9 Tips for Naturally Taking Care of Your Nails, Inside and Out
If you want to take care of your nails the natural way, pay attention to the products you use on your hands and protect them from aggressive environmental agents.
You also need to be careful about what you eat. After all, your nails reflect your overall health and their appearance can be an indication of a lack of certain nutrients.
In today’s article, find out how to take care of your nails both inside and out so they’re always beautiful, strong, and healthy.
1. Choose a non-toxic nail polish
Conventional nail polish contains ingredients that can be toxic to your health, including the following:
- Toluene
- Formaldehyde
- Dibutyl phthalate
- Camphor
- Tosilamide
Labels with the names of the ingredients tend to be very tiny, making it hard to know what’s in your nail polish. However, many nail polish bottles will specify whether they’re organic or free from toxic substances.
Avoiding synthetic substances will not only benefit your nails, but also keep toxins from reaching your bloodstream and potentially affecting certain organ functioning.
2. Acetone-free nail polish remover
Nail polish remover can often be very aggressive for your nails because the acetone makes them dry and gradually weaker. That’s why we recommend the use of acetone-free nail polish remover, which usually includes other ingredients, such as lemon juice. You’ll need to use a little more to remove the polish, but the results are worth it.
3. Wear gloves to protect your nails
Most people have the bad habit of doing many chores around the home without protecting their hands and nails. Whether it’s out of laziness or in a hurry, dishes usually get washed by hand without wearing gloves. Furthermore, this means your nails get exposed to aggressive cleaning products like bleach or detergent.
We recommend that you always wear gloves and moisturize your hands and nails often, especially when working outdoors or with strong products.
4. Moisturize your hands well
It’s not enough to just use lotion to hydrate your hands. To care for your nails, you need to use a natural product with a high oil content that you can apply every night before bed. If you want, you can wear cotton gloves to avoid staining your sheets and help you absorb the product better.
We recommend using any of the following nutritious and natural moisturizing ingredients:
- Castor oil
- Avocado oil
- Almond oil
- Wheat germ oil
- Rosehip oil
- Shea butter
You can also combine them and try them to see what nourishes the nails the most.
5. Try hand massages
If you also perform a hand massage when you apply your lotion, you’ll increase your absorption of the product. This will also give you a pleasant feeling of relaxation and well-being.
It’s best if the massage is performed by another person who can focus on your wrists, the palms of your hands, your fingers, and your nails. For example, this can be done using a healthy amount of your oil of choice.
6. Improve your circulation
People who have cold hands or suffer from poor circulation can also try hand baths with alternating hot and cold water, in addition, to getting massages on a regular basis. You can use two containers for soaking your hands and activating circulation.
See also: Try These Natural Remedies to Improve Circulation
7. Protect your hands from the sun and cold
To care for your nails, you need to get used to wearing sunscreen when exposed to the sun’s rays and during the most intense hours of sunlight.
You also need to protect yourself from the cold and wind by wearing gloves.
8. Eat a balanced diet
Food affects how you look. Above all, you need to consume a diet that’s rich in fruits and vegetables to be sure you’re getting plenty of vitamins and minerals. Juices and homemade smoothies are one good way to consume them every day.
We recommend reading: Creating A Balanced Diet for Losing Weight
9. Some beneficial supplements
To care for fragile or weak nails, you can try some natural supplements that will benefit your nails as well as your skin and hair. For example, here are a few of the most helpful:
- Brewer’s yeast or nutritional yeast
- Liquid organic silicon
- Spirulina
- Linen oil
- Evening primrose oil
- Biotin
Before you take anything, however, we recommend talking with a doctor or a specialist.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Dimitris, R., & Ralph, D. (2012). Management of simple brittle nails. Dermatologic Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8019.2012.01518.x
- Scheinfeld, N., Dahdah, M. J., & Scher, R. (2007). Vitamins and minerals: Their role in nail health and disease. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
