#HealthBytes: Essential tips for an effective nail care routine
Nail care is usually not high on a person's self-care routine checklist, but that doesn't make it unimportant. In fact, if you take care of them properly on a daily basis, it may reduce your frequent trips to salons for a manicure. For ensuring healthy and stronger nails from the comfort of your home, here are some essential nail care tips.
Clean your nails and the skin around them regularly
Rule number one of every nail care routine should be regular cleaning. To ensure that germs and bacteria have no scope to breed, wash your nails regularly, and dry them afterward. Make sure that the skin around the nails is clean and dirt-free too. But remember, nails soaked in water for a long time may lead to splits, so don't overdo it.
Don't scrub or dig under your nails roughly
No matter how good it may look, don't scrub your nails roughly as it may further increase the risk of infections. Also, beware of the sharp tools used for cleaning the area under your nails. Too much digging through these can cause the nail plate to separate from the skin, which increases the risk of fungal infections and an irregular white nail tip.
Moisturize your nails while applying hand lotion
Just like our skin and hair, the nails also require some levels of hydration. Although this step is often overlooked, moisturize your nails regularly. In fact, brittle and dry nails can be easily avoided with this. All you have to do is to give your nails some extra attention while applying hand lotion. Make sure that you moisturize the cuticles as well.
Trim your nails once in every 2-3 weeks
Regular trimming is perhaps the most necessary step of nail care. By regular, we don't mean daily. You can do it every two-three weeks. This will ensure that your nails don't go beyond a length that can make them more prone to damage and breakage. You don't have to keep them too short either. Just a normal level is fine.
