Simple but effective life hacks.
Brittle, brittle, peeling nails that cannot be grown even a couple of millimeters are a problem for many girls. As a manicurist, the simplest option I can offer is a gel coating, which, with the correct architecture and application, will make your nails practically indestructible.
But not with gel alone! There are effective ways to strengthen your natural nail plate at home.
Enriching the diet
Our diet significantly influences the density and elasticity of the nail plates.
To strengthen your nails at home and make them healthier, you need to add foods that affect the formation of high-quality onychoblasts, primarily proteins (meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts).
The right fats are needed for average elasticity (shock absorption), namely Omega 3-6-9 essential fatty acids. They can be taken as supplements, or you can include fish, red caviar, and flaxseed oil in your diet.
The rate of nail growth and the appearance of the plate are also influenced by vitamins, especially C, E, and group B – here citrus fruits, bell peppers, avocados, seeds and nuts, beef, lamb, egg yolk, yeast, wholemeal bread, and legumes.
But, by the way, calcium, which is often recommended for those who want to strengthen their nails, does not particularly affect their strength. The exception is women after menopause who are prone to osteoporosis – here, this element is critically washed out from the periphery of the body, and fragile nail plates become the cherry on the cake. But this problem lies in a medical plane rather than an aesthetic one.
We repair mechanically
If your nails are generally healthy but very thin and delicate in structure, nail polishes can come to the rescue. The products mechanically thicken them, increase resistance to external influences, and can be used at home. However, not all remedies are equally helpful.
A series of strengthening agents is based on adding a reasonably large amount of formaldehyde to the composition. The principle of their action is based on the fact that the body will try to get rid of the aggressive component by increasing the thickness of the plate on which the drug is applied and accelerating the growth of the nail.
It looks great, but not for long: with systematic use, the nail is torn away from the bed, and instead of a durable plate, you will get trashy aesthetics, painful sensations, and expensive and lengthy treatment from a dermatologist.
Safe varnishes do not promise miracles but significantly improve the appearance and fill out the nail’s microrelief; you can grow quite a decent length under them.
Soak with benefit
Hand baths are one forgotten but very effective way to strengthen nails at home, familiar to our mothers and grandmothers. Cheap, simple, and accessible: dilute salt in warm water (at least a tablespoon of salt per glass of water), dip your fingertips in it and hold for several minutes.
If you need to whiten your nails, add lemon juice. If the plates lack elasticity, use bath salts with oil additives in the same concentration.
And there is not sodium salt, but magnesium salt, also known as Epsom salt. This is an absolute miracle for your hands! Magnesium promotes the synthesis of collagen and hyaluronic acid and activates blood flow, helping strengthen nails. With regular use of the baths, the skin of the side ridges and cuticles becomes soft and moisturized, and the nails become noticeably stronger.
Activating growth
One of the simplest growth activators is considered a regular hand massage. Yes, nothing supernatural! Traditional massage on the matrix of the nail plate (the place where cells divide, from the hole to the joint of the first phalanx of the finger) helps strengthen the nails and make them healthy.
The massage can be performed anywhere, at any time – apply nourishing oil or cream, gently knead and rub the skin just above the cuticle area, and massage the fingertips.
Feed outside
In this section, we will talk about cosmetics that accelerate nail growth and strengthen them. There are few natural activators, most used after injuries or during onycholysis (separating the nail plate from the bed). But there are safe medications for home care that you can use without a doctor’s prescription.
Grattol cream wax prevents fungal and bacterial inflammation, fills microdamage in the nail plate, and can also be used for beautiful polishing. The main active ingredient is monarda extract – a popular regenerator with which you can accelerate the growth of nails and strengthen them.
Keratin gel from the famous cosmeceutical brand can be used at home without restrictions. It reduces the sensitivity of injured nails, significantly accelerates growth, helps to form healthy nail scales, and strengthens them.
Finally, the nail lotion with chitosan, niacinamide, and panthenol is worth mentioning. Aloe extract and vitamin complexes strengthen nails and stimulate their growth. Chitosan biopolymer evens out the structure of the plate and protects it from moisture loss and the penetration of aggressive chemicals from the outside.
