About Nail Care

Nails have long been considered as an object of beauty, especially the ones on a lady’s fingers. Long nice nails, well groomed and applied with a nail polish of the right color do add to the beauty quotient.

However, there is a lot more to a nail than just the beauty quotient. The small-in-size nails at the ends of your tender fingers and toes are an appendage just like your hair and teeth and help in protecting the fingers and toes and also contribute to improving your dexterity. These innocent looking parts of the body are vital parts which cannot be ignored at all.

Finger nails and toe nails are actually made of a tough protein called keratin and they need to be taken care of properly. Healthy and strong nails can be easily distinguished from unhealthy ones by a mere look at them – ridged, dented or with unusual colors or shape in parts. Healthy nails stand out by their looks – smooth, sans ridges and grooves, uniform in color and consistency and bereft of any spots or discoloration.

Nails unfortunately are also a source of spreading bacteria and could result in skin and nail related problems. Fungal infections can result from wetness under the nails. Akin to skin, nails can also dry out. They can break or peel, as a result of minor injuries. Nails get infected by wearing more than normal tight footwear or by wearing dirty and sweaty socks or by walking in an unclean environment without wearing any protection.

Hence, it is extremely important to make sure that ‘these little appendages’ called nails are looked after very well, apart from just cutting them off to the right length when they grow. But how or what more than that, you might ask? You don’t want to ‘nail’ the problem after it has arisen, right? We say, prevention is the best form of cure.

There are many precautions that you ought to be taking to make sure your nails remain strong and healthy. Like not using your nails to pry open anything; wearing rubber gloves when doing some gardening work; not soaking your hands in water for long, especially in water containing soap or some detergent; removing the dirt from underneath the nails regularly etc. etc. Along with the skin of your hands, the nails too are prone to suffering damage. These taking-care-tips help in ensuring that you do not damage the nails unwittingly.

True nail care goes a step beyond. After all, you do have to use your hands to several things at home and office, while being with the children or while doing some tasks. You know that these are unavoidable and you cannot wish away these tasks.

While manicures and pedicure procedures will help maintain nails in a cosmetic way by grooming, trimming and painting the nails, the best advice for nail care is self care.