Do not pick or chew your nails
These habits are not always possible to control. But they are harmful to your nails – they thin the nail plate and make it brittle. And if you pick the cuticle, you can also damage the nail matrix. This will cause the nail to grow unevenly.
Don’t get carried away with polishing and leave the cuticle alone
Buffing makes your nails thinner and weaker. That doesn’t mean you should forget about it forever. But if you want to grow strong nails, it’s better to polish them less often. The same goes for the cuticle – the bit of skin at the base of the nail plate. The cuticle protects the nail matrix. Dermatologists do not recommend cutting it. This is fraught with injuries and infections and is generally harmful to the nails. If you really want to, you can gently push back the cuticle with an orange stick (although some experts believe that even this is risky).
Apply oil to your nails
Nails have a porous structure, which is why they are so active in allowing water to pass through them. Oil “seals” the nail and protects it from water. Dermatologist Samantha Ellis recommends applying oil after every hand wash. A couple of drops will be enough for all nails. Any oil will do – jojoba, avocado or even ordinary sunflower oil. And once a week you can make an oil bath: dip your nails in warm (not hot!) oil and hold for five minutes. You can heat the oil with a water bath.
Eat a nutritious diet
For your nails to grow, it’s important to eat a balanced diet. Any deficiency can harm them. For example, people who don’t eat enough protein have soft and thin nails. In children, they crack and sometimes even stop growing. And deficiencies of iron, zinc and calcium make nails brittle (this is why nails are damaged in people with anorexia nervosa who starve themselves for fear of gaining weight).
