Keep Your Nails Healthy and Strong

Today, it seems so easy for a woman to maintain her youth, beauty and charm and remain good looking regardless her age. Our industry offers hundreds of procedures for smoothing our wrinkles, lifting our breasts, cutting off our fat: a perfect appearance is guaranteed. However, a glance at a woman's hands may cross out the entire impression of her appearance. Make no mistake, your hands will be in the center of attention either way, you will not be able to hide them when you shake hands on a business meeting, sign a check, take dinner, make a toast, or hold hands with your loved one.

A woman's hands should be taken care of with great attention. Our nails are indicators of our health, that's why we all like clean, well-cared and healthy nails. Take a closer look at your fingernails and try to notice all the subtle variations in color or texture. Healthy nails are uniform in color and consistency, smooth, without ridges or grooves. Although nails should be free of spots and discolored areas, often white lines or spots may appear due to injury, but these eventually grow out with the nail. If your nails are weak and fragile, you should be careful and not subject them to various influences which negatively influence their health. Maybe your nails require a specific element necessary for their normal growth and health. Keep in mind that our lifestyle and our diet influence directly the health of our nails. If you really want to have strong healthy nails, it's just the right time to start repairing and regenerating them. "How?", you may ask. Read on to find some very useful information.

Nails consist of several thin layers of protein which are referred to as keratin. There are thin layers of fat and water between these layers of keratin. These layers are responsible for giving nails elasticity and shine. When we talk about nails, we usually refer to those sites of fingers of our hands which are immediately near the nail:

Nail plate - a firm brilliant surface, on the end of the finger, we usually also call it "nail".

Perionychium - part of the skin of the finger, located around the nail plate.

Nail pillow - the part of the finger located under the nail plate.

Cuticle - the gentle skin surrounding the nail plate in the place of its growth.

Lunula - area of the nail plate near the root, having the form of a half moon and a lighter shade.

Nails grow from under the cuticle, approximately 0.1-0.2 millimeters per day. When nails are healthy, a full regeneration of the nail (that is when the new nail completely replaces the old one) requires about 6 months. If nails are damaged, the process of regeneration gets slower and it can even absolutely stop. You should consider taking better care of your nails if you notice the following:

Weak, brittle nails - most likely, you lack calcium and vitamin A. In order to solve this, you can drink milk, and also add skim cottage cheese and broccoli in your diet. Another widespread reason of nails fragility is the use of irritating, not pH-neutral washing liquids (especially at washing dishes). Therefore, wear hand gloves whenever you are involved in any kind of housework.

Agnails - if agnails appear often, they indicate lack of vitamin C. Consider increasing the quantity of fiber in your diet. Never tear agnails with your fingers, instead use special nail scissors for their removal or special tweezers.

White lines - white lines or strips on the nail indicate lack of proteins.

Dryness - if nails seem too dry and dark, take vitamin B12. Also, make sure that the nail-polish remover doesn't contain acetone.

White points - if you notice white points on the surface of your nails, it may indicate zinc deficiency in your organism. Add boiled eggs in your diet, they are very rich in zinc.

Cracks - if cracks appear on your nails, it's a sign of lack of liquid in the organism, so consider drinking more water.

Fungus - if you observe change of color with a dark blue, green or yellow shade in your nail, it most probably indicates a fungal infection. Usually it's a consequence of keeping hands in water to much, or using artificial nails. If you still want to continue wearing artificial nail, make sure that before the next procedure you make a green-tea compress for your nails and treat them with eucalyptus oil. If the infection persists, please consult a doctor.

Grooves and ridges - these often indicate deficiency of vitamin B. If grooves are vertical, it's a sign of iron deficiency. Take vitamins to restore the balance of the necessary elements in your body.

Attention! There are several situations when nail conditions actually indicate an illness that requires attention. For example, white nails are associated with liver diseases, such as hepatitis; yellowish, thickened, slow-growing nails are associated with lung diseases, such as emphysema; yellowish nails with a slight blush at the base draw your attention on a developing diabetes; half-white, half-pink nails are associated with kidney disease; red nail beds are associated with heart disease; pale or white nail beds are due to anemia. Also, pitting or rippling of the nail surface is associated with psoriasis or inflammatory arthritis; irregular red lines at the base of the nail fold are usually associated with lupus or connective tissue disease, while dark lines beneath the nail may indicate upon melanoma. Never, under any circumstances, should you ignore these symptoms. In these cases, it's best to see a dermatologist, especially if the nails start to dislodge from the base or you experience pain.

In the end, when thinking about your nails, remember that first of all they are your nails, and nobody will ever be able to take care of your nails better than you! Make the effort to keep your nails strong and healthy and they will repay you by looking gorgeous and catching the eye!

Sources:
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/14-tips-for-strong-and-healthy-nails/article16138.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/67664-keep-nails/