Biting off your nails is one unhealthy move. It is very detrimental to our health. It can transfer bacteria from your hands into your mouth thereby causing other bacteria causing disease. It is better to clip off nail beds than bite them. Try to keep your nails neatly polished to resist the temptation of chewing your nails (you can’t be attracted to chew polish). Try to keep your mouth busy all the time so that you don’t go for your nails. Avoid biting off the skin around your nails, you might think your mouth will do a better job than a nail clip but what you do is to soften the nails through the added moisture from saliva making your nails prone to breaking. Choose a nail each week that you won’t bite.
2. Avoid acrylics and gel
Rushed or forced removal of artificials, acrylics or gels can make the nail very dry and can reduce growth rate. When acrylics are removed properly, it sometimes causes damage to your skin because it occurs with soaked nail beds and our nail beds are more sensitive when they are wet. Try getting a traditional manicure before any acrylics.
3. Stop skipping base coats and top coats
It is true that when we are in a hurry, we just want to paint our nails so it can dry fast, but the truth is that it damages our nails. When we apply base coats, it helps the polish adhere to your nails and stops discolouration when we apply top coats and it helps our nails to chip less. The lesser the chips, the lesser the temptation to pick them. quickly use a pre-moistened polish remover when nails start to chip so that you don’t have to pick them.
4. Avoid using your nails as tools
stop using your nails to peel labels, scrape glue, or unfasten a key ring. You might not even realize you’re doing it because it is an unconscious thing, but if you want to grow strong nails, you need to start to notice everything your nail does. Also, try to keep your nails out of water for too long. This can soften the nail and make it weak and breakable. Have available scissors, or an alternative tool, to help you open, scrape, or peel anything you need during the day.
5. Eat healthily
We can never run away from a healthy diet as it affects all the parts of our body. Vitamin H (Biotin) promotes the growth and strength of nails, hair, and skin. Whole grains, mushrooms, bananas, salmon, and avocado are all great sources, folic acid helps prevent any damage to your nerve cells and keeps the red blood cells very healthy. It is the best vitamin for nail growth, and it can be found in fishes, red meat, cheese, and fortified soy product, vitamin A will aid the strengthening of your nails and sweet potatoes, carrots, leafy greens are good sources. Vitamin C is most commonly known for aiding in immune health and it helps recovery inside the body. This recovery helps promote nail growth and gives them strength. Good and natural sources of vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, and bell peppers.