Do’s and Don’ts on nail care

Do’s and Don’ts on nail care

Nails play an important role in the over all appearance and health of a person. Neatly kept nails will create a positive impression about a person in others. It is therefore very important that you keep your nails neat, tidy and attractive.

In order to maintain your nails clean and healthy, you should take care of the following things:

• Do not wear nail polish continuously for a long time: Continuous wearing of nail polish will destroy the natural look of your nail. You should always give enough time for your nail to breath. Wearing nail polish continuously will make your nail yellowish and dull looking. This will have a negative impact on the natural growth of your nails.
• Do not prick nail polish: Most of us have a habit of using sharp objects like knife and blade to remove nail polish. This should be avoided. Only use mild polish removers to remove nail polish.
• Do not use polish removers frequently: A Polish remover usually dries up the nails. Using polish removers regularly will adversely affect the natural texture of your skin. Its better not to use polish removers more than twice a week.
• Do not appear in public in chip nail polish: Appearing in public wearing chipped nail polish will create an impression among others that you have a shabby character. Apart from that it will affect your dressing also. Always remember that what makes your dressing complete is the shape and colour of your nail.
• Do not try to cut off cuticles: Cutting off cuticles is not a good habit. It will attract infections. Whenever you want to get rid of hardened cuticles, use good cuticle removers available in the market or just push it off after soaking your fingers.
• Wear gloves while washing dishes: Too much exposure to water will make your hands and nails dry. Make it a habit to wear rubber gloves while dealing with detergents or detergent based soaps.
• Do not use your nails as a tool: Many of us abuse our nails by using it as a tool to pick up or pull out things. A habit of using nails as a tool will toil the nails.
• Do not grow your nails too long: If you have long nails, more are the chances for accumulation of bacteria and dirt under it. When we use hands to eat it is easy to transfer these impurities and micro organisms directly to mouth. Ultimately this may lead to serious infections. So always keep your nails short and clean.
• Do not use hot water for soaking hands and feet: Use only lukewarm water while undergoing manicure and pedicure.
• Stop the habit of biting nails: By biting your nails, you are directly transferring bacteria to your mouth. Further, too much biting of nails will expose the tender skin under nail areas and this may lead to infections to this area.
• Use only standard manicure and pedicure tools to clean your nails: Using substandard objects to clean nails will have an adverse effect on it.
• Do not use heating pads on your feet
• Never use undersized shoes: Use of undersized shoes can lead to a number of nagging nail disorders
• Do not dig the sides of your nails while cleaning it: To keep your nails healthy and beautiful, you should develop a habit of doing certain things without fail. Develop as a habit to do the following things to make your nails healthy and attractive.
• Regular cleaning of nails: Do not forget to give special attention to your nails while washing your hands for its easy to accumulate bacteria under nail areas. If possible always use lukewarm water to wash your hands and nails.
• Use nail brush to clean your nails: A plain regular washing of hands cannot remove dirt from the nails. Use a nail brush for this purpose.
• Routine manicure and pedicure: To keep one’s finger and toe nails healthy and shiny, develop a habit of undergoing manicure and pedicure on a regular basis. Doing so at least once in two weeks definitely will improve quality of your nail.
• Healthy diet: It is a must to follow a healthy, protein rich diet to maintain healthy and beautiful nails. Include fresh fruits, raw vegetables, milk, fish and other foods enriched with vitamin A, B5 and B12 also.
• Apply moisturizers on your nails regularly: Nail absorbs moisture faster than skin and will lose the same faster than skin does. So always remember to apply more moisturizing creams and lotions around the nails. Apply petroleum jelly on your nails before you go to bed.
• Consult a medical practitioner when nails show discoloration, crack, redness or swelling: Nails colour is a pointer to your general health. The discoloration of nails may be an indication of serious diseases. So consult a doctor in case of discoloration of nails.
• Neatly trim your toe nails: Comparing to finger nails toe nails are more exposed to dirt and pollutants. Long grown toe nails will collect more dirt in it. Ultimately this may lead to infections and even falling off of nails.
• Wear only soft socks: Take care of wearing good quality soft socks only. Cottons should be preferred over nylons as cotton socks allow your feet to breathe.