Nail Care At Home: Natural Home Remedies For Healthy, Shiny & Stronger Nails

Nails are an important part of one's personality not only from cosmetology point of view but also protect our fingers & toes. Nails are made from a tough protective protein called keratin, basically consisting of dead skin cells. They perform the function of giving an end to the fingers and toes and also assist in holding on to things. Also, one look at our nails is most of the times enough to identify if we are in prime health. Vertical lines on nails or white nail beds can be a cause of concern for many.

Nails also play an important role in increasing the beauty of hands and feet. Many of  us dream to have strong, shining and long nails. Don’t rush to expensive nail spas to fulfill this dream. Besides remedies that claim to answer- how to strengthen nails overnight, rarely work.  Here are some natural home remedies for healthy, shiny & stronger nails.

Daily Nail Care

Take a few drops of honey and mix it with icing sugar and rub on the nails. This daily exercise gives the nails the shine you are longing for. Do not forget to buff your nail with a buffer at least once every 15 days. Besides, this is one of the most simplest homemade nail treatments.

Fortnightly Care

An egg pack for your nails every fortnight is of great benefit and will strengthen your nails. Eggs are a good source of protein and an egg pack followed by a DIY nail soak makes nails stronger.

DIY egg pack to harden brittle nails:

For the pack, take 20 ml almond oil and mix it with one large egg and few drops of lemon in a bowl. Dip your finger nails in the mix for 20 mins. Apply for additional 20 mins on the whole hand. Wash your hands with lukewarm water and rub your hands with a lemon rind and rinse with lukewarm water again. Repeat this every 15 days for best results.

You can apply the remaining portion of the pack can on your hair; keep it on for 20 mins and rinse with lukewarm water. Use all resources judiciously!

DIY nail soak to harden brittle nails:

For a dip, take a big bowl and fill with hot water (adjust the temperature according to your comfort level), add rock salt and 10 ml of olive oil. Also, apply some milk cream on the nails and dip your hands in the water for 25 mins.

Take a cuticle pusher and work on all the nails by pushing the cuticles and dead skin. Remove the cuticles from around the nails carefully, buff the nails with the help of a nail buffer and shape and trim the nails at this stage. 

Take a sea salt scrub or make a cumin scrub by grinding 100 mg cumin in a mixer. Take about 1 tsp of ground cumin and add some milk cream. Rub your hands with the scrub for 2 mins including the nails rinse with warm water. Now, dip your hands in 1/2 litre of sarson (mustard) oil poured in a bowl. Massage your hands for 10 mins and rinse with warm water. Apply a mud pack in the end to close the pores.

(Note that the mustard oil can be used many times and then used to massage the scalp, if it's used for personal grooming only).

Repeat this manicure after every 15 days and enjoy soft hands and stronger nails with lots shine. Also, remember that perseverance with this homemade nail treatments is necessary.

What To Eat?

Eating right also makes a lot of difference in nail health as it is made of protein. Besides, a protein-rich diet makes nails stronger. Having eggs, salmon, lentils, green peas, oats, beans, all rich in protein, help improve nail health immensely. Additionally, this diet also helps in hair care and increasing bone strength . You can also consult your dietician to choose vitamins for healthy nails.

Caution:

Application of nail paint although enhances the beauty of hands, however it leads to discoloration of nails. Nails turn yellow if they are not left without nail paints for a long period of time.Thus, after every manicure routine it is a must to leave the nails without nail paint for min 24 hrs or once every week.

Everyone today is very conscious about the assets nature has given us and one such asset is our NAILS. In fact, our nails also hint about our health. For instance, bluish nails indicate anemia, yellow, if not due to excessive use of cosmetics, indicate some liver disorder and brittle nails could be due to fungus. Although, all these doubts can only be cleared by a dermatologist, if you just want your nails to be stronger, longer, and shinier, home made solutions can help in many ways!