Being a mom often means not spending enough time for personal pampering. Even when I have the time to go to the salon or spend the entire day at the spa, I often find myself choosing to stay home with my kids anyway. I’m sure many of you feel the same way too.
That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve some pampering. More importantly, it doesn’t mean you can’t still be beautiful and take good care of yourself. There are many DIY beauty routines that you can do to take care of yourself at home.
In this article, we are going to focus more on the beauty of our nails. You already know how to keep your skin and hair healthy and looking beautiful, so it is time to go through some DIY tricks that will help you maintain the beauty and health of your nails.
Moisturize Often
Washing your hands frequently often result in drier skin; using hand sanitizer has the same effect too. What most moms don’t realize is that these recommended activities also dry up the nails. When you moisturize your skin, you also want to moisturize your nails.
The same rubbing lotion or moisturizing cream can be used for moisturizing the nails. Simply make sure that you apply a moisturizing cream to the cuticles and nails in the morning and before going to bed at night. Your nails will look better and healthier with this simple routine.
If you want to go the organic route, I highly recommend coconut oil for moisturizing the nails. It works great for your skin. It even helps your hair grow stronger and faster, so you know how well it can nourish your nails.
Go with the Alternatives
Older nail polish and removers contain a lot of toxins. They are not harmful in the short run, but repetitive use over the course of several years will cause your nails to decay at a much faster rate. Besides, harsh polish and remover contains chemicals like toluene and formaldehyde, which are best avoided anyway.
The good news is that many beauty brands now use fewer chemicals – if any – and safer ingredients for their polishes and removers. You simply need to read the labels when choosing the next one to buy and make sure you don’t get one with the harmful chemicals.
There are alternatives too. Water-based polishes are becoming more popular on the market. They may not last as long as polishes that contain chemicals, but you will not be harming your nails while trying to look beautiful.
Anticipate Nail Issues
Knowing the most common nail problems and how to solve them will make maintaining your nails at home a lot easier. There are some common problems indeed, including peeling nails and weak nails. In the case of peeling nails, you want to avoid washing your hands too harshly or applying the chemicals we discussed earlier.
Weak nails that split easily can be a huge problem, but making changes to your diet and treating your nails properly will alleviate the issue. Moisturizing helps too, since moisturized nails are less likely to crack thanks to their higher – and natural – flexibility.
Fungus nails are among the issues you want to take seriously. When you see signs of toenail fungus – materializing in the form of spots and a yellowish hue appearing on your nails – you want to treat the issue immediately. The same can be said for black nail fungus, which is the result of an infection or a broken nail not treated properly. This guide will help you prepare for these issues better.
Adjust Your Diet
Speaking of adjusting your diet to prevent nail problems, making some changes to your diet also helps with maintaining the beauty of your nails. Your fingernails need certain nutrients to grow healthily. You need to make sure that you consume those nutrients as this will result in healthier nails in general.
Consuming Omega-3 fatty acids is a great start. You can now find Omega-3 in a lot of food items, including oats, some fruits, and eggs. You also want to consume enough protein for better nail growth. Calcium is another crucial nutrient to consume for better nail health.
Other nutrients serve specific purposes. Zinc helps keep the nails healthy by increasing its flexibility and preventing white spots from forming. Vitamin B also strengthens the nails, making it perfect for when you are dealing with brittleness and split nails. You also need to consume vitamins A and C to maintain the natural shine of your nails while keeping them moisturized.
Avoid Damaging Your Nails
Some treatments are based on misconceptions. Rather than helping your nails become healthier and more beautiful, those treatments expose your fingernails to more risks and potential problems. Trimming the cuticles when cutting your nails, for example, is definitely not something you want to do.
Cuticles are there to protect your nails from bacteria, which means cutting them increases the risk of an infection. Cutting too deep into the cuticles will make things worse, since it often ends up with exposed nails and pain from under the nails. Rather than cutting the cuticles, push them back using a soft pusher.
For cuticles, what you want to remove is the dead skin cells rather than large chunks of the cuticle. Using abrasive materials to scrape the top of the nails is also best avoided. These are common practices of traditional manicure that are no longer recommended by experts.
Sleep Well
Last but certainly not least, give your nails enough chance to regenerate and be healthy naturally. The way to do that is by getting enough sleep at night. You cannot substitute a good night’s sleep with a nap because the body regenerates cells at an optimum level in the evening instead of during the day. Getting enough sleep at night is really good for your nails as well as your hair and skin.
Healthy nails are beautiful nails. Now that you have these tips to use, maintaining the health of your nails and keeping them looking beautiful as ever will be very easy to do.
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