Some tips for strengthening weak and brittle nails are using a strengthening base, protecting your hands daily with gloves during household chores, using moisturizing cream and maintaining a healthy diet, including foods that are rich in iron, vitamin A and B complex vitamins.
Nails can become weak and brittle due to factors such as biting your nails, using chemicals that cause drying, such as detergent and acetone or a lack of some vitamins in your diet. Check out the main causes of weak nails.
Weak nails can be treated with daily care, but results may take some time to achieve. In some cases, it may be necessary to consult a dermatologist so that the cause of nail weakening can be identified and the best treatment can be indicated.
Some tips to strengthen weak and brittle nails are:
1. Use moisturizing cream
Applying a good moisturizing cream to your hands and nails helps hydrate and strengthen your nails, leaving them stronger and more beautiful. Furthermore, some specific creams also help in the treatment of weak and brittle nails, and can be found in pharmacies and beauty supply stores.
Homemade moisturizing cream recipe
This moisturizing cream is a homemade recipe that helps strengthen your nails, hands and cuticles.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of jojoba oil;
- 1 tablespoon of cocoa butter;
- 1 tablespoon of beeswax shavings;
- 10 drops of sandalwood essential oil;
- 5 drops of lemon essential oil.
Preparation mode:
In a small pan, add the jojoba oil, cocoa butter and beeswax, place over low heat and let it melt. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool. Add the essential oils, mix and let cool well. Place the mixture in a container and cover. You can apply this butter daily in the morning and at night before going to bed.
2. Use nail strengthening base
To treat weak and brittle nails, there are some strengthening bases that help nourish and strengthen your nails. These products should be applied daily to clean, nail polish-free nails. It is recommended to give preference to products that contain vitamin B5, minerals and calcium that help to strengthen and protect the nail.
Some bases contain cloves in their composition, which is interesting for those who have a habit of biting their nails. This is because when you bite your nails, you feel a very strong smell or a bitter taste in your mouth, reducing the habit of biting your nails and strengthening them.
3. Use acetone-free nail polish remover
Using nail polish remover without acetone is an important care to strengthen your nails, as acetone is a chemical product that dries out your nails, being aggressive for weakened nails.
4. Protect your hands with gloves
It is important to protect your hands with rubber, latex, plastic or silicone gloves whenever you have to spend a lot of time in contact with cleaning products, as these products can make your nails more fragile and brittle, and can also cause allergies to your hands.
5. Maintain a balanced diet
Maintaining a balanced diet, including foods such as gelatin, milk, eggs, kale, wheat germ, spinach or liver, can help strengthen your nails, making them more beautiful and less brittle.
This is because these foods are rich in nutrients that are important for nail health and that may be lacking in the body, such as vitamin A, vitamin B5, iron, calcium and keratin.
6. Avoid biting your nails
To strengthen your nails, it is important to avoid constantly biting them, as this can cause microtrauma that makes them more fragile, making them easier to break and increasing the risk of fungal or bacterial infections.
Some tips to avoid biting your nails include keeping your nails well cut and filed, using a special nail polish and, when necessary, consulting a psychologist. Check out all the tips to stop biting your nails.
7. Take supplements
Taking supplements, such as biotin, helps to strengthen your nails, as this vitamin promotes the production of keratin, a protein present in nails, helping and stimulating nail growth. The Pantogar supplement contains cystine, calcium, keratin and B complex vitamins, nutrients that strengthen and stimulate nail growth.
These supplements are sold in pharmacies or drugstores and should be used as recommended by a dermatologist or nutritionist.
8. Avoid prolonged use of gel nails
A simple tip to strengthen your nails is to avoid prolonged use of gel nails. This is because gel nails can dehydrate and dry out your nails, leaving them weaker, sensitive and brittle.
Furthermore, removing gel nails, when done using a spatula, acetone or sandpaper, can also damage the nails, leaving them thinner and weakened.
