Up Your Hands During Cold Weather
Cover Up Your Hands During Cold WeatherSave
While acetone, alcohol, and other harsh ingredients can make your nails brittle and dry, during cold weather, the condition can grow even worse. This is especially the case if you often forget to wear warm gloves when you go outside. Nails are made of layers, and during winter, dry air can permeate into the nails and leave them brittle and highly breakable. So cover up those hands!
So ensure that you give your nails some much-needed tender loving care. If lovely locks are the crowning glory of your head, then well-kept nails are the crowning glory of your hands. So follow the steps we’ve advised above and let us know if they worked in keeping your nails at their best!