Nail Health Daily Care Methods

Don't polish or pick at the nail surface excessively, replenish enough oil around the nail surface, and use the nail as a tool as little as possible. As long as there is no serious malnutrition in the diet, there will be no major problems with the nail.

Two years ago, I had semi-adhesive extensions done for a wedding photo shoot. At that time, the manicurist used a polishing head to grind my nail surface until it became thin and hot in order to stick it firmly. After the nail removal, my nails were so soft that they could be bent into a U shape, and it hurt even if I touched a cup. It took me three months to get back to normal. Regarding polishing the nail surface, the current opinions in the industry are actually not unified: Most Japanese manicure practitioners believe that as long as they use a qualified polishing head, control the intensity and only remove the outermost polish layer of the nail surface, and follow up with sealing and maintenance, the damage to the nails can be completely ignored. ； However, the general clinical advice of dermatology is to avoid grinding the nail surface unless necessary for special occasions. The natural cuticle on the nail surface is actually equivalent to the "protective barrier" of the nail. It is the same as the sebum film on our face. If it is worn too thin, fungi and dirt from the outside can easily get in, and the nail surface will become more brittle and easy to break. If you really love doing manicures, follow my advice and do it once a month at most. Don’t pick it off yourself. Go to a regular store and use a nail polish remover bag to soften it and then gently push it off. Leave at least a week between manicures to allow the nails to breathe. It is more effective than any reinforcement glue.

Oh, by the way, don’t tear off the hangnail. Last winter, I tore off a small hangnail and was directly infected with paronychia. It was swollen for a week and I couldn’t even hold a pen. People who change seasons or often come into contact with water are particularly likely to develop small burrs around their nails. Don't tear them off with your hands, just cut them off with clean scissors. Many people think that finger oil is something only used by manicure enthusiasts. This is not the case. Put a small stick in your bag, apply a little into the seams around your nails after washing your hands, and rub it for ten seconds to absorb. It is more effective than applying two layers of hand cream. It can basically reduce the problems of hangnails and dry cracks around your nails by 80%. There are also many nail salons that will cut off all the thin layer of epithelium at the base of the nail when making styles. It will look like the nail is longer, but that layer of skin actually blocks bacteria. Cutting too hard can easily lead to redness, swelling and inflammation. If you really need to trim it, soak it in warm water until it softens and use a dead skin pusher to gently push it down. Don't cut it bare. This is what the doctor specifically told me when I went to see my paronychia.

Don’t use your nails as a universal tool. You can open cans, pick out pull tabs, remove express delivery tape, or even pick out the dust in the cracks of mobile phone cases. I have done these things before. When I had long nails, I banged them directly on the corner of the table, cutting from the middle of the nail surface to the nail bed. It hurt so much that I shed tears. Really, it only takes a few seconds to open a bottle and find the corkscrew, or use a utility knife to open an express delivery, which is better than splitting a nail and causing pain for several days. There is also a misunderstanding that many people have: if your nails are soft and easy to break, it means you are deficient in calcium. I used to believe that taking calcium tablets for more than half a year has no effect at all. After asking the doctor, I found out that as long as you can drink milk and eat eggs normally and have no serious digestion and absorption problems, There is basically no shortage of calcium that can affect the condition of nails. Most soft nails are caused by exposure to too many detergents. For example, if you don’t wear gloves when doing housework, or if you soak in dishwashing liquid or laundry detergent for a long time, your nails will naturally become soft and easy to break. Wearing rubber gloves can solve this problem, so there is really no need to take supplements.

My nails used to be brittle, and they would break when they were two millimeters above the nail bed. Later, I didn’t apply any expensive nail polish. I just left a week’s window between every manicure, applied finger edge oil after washing my hands, and wore gloves when doing housework. Now my nails are one centimeter long, and they are not easy to break even if they are bumped. Friends around me ask me if I have done any construction. In fact, it is really just these small things that I keep doing.

To be honest, the condition of your nails is a reflection of your living habits. You don’t need to pursue the “perfect nails” that have no texture at all like plastic nails on the Internet. A few vertical lines or more or less crescents are not a problem. Don’t mess around. They are more effective than any expensive nail care products.