Nail Problems

There is nothing worse than taking off a fun coat of polish and realizing that you now have yellow fingernails. Your formerly pink and white nails are now yellowed and possibly even cracked thanks to your fingernail polish. But yellow nails are just one of the many problems girls face with their hands. Trying to keep your hands at least presentable can be a challenge if you’re faced with nails that break, chip or refuse to grow. And if you bite your nails, you already know what a mess that can make.

A Bad Paint Job

Painting your nails with a red based paint is fun. You look flashy and sexy or just frivolous and free depending on how you handled the paint. But if you’re removing the paint to find those tell-tale yellow spots, you’re not handling the paint job correctly. When you paint your nails, you need to apply a few layers of polish. The first layer is a protective coating – a base coat. A liberal dose of base coat not only smoothes your nail to prepare for the next coat of polish, but it adds a layer of protection to your nail before you apply the actual polish.

The next step is to polish your nail. Use two careful coats of thin polish. Let them dry for a bit and then apply the final top coat. Allow it to dry completely. Leave the polish on for only a week or two before removing it. Allow your nails time to “breathe” between polish jobs, to keep them healthy.

Chipped, Cracked and Broken Nails

Some nails grow long and luxurious without much help. Others seem destined for problems. Working with fragile fingernails can be tricky. One solution is to simply cover them with acrylic nails. Wearing these false nails will look sharp, but can cause additional harm to your fingernails over time. You can help strengthen your fingernails using special sorts of polishes designed to protect the nails. Apply it once every day or two and you’ll be working from the outside to build healthy nails. A diet rich in calcium will help to build your nails from the inside.

Biting Fingernails

If you’re a biter, you already know you need to get the habit under control. There are plenty of tricks people try to stop biting their fingernails. One of the most effective is to brush on a foul tasting (but harmless) special polish. This way, when you put your finger in your mouth, you get a rather nasty surprise taste. If nothing else, it reminds you to pull those fingers out of your mouth immediately.

Other solutions to biting fingernails can include simple fixes such as wearing surgical gloves for a few days, or preferably cotton gloves to let your hands breathe. The gloves will certainly wake you up to what you’re putting in your mouth. Another option is to put something else in your mouth instead. Make it your personal mission for three days to constantly chew gun or chew small coffee straws. Biting fingernails is a fixation and habit – you’re not doing it for taste or flavor. If you have something else you can nibble on, you’re less likely to chew on your nails solving the problem once and for all.