How are your nails lately? Have you thought about whether you have healthy nails? Most people overlook their nails unless there is breakage, or they are unusually long. Other people are obsessed with making sure their nails are perfect all the time. The nail salons cater to people who view nail beauty as a weekly maintenance activity, like getting their hair coloured.
Generally, your nail bed is healthy if it is slightly pink in colour and your tips are white – not translucent. If you are scheduled for surgery the hospital makes sure you have no polish on your nails as this area is an indication of your overall health during surgery. Not enough oxygen in your system? Your nails (and other indicators) will reveal this problem.
How do I Keep my Nails Healthy?
Many people who visit nail salons and spas on a regular basis love to have a perfect set of healthy nails on display. If you go to a very busy salon that is feeling a bit rushed, you may discover that your nail tech did not put a base coat on your nail. Having a base coat protects the nail. You only discover this later when you go to remove the remaining bit of polish from your toes or nails and find that underneath there is a yellowish hue. Yuck!
Most people’s first instinct is to cover this up with more polish and that is the wrong thing to do! Your nail needs oxygen, water, etc. It needs to get strong and renew. It cannot do that with more chemical polish on the nail. Keep the nail bed clean and work in a little oil into the cuticles. It does not have to be special oil – use some olive oil from the kitchen pantry and gently work it into your cuticles. This will help the nail bed from drying. Let your nails breathe and in about two days – your nails should be as good as new!
A Restricted Diet can inhibit a Healthy Nail
We discussed using nail polish with no base coat. That is the primary problem with having yellowish, oxygen starved, and weak nails. Another issue is your diet. Yes! What you eat is important for the strength of your hair and nails. Many people on limited calorie diets are limiting their fats too. All the fats! Unfortunately, your hair and nails need fatty acids to keep them healthy and strong. Many programs like Weight Watchers encourage their clients to also take an EFA Vitamin to make up for the lack of fat intake during the program. EFA stands for, “Essential, Fatty Acid” and it is also recommended for pregnant women to maintain a good level of fats for the development of the foetus.
Vegetables play a strong role in the health of your nails. Are you eating a lot of pizza with a vodka chaser? A poor diet will show up in the form of acne, weak nails that either tear or break, your hair will fall out faster than normal and your skin overall will have a patchy, dark hue that will suddenly make you run to the store to purchase concealer make-up full of bad things – this results in even more acne. Yikes! So maybe you should listen to Mom and eat your vegetables?
A Healthy Nail Bed for your Toes
Our feet can be overlooked yet we use them every day. Each time you put your foot down, about 5 times your body weight is bearing down on your foot. Wow! My poor feet! Many toxins naturally fall to the base of your feet too. How do you maintain your nails with such activity happening? Just like your nails, using cuticle oil in the nail bed really helps them from being dried out and white. Keeping them free of ingrown toenails with regular, professional pedicures is a great idea too.
There are many great spas and salons for pedicures, like Soho Nails in Oakleigh, VIC. Don’t worry, your toenails and fingernails will have a healthy nail bed again soon.
