1. Don’t bite your nails: not only this causes nails to be jagged and unattractive, but it can also seriously damage them. It can allow bacteria to enter the nail bed, causing infection.
2. Moisturize: use a hand or cuticle cream daily to prevent loss of moisture and cracks in your nails.
3. File your nails properly: always go in one direction when you file your nails. Going back and forth will cause splitting. Filing the corners of the nails can weaken them as well.
4. Don’t use polish removers too often: they contain alcohol or other solvents, like acetone, that dry the nails, making them weaker.
5. Eat healthily: to strenghten nails eat foods that contain proteins (beans, legumes, meat, eggs), zinc (milk, hard-boiled eggs), calcium (fresh carrot juice) and Vitamin B Biotin (brown rice and soybeans).
6. Drink a lot of water: it will keep your body, including nails, hydrated.
7. Don’t get acrylic nails: there are several reasons why this is bad. Filing away the enamel on your nails makes them weak and thin; separation of the nails from the nail bad, caused by minor traumas occurred to the acrylic nails (even scraping a surface) can cause infection. In addition, acrylic nails contain formaldehyde and other resins that are unhealthy and may cause cancer.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I am the worst enemy of nails
I paint my nails weekly *sniff* sorry nails!!! Thanks for the tips 
Great tips! I use acetone-free nail polish remover but for people who have respiratory problems, not wearing nail polish is much better!
Nikki: But your nail art is gorgeous!!! You’re welcome!
Dao: thanks. you’re right, some nail polishes and removers contains ingredients that can cause respiratory problems, so if you’re alwready affected by these deseases, you should stay away from them.
I like non-acetone removers as well as they are less aggressive and conatins moisturizer ingredients to avoid any drying effect, but I wish they were as effective as the acetone ones. You have to work harder to take the polish off with non-acetone removers.
You can also take a silica supplement, which is really great for making your nails stronger. It will only apply to new growth so may take a few months to show. Good silica supplements will also contain a high dose of calcium, zinc and magnesium to boost nail strength as well. If you can’t find silica, look for horsetail, which is a herb rich in it.
Thanks for the tip Ana! And it’s worth to wait a few months if something really works. I once read somewhere that silica supplements are good for hair and skin as well.
Yup. They’re better for hair and nails than they are for skin, but still good for skin, too. Silica is to hair and nails what collagen is to skin, it’s like the building blocks to help make them strong and whatnot, so the more of it your body has to use, the better.
A lot of people will take products that say they are for hair, skin, nails etc, but all they really are is an expensive multivitamin. If you’re going to pay for a supplement for hair/nails then it DEFINITELY should contain silica, since that’s hard to get from food, whereas vitamins/minerals aren’t, and you can take it alongside an ordinary cheap 1 a day multivitamin that only costs a couple of dollars. Same goes for skin, but you should be looking for collagen or silica.
Thanks for the explanation hun
I knew silica was good, but didn’t realize how good. It’s a shame it’s difficult to get from food though, but at least we can get it from supplements. I will dfinitely try it, I could really do with stronger nails and hair.