[Lacey Ra]

I was looking up some things on how to keep my long nails healthy and strong and cam across this post from Yahoo Answers, so I decided to post it here just incase anyone else needed the tips as well

I'm going to do the lemon juice one now and then the milk one tomorrow morning


Here are some tips:

1. Soak your nails in warm milk. It strengthens and whitens nails, and makes them grow faster.

2. DO NOT cut your cuticles. I did once and my nails grew soooo slow. But do push cuticles back with a q-tip, it helps nails grow.

3. Always coat your nails with some nails hardener or clear polish. This really makes nails strong, and strong nails=long nails!

4. When your nails start to grow longer, use a nail file or emery board to keep your nails in shape so they won't break. Never file down the sides of nails, as it can lead to infection and seriously weaken your nails. And never file back and forth, in a seesaw motion, as it can cause the nail layers to split. So always file in one direction only, at a 45 degree angle under the nail. Make sure your nails are dry, and then gently smooth away any rough edges and file them into a nice even shape.

5. Once a week, soak your bare nails in a bowl of olive oil for 10 minutes. Then wipe away excess oil with a cotton ball.

6. Never use nails as a tool. Find the right tool for the job rather than risk having to grow your nails from scratch.

7. When washing dishes always wear latex gloves, as soaking your hands in water weakens nails.

8. Remember to eat 2 portions of protein a day. Nails are basically made of protein, so make sure you eat a lot of it! Calcium, minerals, and vegetables/fruits are all also very essential in your diet in order to grow healthy nails. Meat, fish, dairy, soy, and beans will all help your nails to grow strong and healthy.

9. Weekly manicures really make your nails stronger and grow faster. You can go to the salon or do it at home. Here are some directions:

~ Soak your nails in some warm water for five minutes. Pat dry.
~ Exfoliate hands by rubbing a mixture of salt, soap, and olive oil all over your hands. Rinse well. Pat dry.
~ Rub some cuticle cream into cuticles and push them back with an orangewood stick.
~ File your nails in one direction using an emery board.
~ Clean under the nails with the end of an orangewood stick.
~ Buff your nails with a shiner.
~ Smooth on some Aloe Vera cream.
~ Coat nails with a layer of base coat, 2 layers of colored polish, and a layer of top coat.

10. Never bite nails. It weakens them and that causes nails to break! Plus, gnarled nails are unattractive and definitely a sorry sign.

And yes, Palmolive soap does help, its great for the cuticles! Also, lemon juice is great for the nails! It whitens, shines, and strengthens nails and gives them a natural glow!

Hope this all helps! Good luck in getting long, strong, and elegant nails!

Feel free to add any other tips you guys know about

[Babakins]

Great tips Emily! I find my nails grow very fast and have always been rock hard. They are currently 1 cm long. I put this down to the following:

1. I never file them, just cut them straight across and snip any sharp corners.
2. I take MSM daily - they have grown like buggery ever since doing this.
3. I take biotin supplement daily - this has helped straighten out any irregularities in the nail bed.
4. I eat LOTS of jelly - the doctor prescribed gelatine in my diet several years ago for reducing brittle nails - it works so I make a tub of jelly every few days and have it for dessert each day.
5. I use whitening toothpaste to clean them with a toothbrush.
6. I massage the hands, nail and cuticle with vitamin e oil and get the circulation going to the nail bed.

[JustintoMe]

Glass nail files also prevent splitting and breaking.

[Lacey Ra]

Great tips! Thanks ladies!

[Anon]

Guys, keep in mind that clear polish chips too. Reapply every other day for a week then remove and start all over.

[EricaB]

Thanks from a person with the saddest, most easily broken nails in the world. These sound like wonderful tips.

I heard about taking silica supplements and will be buying some soon, although I have no idea how much to take so I'll start with one 500 mg pill a day.

My dermatologist suggested 1,200 mcg of Biotin daily. I started with 2,000 mcg (the pills are 1,000 each) and a few years ago upped that to 4,000 mcg of Biotin daily (plus whatever is in my multivitamin) with no change to either the brittleness or the ridges or the splitting. I never considered MSM as both my mom and my sister said they got headaches from taking it and I have enough headaches in my life right now.

I love glass nail files and have completely stopped cutting my nails in favor of just filing them to the desired length. Maybe some day I'll actually reach my desired length. For now what I'm really doing is shaping and removing nicks and chips.

I wish I could find those metal "nail guards" (not sure if that's what they're called) that ancient oriental rulers would wear over their nails as extremely long nails signified that they were rich and did no manual work which might damage their nails. So what if I looked like Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street?

Babakins, a question about the gelatin. You said you eat LOTS of it each day. By lots do you mean a tablespoon, a half cup, a cup, hopefully not a quart. I assume you mean the standard cooking gelatine you can buy in the market. Thanks

[julie87]

Great tips, thank you! I will be trying these out!

[AquaA]

Any tip on how to stop biting your nails?
I tried everything and it doesn't work. I stopped once before when I was dating this guy and wanted to look perfect for him all the time so I just easily stopped for 5 months and had very long beautiful nails but the minute one broke I went back to biting them all and haven't been able to stop since. It doesn't help that they're super breakable so it just adds to the appeal of biting them

[PetiteFille]

Any tip on how to stop biting your nails?
I tried everything and it doesn't work. I stopped once before when I was dating this guy and wanted to look perfect for him all the time so I just easily stopped for 5 months and had very long beautiful nails but the minute one broke I went back to biting them all and haven't been able to stop since. It doesn't help that they're super breakable so it just adds to the appeal of biting them

color them with gray dirt inside and each time you'll feel like biting them, you'll be like 'eww grey dirt ' lol

[Larkspur]

Thank you!! I did not expect to find these tips here, but I'm so happy to see them! I have really brittle, thin nails--I haven't tried too much to "fix" them, but will be trying some of these. They sound fun (I have a weird idea of fun...).