How to take care of your fingernails

Healthy, well-groomed and perfectly manicured fingernails are everyone's dream because they instantly make you appear posh and make your hands prettier.

Healthy nails are firm and smooth with pinkish-white nail plates, visible cuticles, and strong white tips with no ridges, dents, or discoloration. Sometimes, discolored, thin, and ridged nails may be a result of poor hygiene, vitamin deficiency, or even a sign of an underlying medical condition.

Your nails can get easily damaged as a result of bad hygiene or just everyday wear and tear, so they require extra care to stay in good condition.

By practicing these simple habits, your fingernails can remain strong and healthy.

Stop biting your nails: Besides making your fingernails look disfigured, biting your nails harms your cuticles, also, you can easily transfer germs and dirt into your mouth. Contact with saliva also makes your fingernails weak and brittle.

Trim your nails regularly: Your fingernails should be kept short to prevent a buildup of bacteria, fungi, and dirt underneath, and also to limit the risk of long nails snagging, breaking, or being accidentally ripped off painfully. Use a nail file to file your fingernails, not your teeth.

Keep your fingernails clean and dry: To help eliminate the breeding and buildup of bacteria and germs in your fingernails, always make sure they are clean and dry.

Wear gloves while washing, gardening, and doing house chores: A lot of detergents contain harsh chemicals that can damage your fingernails when they come in contact with them. Wear your gloves while doing chores not only to prevent contact with these harsh chemicals, but also to avoid picking up dirt, germs, and bacteria with them while cleaning.

Eat healthy: protein and Omega-3 fatty acids should not be lacking in your diet. Keratin is the protein that makes up the nails and it is better produced when you consume protein-rich food like beans and fish.

Do not scrape off your nail polish: Scraping off your nail polish makes your fingernails surface rough and patchy and it also strips away the topmost layer of your nail.

Moisturize regularly: Moisturize your cuticles and the skin around your nails regularly to prevent dryness and also keep the skin soft and supple. Moisturize using hand creams, cuticle oil, or moisturizer.