Nail Health Regimen

The core of nail health care is not to buy expensive nail polish and frequent nail salons for maintenance, but to "take care of the inside and outside as the root, and reduce local troubles as the key." 90% of nail appearance problems can be solved by these two points, and there is no need to spend a lot of money to pay IQ tax.

To be honest, I have been through a lot of traps before. I loved doing manicures in the past two years. The manicurist would cut my nail epithelium cleanly every time, saying, "This will make the manicure translucent." He also said that my thin nail surface and vertical lines were due to lack of nutrition, and they deceived me into taking 18. 00 care card, I applied some nail care essence and applied heat every week, but within two months, my nails were so soft that I couldn’t tear open a potato chip bag, and the edges were always warped and layered. I was so scared that I quickly stopped all manicures and went to the dermatology department.

The doctor took a look at my nails and then laughed. He said it was nutritional deficiencies. Your manicurist polished off a layer of your nails every time, and also cut off the epithelium that protects your nails. The nail polish glue made your nails suffocating, so wouldn't they make them weaker and weaker? I was told not to paint anything when I went home, to wear gloves when washing things, and not to use my nails to open express delivery or tear off tape. After less than three months, my nails became hard again.

Later, I talked about this with a relative who is a Chinese medicine practitioner at home, and she had a different view. In Chinese medicine, it is said that "claws are the extension of tendons." Nails are an expression of liver blood. If your nails have never been touched, and they are still soft and thin, with vertical lines, and easy to break, it is probably due to insufficient liver blood and a weak spleen and stomach. For example, people who stay up late for a long time, diet to lose weight, and like to drink ice drinks will probably have bad nails. I worked on a project for more than 20 days last year, and a lot of small pits suddenly appeared on my nails. My relatives asked me to stop drinking ice cream. I ate 10 red-skinned peanuts every day and drank some astragalus and angelica water. Within a month, those pits slowly disappeared.

In fact, these two statements are not contradictory at all, and are even complementary. The view of modern dermatology is that nails themselves are dead cells that have been keratinized. No essence you apply can be "absorbed" into it. 90% of nail problems are caused by external stimuli: frequent nail polishing, cutting nail epithelium, using nails as tools, washing dishes and clothes, always stained with detergent and laundry detergent. These are the hardest hit areas of nail injuries. If you change all these bad habits and still have problems with your nails, just think about internal conditioning instead of just buying a bunch of supplements.

There are actually a lot of controversies about armor. For example, should you wear armor oil? Some people say that applying it is equivalent to adding a protective film to the nails to reduce wear and external stimulation. ； The other group says that there are some organic solvents in nail polish, and applying too much will dry out the nails. My own experience after three years of trial and error is that it depends on your needs: if you have to use detergents frequently, or if you are prone to scratching your nails when doing manual work, choose a safe formula that does not contain formaldehyde, toluene, or phthalates. Just apply it once a week. When removing, use acetone-free nail polish remover. Don’t be too pretentious. ； If you usually sit in the office and rarely touch irritating things, it would be best if you don't apply anything at all. I basically wear bare nails in summer, but my nails are brighter than when I apply nail polish in winter.

Some people also say that taking biotin and collagen can protect your armor. This depends on the situation: if you usually eat a balanced diet and eat enough meat, eggs, milk and vegetables, then eating these is basically useless. Instead, it may compensate for excess acne.； If you have been a vegetarian all year round, or have been on a diet to lose weight recently, and it is found that you are deficient in biotin, iron or zinc during your physical examination, you can really feel your nails hardening after two or three months of supplementation. My best friend who has been a vegetarian for five years had her nails so soft that she could split with just a little force. After three months of biotin and iron supplements, now her nails are not easy to break even if she has long nails.

Many people always stare at the crescents and white spots on their nails and get nervous. They say that fewer crescents mean they are weak, and white spots mean they have worms in their stomachs. In fact, there is really no need. The crescent is the growth area of ​​the nail. Some people are born with methyl groups at the back, so the crescent is small or even invisible. As long as you don't feel any discomfort, you don't need to worry about it at all. Most of the white spots on the nails are caused by the roots of the nails that were bumped before. The newly grown nails will have white spots on them. They will disappear when they grow out. They have nothing to do with lack of nutrition or insect infestation. If you really find a black line with a width of more than 3mm on your nails, or your nails suddenly turn gray, thick, and painful, go directly to the hospital to see a dermatologist. Don’t waste time by applying home remedies on your own.

To put it bluntly, nails are just like our skin. If you pile a lot of products on them every day and mess with them when nothing happens, problems will easily occur. You should eat when you should eat and sleep when you should sleep. If there is a problem, it will be more effective than any fancy health regimen to see a professional.