July 02 2011 Makeup :Tips For Healthy Nails

Have you ever felt the sadness of a broken nail? I noticed that my nails were prone to breaking and chipping ever so often that a perfect French manicure became a distant dream-broken chipped nails are considered sacrilegious in the land of manicures…The color and nail texture are the parameters that decide the health of your nails.
What is it that we can do to maintain healthy and strong nails? Here are five ‘How to have healthy nails’ tips:

1. Eat right: Your nails are indicative of your overall health and well being. Vitamin deficiency, bad eating habits and lack of nutrients make nails dry, brittle and weak. Eat your way to strong healthy nails by making sure that you have a balanced and healthy diet. Include nuts, proteins with lean meats, fish and eggs, nuts, cereals, raisins, cucumber, fruits, and asparagus in your diet. Increase your source of calcium and zinc for healthy and strong nails, especially if your nails are spotted with white. Do away with smoking and alcohol as they dry out our nails leaving them prone to breakage. Hydrate your nails by constantly replenishing your body’s water balance with water and other fluids.
2. Hydrate right: Make sure that your nails are always moisturized and hydrated. Dry nails make them brittle causing nail chipping and breakage. A simple way to keep the cuticles hydrated is to apply petroleum jelly to your nails at night while hitting the bed.  You could also use olive oil or any other Vitamin E enriched oil for keeping the cuticles soft. Wear rubber gloves when you do your cleaning and dishwashing as the strong chemicals present in cleaning agents strip your digits off their natural moisture.
3. Dry right:  Keep your hands and feet nice and dry after a shower, swim, and daily chores or cleaning. Dry your hands well for at least a minute to ensure that your nails are dry as damp nails increase your risk to fungal infections. Your socks and shoes should never be damp and sweaty. In summers wearing cotton socks helps in absorbing sweat and keeping the feet clean and dry.
4. File and color right: Never use your nail file like a saw. To prevent your nails from chipping you need to file in a unidirectional manner instead of going back and forth. Try not to file your nails when you have just stepped out of the shower – nails break easily when wet! A coat of clear polish goes a long way when you want to save your nails. Look for polishes that are vitamin enriched. While painting your nails use a base coat first, and then follow it with the colored polish. This prevents nail discoloration. Remove your nail paint every ten days and let your nails breathe for at least 24 hours before you apply varnish again.
5. Remove right: Get strong cuticles by simply changing your nail polish remover. Most removers contain acetone and formaldehyde. These elements are extremely drying for the nails. Use acetate based polish removers for best results.

          By : www.blog.myskin.com/expert/top-5-tips-to-healthy-nails/