Nail Care

Nail care

Facts
Grooming
Nail painting
Nail problems
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Facts

The skin on fingertips are protected by nails.
Nails are dead cells and made of protein called keratin (like hair).
Feeding nutrients to the nails go beyond the surface.
The surface of a nail is called the nail plate.
The cuticle is the skin that grows from the finger onto the base of the nail (nail root).
Nail moons are found at the base of the nails. They are also known as lunule.
Small or no moons may indicate low metabolism while large moons may indicate an active metalbolism.
Nail moons disappear with age.
The average growth rate a day is 0.1 mm.
Nails grow fastest on the more active hand.
Nails grow faster during summer and pregnancy.
Young people grow nails at a faster rate.
Fingernails grow at least 2 times faster than toenails.
Weather, activity, hormonal changes and age all have an effect on the rate of nail growth.
With age nails tend to thicken, harden, grow slower and ridges appear.
When a nail is detached from the skin (nail bed), it could take up to 6 months for a fingernail and almost 18 months for a toenail to grow right back.
Though the appearance of nails could often point to any diet imbalance or certain health problems, they are most often not sole indicaters but will be heralded by other more prominent signs and symptoms.

Grooming

Wear gloves when washing the dishes or scrubbing dirt because immersing hands in water and coming into contact with chemials found in most cleaning agents can make nails brittle.
Apply a good hand and nail lotion on your hands and nails to protect and moisturize them. Dry nails tend to crack and split.
File your nails instead of clipping them (unless you need to shorten a big part) at a 45-degree angle.
A good clipping moment would be after a shower or bath where nails are much softer or you can also soak your hands in a bowl of lukewarm water first before you clip.
Avoid harsh metal files.
File every nail tip from the corner to center. Avoid filing deep into the corners.
Leave the cuticle alone. Cutting it invites infection on the nail's tissue.
Short nails are easier to maintain.
Don't torture nails by using them to scrap, pick, scrub, pull or open things. Try using something else.

Nail painting

Painting nails can protect them from being damaged, to a certain extent. You see, colored nail polish blocks light from the nails and to some people, this would prompt fungal growth on their nails.
Paint nails in a well-ventilated room, e.g. near an open window or with a blowing fan. Avoid an enclosed air-conditioned room.
Roll the bottle between your palms before opening. Shaking the bottle tends to create air bubbles which the brush picks up.
Apply a layer of base coat (clear nail polish will also do) before painting over with a colored polish.
Give every nail 3 strokes of polish, starting either from the center-left-right or from right-center-left, it's really about preference.
2 layers of nail polish is enough on each nail. Too many layers could just turn messy.
Allow the polish to dry in between coats - it prevents the trapping of air bubbles and allows each coat to stay smooth.
Add a top coat (clear nail polish) to protect the polish and keep nail under wraps away from the sun.
Avoid painting redos with the help of a foam nail separator.
Too many layers of polish robs the nail's breathing space so just keep it at 2.
When that bottle of nail polish thickens, just add a few drops of thinner.
Dark colored polish show more painting errors than pale colored ones.
Use acetone-free nail varnish remover. Acetone (alcohol) dries nails and can make them brittle over time.
Lemon concentrate is also able to remove polish from your nails.
A bottle of nail polish should be kept in a cool and dry place, out of the sun.
Storing nail polish in a refrigerator can keep it's consistency just right.

Nail problems

BACTERIA
Often referred to as mold though the infection is actually caused by a bacteria called pseudomonas (also known as Greenies) which makes a green, greenish-black or yellowish-green color stain on the nail bed.
This bacteria thrives in a warm and moist environment, especially in between the artificial nail and natural nail where moisture can be trapped if the artifical nail has not been fixed properly.
BITING HABIT
One popular way is to paint awful tasting nail polishes or liquids to the nail. This method is suitable for children. Another alternative is to go for a professional manicure to get your nails looking really good and so perhaps that will refrain you from giving in to that biting urge.
BLACK OR PURPISH COLOR
May be due a traumatic injury to the nail (e.g. smashing) and would recover to it's original color after healing is completed. Also linked to liver disease.
BLUISH COLOR
May be due to poisoning (arsenic) and lack of oxygen in the blood. Get a doctor's attention.
BRITTLE
Other names : dry nails, onychoschisis, onychochizia, onychorrhexis
Frequent immersion of fingers in water, exposure to harsh chemicals found in cleaning agents or a lack of zinc or EFAs (essential fatty acids) in the diet can cause brittleness. Symptoms include easy peeling at the nail edge, breakage and layering.
Consume EFA-rich foods such as cold water fish (salmon, herring, halibut and mackerel), seeds and zinc-rich foods such as whole grains, egg yolk, seafood and meat.
Certain health conditions could also turn nails brittle.
According to Dr. Heinerman in his book "The Healing Power of Herbs", he states that horsetail can help not only brittle nails but when combined with other herbs, can help treat other nail disorders such as thick nails, lengthwise ridges, deep blue nails and abnormally wide or squarish nails. Try the herb horsetail at the Nailcare salon
Ms. Isabelle Navarre-Brown recommends in 76 Ways to Use Noni Fruit Juice (Direct Source, 2001) that noni fruit juice can be used to strengthen brittle, broken and unhealthy nails. Here's how :
1. Pour 1 or 2 tablespoons of noni juice into a bowl.
2. Tear a cotton ball into several pieces big enough
to cover the nails.
3. Dip 1 side of a cotton piece into the bowl and place
it (the wetted side) onto the nail.
4. Repeat step 3 on each nail you wish to treat.
Read more about noni or try Tahitian noni juice and noni skin products at the Nail salon.
CLUBBING
Nails become enlarged and rounded. Has been linked to lung and heart diseases that cause a depletion of oxygen in the blood, and bowel disease.
FUNGUS INFECTION
Other names : mycotic nails, onychomycosis
It is caused by microscopic organisms related to mold, yeast and mildew. Symptoms include itch, skin dryness, pain, blisters and the loosening of the nail plate. Nail fungus may spread when footwear is shared or in shower rooms (floor surfaces).
Toenails are generally more prone to such an infection though fingernails are not spared either. Try applying grape seed extract twice a day and keep nails short.
Ms. Isabelle Navarre-Brown recommends in 76 Ways to Use Noni Fruit Juice (Direct Source, 2001) that noni fruit juice can be used to treat fungus by applying on the affected nails with a cotton ball dipped in noni juice. Follow instructions as stated on Brittle nails.
HANGNAIL
A tiny piece of dead skin that lingers next to the fingernail. It is often the result of frequent exposure to water or it could be a lack of Vitamin B and C in the diet.
Do not pull it off, trim it carefully. Pamper nails daily (or whenever needed) with a moisturizing lotion. Also take Vitamin B-rich foods like brown rice and green leafy vegetables and Vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables and peppers.
INGROWN NAIL
Other name : onychocryptosis
Results when corners of the nail curves into the skin on the side of the toe.
There are some people born with ingrown toenails.
Ms. Isabelle Navarre-Brown recommends in 76 Ways to Use Noni Fruit Juice (Direct Source, 2001) that noni fruit juice can be used to treat ingrown toenails by applying on the affected nails with a cotton ball dipped in noni juice. Follow instructions as stated on Brittle nails.
PALE COLOR
If nails look much lighter than the accompany skin, it may be due to a lack of iron or an underactive blood circulation.
Consume more whole grains and green leafy vegetables.
THICK TOENAILS
A variety of causes which includes fungal infection, psoriasis and injury.
WARTS
These are skin growths caused by viruses belonging to the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. There are about 60 different types of HPV.
Periungual warts grow around and under the fingernails and subungual warts grow around toenails. Common warts usually grow on the backs of hands, on arms, elbows and face while plantar warts grow on the soles of the feet and they are tiny black dots in them which are actually clotted blood vessels.
According to Dr. Heinerman in his book "The Healing Power of Herbs", he recommends adding a few drops of juniper extract over the padded portion of a plaster and taping it over the warts, making sure that the plaster is changed daily. Or empty it's powder from a capsule then mix with water to form a paste and rub it onto the affected area before covering with gauze.
Another method is to try is to apply a rich Vitamin E lotion or tea tree oil onto the affected areas twice a day.
WHITISH SPOTS
Other names : Leukonychia
A lack of zinc or excess consumption of sugars.
Cut back on sugar intake and opt for zinc-rich foods such as whole grains, pumpkin seeds, egg yolk, seafood, pecan and meat.
YELLOW STAINS
The 2 common culprits are nicotine stains from smoking and overuse of nail polish which can still penetrate through a clear base coat. A very easy solution is to stop smoking and give your nails a polish-free break once in a while.
It is also associated with diabetes, liver problems and lymph disorders.

Reader's tips

Soaking your nails in water that you have squeezed out the juices of fruits and veggies (lemons, oranges, cucumbers, etc) will actually help soften your nails before painting them. Note: This is also a great remedy for dry hands.
...BamaAngel2007@aol.com

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