If you’ve been wearing nail polish, acrylic nails, gel manicures, and the like regularly, you’ve probably noticed some changes in your nails’ condition. Sometimes, constant application of nail polish, especially without using any base coat, can cause discoloration on your nails and even make them brittle too. With that being said, it is only right that you take time in caring for your nails so that they will become stronger and healthier once more.
Fortunately, bringing back the natural health fo your nails is possible with some detoxifying treatments. Here are some examples to get you started.
Nail moisturizer.
Dry brittle nails can be bothersome especially when they keep on cracking and peeling often. Fortunately, this problem can be resolved by increasing moisture to your nails. For this treatment, you will need 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, warm water, coconut oil, and a lemon, cut into wedges. The combination of ingredients works as scrub, whitener, and moisturizer all at the same time. Mix the ingredients first with the exception of coconut oil and apply on your hands and nails. Massage gently to remove dead skin. Rinse hands then apply coconut oil.
Remove nail polish.
If you want to do a nail detox, you will need to make sure that you remove any nail polish that you are wearing. However, skip the acetone-based nail polish removers as they can dehydrate your nails further.
Nail maintenance.
Another way to detox your nails is to do a regular maintenance using the soak method. Soaking your nails in a natural solution can improve their condition drastically. In this maintenance recipe, you will need 1/3 cup of jojoba oil, ½ cup of liquified coconut oil, 1 to 5 drops of lavender essential oil, and a tablespoon of organic honey. Mix all these ingredients in a bowl and then soak your nails in it for a few minutes. What makes this recipe worth trying out is that each of its ingredients has a purpose. There is the jojoba oil which can hydrate dry nails fairly quickly. Honey is a known moisturizer and can also speed up healing. The coconut oil, on the other hand, can moisturize and strengthen nails, while the lavender helps soothe and whiten nails.
Cuticle care.
Most of us forget to pay attention to our cuticles when doing our nails which is why we often end up with poor nail health. For one thing, cuticles protect our nails from bacteria but when they become dry or when we cut them, we expose our nails to various health issues such as nail fungus. The best thing for you to do is to apply cuticle oil first to help strengthen your cuticles then, once the oil has been absorbed, apply moisturizer to seal everything in. You can wear gloves to prevent the oil and moisturizer from being wiped off as you will need to leave it on overnight.
Nail hydration.
Another detox solution that you can try is the nail hydration recipe which your nails definitely need. For this recipe, you will need a teaspoon each of vitamin E oil, coconut oil, and castor oil, plus 1 ½ teaspoon of tea tree oil. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and soak your hands in it for 10 minutes. The ingredients included are known to increase hydration not just for the nails but the hands as well. Massage the oils afterwards to help lock in the moisture.
You can try these detox challenges for your nails to see which one works best for your needs. Remember that your nails need to have a break in between nail polish application to heal themselves.
