How to strengthen nails?

How to strengthen nails?                     

Made up of layers of a protein called keratin, your nails serve as protection for your fingers and toes. Keratin, which also makes up the cells in your hair and skin, works to protect nails from damage.

what causes brittle nails and what you can do to keep them healthy and strong.

Dry and brittle nails are the result of too little moisture. They’re most commonly caused by the repeated washing and drying of fingernails.

On the other hand, soft and brittle nails are caused by too much moisture, often a result of overexposure to detergents, household cleaners, and nail polish remover.

Other causes of brittle nails include:

• Age. Nails commonly change as people age, often becoming dull and brittle. While toenails commonly get thicker and harder, fingernails often become thinner and more brittle.
• Iron deficiency. This condition occurs when the body doesn’t get enough iron, which leads to low red blood cell levels. 
• Hypothyroidism. Along with brittle nails, symptoms of low thyroid levels may include hair loss, fatigue, weight gain, constipation, and depression. 
• Raynaud’s syndrome. Characterized by circulation problems in the extremities, this condition can affect nail health. 

How to strengthen nails

1. Moisturize your nails

Moisturizing is a well-known secret to healthy skin, but it’s often overlooked in nail care. While dry, brittle nails can be the result of many factors, they’re ultimately a cry for moisture, so consider proper moisture the foundation of your nail care routine. When applying hand lotion, give your nails a little extra attention. There are plenty of moisturizing nail products on the market, but applying moisturizer is really only half the battle—there’s more to strong nails than a fancy cream or serum.

                                        

2. Leave your cuticles alone

It’s common practice to cut, push back, or try to get rid of cuticles altogether, but cuticles are not the enemy. 

Moisturizing the cuticles with cream or cuticle oil to help protect and strengthen your nails.

3. Avoid contact with water

Don’t stop washing your hands or shower with gloves on, but do pay attention to ways you can reduce the time your nails spend in contact with water because excessive water contact can weaken nail structure. (Wet hair is especially vulnerable, and the same caution-when-wet approach you take to handling wet locks can apply to nail care, too.) For example, consider wearing gloves while doing the dishes or other wet work.

4. Be gentle

The best nail care is gentle care, Sometimes people take the pointy end of a nail file and they dig underneath their nails to get the dirt out, You should not do that, because it can separate the nail plate from the underlying bed, and then you can develop a bacterial fungal infection.

5. Treat your nails like you treat your hair

It’s the new golden rule. Hair and nails are both composed of keratin proteins, so it makes sense that many of the same rules for treatment apply.

6. Watch the weather

Winter can be a rough time for skin, hair, and nails alike. Not only can cool, dry weather cause nails to get extra brittle. The shift from a heated home or office to the chilly open air can cause nail cells to contract and expand repetitively, resulting in a weakening between the cells, leading to breakage, she says. It’s smart to always wear gloves in the winter and, you guessed it, moisturize, moisturize, moisturize to protect both the skin of your hands and your nails.

7. Rethink your products

Nail polish remover: In the best-case scenario, you would avoid nail polish remover altogether. But since most of us aren’t going to entirely give up the joy of a nice manicure, it’s better to instead use non-acetone removers that contain hydrating oils and ingredients.

Nail brush: Instead of digging under your nails with tools such as a filer. Use a gentle nail brush to clean out the dirt. 

Nail growth products: Many nail treatment or nail growth products on the market are in reality clear nail polishes with marketing additives that have no scientific validity.

8. Be patient with nail growth

If you’re a chronic nail-biter, you know the victory of finally growing your nails out past your fingertips. Healthy habits plus patience pay off in nail care. But the primary focus should be on figuring out how to strengthen your nails, not solving the puzzle of how to grow nails fast. Stronger nails can lead to longer nails if you practice good nail care, but it all takes time. If you battle brittle nails and constant breakage, it’s smart to keep your nails clipped short until they regain strength; then they’ll have the foundation they need to grow longer.

9. Try Biotin

                                                        

As long as you eat a healthy, varied diet, you don't need any dietary supplements to guarantee strong nails. Biotin has been shown to be helpful for strengthening and growing our nails.

10. Eat More Protein

                                     

A well-balanced, nutritious diet that contains plenty of minerals and vitamins can help with a range of health-related issues including keeping a person’s nails strong.