We all love making sure our nails are looking amazing, but for most of us this means constant trips to the salon for fresh SNS or acrylic sets. And while these manicures look fabulous, we’re all far too familiar with the damage they inflict on our natural nails — leaving them dry, weak, brittle and prone to chipping.
Nurse your nails back to health with a much-need nail detox, involving the following.
Apply a nail treatment
Contrary to popular belief, fungal nail treatments can do more than just treat fungal nails. Because some are enriched with ingredients like lactic acid (to increase moisture) and urea (to fight bacteria) many do a good job of maintaining overall nail health, especially when nails are most vulnerable post-manicure removal. Once it’s almost time for a fresh set, have your manicure professionally removed and apply a thin coat of fungal nail treatment instead. Over a period of time, you’ll reverse much of the damage caused and give your natural nails some much-needed R&R.
We recommend: Emtrix Nail, RRP $34.95 at leading pharmacies
Keep your nails dry
Frequent immersion in water or liquids can weaken nails, making them feel soft and thin. Avoid this by aiming to keep your nails dry as much as possible — e.g, pop on some gloves while doing the dishes, or if your job sees you washing your hands regularly (i.e, nursing or hospitality), be sure to dry them thoroughly afterwards.
Eat nail strengthening foods
Nails are made out of proteins, so eat protein-rich foods like lean poultry, fish, red meat and spinach.
Biotin (a.k.a. vitamin H) can strengthen weakened nails (as well as improve splitting hair!). Biotin-rich foods include bananas, cauliflower, eggs, lentils and salmon. Peanuts are also rich in biotin, so go for some peanut butter too.
Avoid acetone-based nail polish remover
The smell of nail polish remover is still ingrained in our collective brains from back in 2009, and it’s no wonder why. The smell of acetone is hard to forget! A chemical solvent, acetone works to not only remove nail polish from nails, but also to strip moisture and natural colour. The result is dry, streaky and discoloured nails.
Swap your regular nail polish remover for an acetone-free formula and spot the difference immediately.
We recommend: Cutex Nail Polish Remover Acetone-Free, $4.99 at Priceline
Use a soft nail file
Part of a nail detox unfortunately means staying away from the salon for a little while! Maintain the shape of your nails at home by using a soft, not hard, nail file to gently file the edges. Hard nail files can be abrasive, especially to brittle and dry nails, and can end up doing more harm than good.
And don’t forget to file in one direction, not back and forth (as if you were sawing something!) Filing back and forth can fray the edge of your nail, making it weaker and prone to chipping.
We recommend: Sally Hansen Nail Shaper Nail Boards, $2.49 at Chemist Warehouse
