How to Strengthen Your Nails
Want to strengthen your nails? Stop using acetone, grab the mayo, and follow these 6 tips to strengthen your nails with homemade remedies and unlikely hacks.
Bruce and Jeanne Lubin
Give Them a DIY Hot Oil Treatment
Strengthen weak nails with warm baby oil: Pour the oil into a shallow microwave-safe bowl and nuke it until warm. When it’s cool enough to touch comfortably, soak your digits in the oil bath for a few minutes, then wipe them off with a clean towel. It will help moisturize and harden nails.
Scrap the Acetone
Do you have weak nails? Look for only non-acetone polish removers. That harsh chemical might swipe away nail polish easily, but it also sucks the natural oils from your nails and cuticles, leaving them dried out and damaged. The non-acetone removers are gentler, but they will take a little more work to dissolve your polish completely—a small trade-off for healthy, beautiful nails!
A Mayo Mani
That rich, creamy mayo in your fridge can also help nourish your nails! You can either “polish” your nails with the mayonnaise or dip your fingernails in a bowl of the stuff—after five minutes, remove and wash off.
Overnight Oil Treatment
Treat your nails and cuticles to a salon-worthy repair regimen using olive or coconut oil. Place a few tablespoons of oil in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until warm. Rub the warmed oil into your cuticles and coat the nails completely, then slip on a pair of cotton gloves. When you wake up the next morning, remove the gloves, and rinse your hands in the sink. Repeat as needed to moisturize and fortify your nails back to health.
Don’t Pick Your Polish!
Once your polish starts to chip, it can be hard not to pick at it and peel it off. However, picking at your nails also scrapes away the protective top layer of coating, which can leave your nails thinner, flimsier, and more prone to damage. To squash the urge to pick, simply remove your polish when it starts to crack and chip off.
Healthy Fats for Healthy Nails
Omega-3 fatty acids offer fantastic health benefits for the brain, heart, and immune system. But did you know they’re great for your skin and nails, too? If you aren’t eating them already, you can incorporate these fats into your diet by eating fatty fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, and anchovies, walnuts, flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, and kidney and pinto beans.
For more all natural remedies from all around the internet, check out our Health and Beauty Tips board on Pinterest. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Bruce Lubin and Jeanne Bossolina-Lubin are the proud parents of three boys and more than a dozen books. After saving thousands per year using everyday tips and simple lifehacks, they started their own business in the hopes of sharing their knowledge with others. They have been known to go into their friends’ refrigerators to turn their eggs upside down so that they last longer.