- Beautiful nails and hands - what is important?
- Filing fingernails correctly
- The different nail shapes
- Hand bath: Because it makes you beautiful and protects
- Hand bath with buttermilk
- Exfoliation: For a new finger feeling
- Removing cuticles
- Cream: It works best as an intensive treatment ...
- Nail care in winter
- A restorative treatment gives strength to stressed nails
- Spots, grooves, dents: A case for the doctor?
- Home remedies for well-groomed nails
- Tea bags against broken fingernails
- On trend: naturally beautiful nails
- Bye-bye, gel nails: how to keep them healthy
Did you know that fingernails are one of the most common problem areas for German women? It's true, right after love handles and orange peel skin. So it's high time for the best fingernail care tips!
If you want beautiful hands, you should look after your fingernails properly, from regular hand baths to intensive care creams and proper filing. However, you don't need to invest in expensive care products, home remedies such as camomile, sugar or olive oil are also tried and tested. You should get into the habit of a certain care routine, because beautiful hands are the epitome of well-groomed hands. After all, our fingers and hands are always visible: whether at the supermarket checkout, at the bank counter, at meetings with friends or colleagues - if you don't have well-groomed hands, you can be sure that the other person will take note of this with a sniff. Worse still, unkempt hands leave the impression that you don't attach much importance to tidiness in other areas either - and this applies to all areas of life. Well-groomed and beautiful fingernails and hands are therefore our calling card.
What is important for beautiful nails and hands?
1. when you show off your hands, they should be perceived as clean and well-groomed. It should not be a problem to want to shake your hand.
2. the nails should all be the same length.
3. there should be no dirt under the fingernails.
4. if you paint your fingernails, the work should be clean. Whether you prefer a strong red or a soft nude depends on your mood, the occasion or your job.
5. cuticles should always be neatly removed.
Read the following tips to find out which care program is best for pampering your hands and nails.
File your fingernails properly
To shorten and shape your nails, always file in one direction only. This protects the individual keratin layers and prevents them from breaking. Finally, pull the file over the edge of the nail from top to bottom to seal it. If you want to do without nail polish but still have beautifully shiny nails, you can polish your fingernails. Special polishing files from the drugstore are suitable for this. These usually have several surfaces with different grain sizes so that unsightly ridges can be filed down first and the fingernails become more even. Then use the finest file to polish the surface of the nail to a shiny finish.
But be careful not to polish too often: The nails can become too thin and sensitive in the long term.
The different nail shapes
The shape you file your nails into and how long they should be is of course a matter of taste. However, the most popular nail shapes are straight, almond-shaped and round. Find out what the shape of your fingernails reveals about your personality here.
Hand bath with milk: because it makes you beautiful and protects you
A hand bath protects your hands from drying out, your nails from splitting and makes your skin soft to the touch! Simply heat 1 liter of milk (3.5% fat) in a pan, add 5 tablespoons of olive oil to a bowl and soak your hands in it for 10 minutes. The hand bath not only protects the nails, of course, but also gives dry hands an extra portion of care, which is also good for them in winter.
Hand bath with buttermilk
Buttermilk is also perfect for a nourishing hand bath. Take 500 ml of buttermilk, add 3 tablespoons of olive or wheat germ oil and warm the mixture slightly. The heat allows the buttermilk and oil to mix together better. It is best to whisk everything well with a whisk and soak your hands in the pot or in a separate bowl for 5 to 10 minutes. Then dry your hands and apply cream.
Exfoliation: For a new finger feeling
In addition to the care and styling program, professionals also recommend regular nail exfoliation, which you can easily do yourself. To do this, you need these nourishing ingredients: Mix 1 teaspoon of honey with a little sugar and rub onto the nails in a circular motion using a toothbrush. Then rinse off and massage in some olive oil. Effect: It smoothes the surface and evens out small grooves, prevents brittle and therefore splintering nails and at the same time ensures particularly soft cuticles.
Remove cuticles
If you want to look after your fingernails, there is no getting around cuticle removal. Nibbling is of course a no-go, as is cutting - you can seriously damage the nail bed with nail scissors. Special cuticle nippers (similar to eyelash curlers), rosewood sticks or pushers with a silicone coating are well suited. Suitable tools can be found in a good nail case. Then apply a little nail oil!
Cream: It works best as an intensive treatment...
... and not only keeps your hands supple, but also your nails and cuticles. So apply a thick layer of cream once a week in the evening, put on cotton gloves and leave on overnight if possible. Massage in the rest in the morning.
Nail care in winter
There are many factors that affect fingernails, especially in winter: Their growth slows down, the cold outside and dry heating air inside also make them brittle quickly. Simply greasing them? Unfortunately, that's of little use. The fat content of the nails is quite low, as is the repair effect. The surrounding skin also needs to be cared for. If it is not intact, harmful bacteria or fungi can easily penetrate and infect the nail bed.
A restorative treatment gives stressed nails strength
To give your nails a rosy glow again soon, a restorative treatment can be useful. Special polishes with silicic acid and sulphur give stressed nails the nutrients they lack and thus restore strength and elasticity. However, if the skin around the nail has suffered, a little more effort is required. In addition to accurate care, nail oil keeps them beautifully supple.
Spots, grooves, dents: A case for the doctor?
- Longitudinal grooves? Often genetic. But a lack of minerals and trace elements can also be the reason.
- Transverse grooves? Caused by flu, medication or injury to the nail root.
- Brittle nails? Usually caused by incorrect filing, lack of vitamin A, calcium or iron and harsh cleaning agents.
- Soft nails? There may be a problem with the thyroid gland or a lack of vital substances. Ask your doctor.
- Yellowish discoloration and funnel-shaped mini dimples ("spotted nails") are not uncommon in psoriasis, for example.
- Strongly outwardly bulging "watch glass nails" plus drumstick-like widened fingertips can occur with lung or heart problems.
Home remedies for well-groomed nails
Of course, you can also spend a lot of money on nail care at home. However, good old home remedies will also do the trick.
Lemon juice: Citric acid is not only used in the home. The little yellow fruits can also be very useful for nail care. Lemon juice can be used to remove unsightly discoloration, for example from smoking.
Baking soda: A bath of water with a little baking soda also helps against discolored nails.
Rhizine oil: Rhizine oil can help with brittle nails. Simply massage the nail bed regularly with the oil to make them permanently stronger. More tips for brittle nails >>>
Olive oil: A bath in olive oil makes hands and nails supple and beautiful. To do this, warm the oil slightly and massage your hands and nails with it.
Tea bags against broken fingernails
It's hard to believe, but it's true: heyrevelist.com showed how you can repair a broken fingernail with a tea bag and triggered a real storm of enthusiasm. To do this you need:
1. a tea bag (unused)
2. scissors
3. clear nail polish
4. colored nail polish
And this is how the beauty hack works:
1. cut open the tea bag, dispose of the contents and cut out a rectangle the size of your fingernail from the fabric.
2. apply a coat of clear varnish over the area to be repaired and immediately place the rectangle on top. Leave to dry and apply another coat of clear varnish over the teabag. Leave to dry again.
3. now adjust the teabag with a nail file. Finally, fix it with colored polish - so that nothing of the repair is visible afterwards!
On trend: naturally beautiful nails
The trend is towards naturalness. This not only applies to our face(more and more stars are proving it), but also to our nails. Gaudy nail art is passé, naturally beautiful nails are in!
Here's how it works: Shorten your nails, then shape them with a glass file - this is the gentlest way - and seal them. In the next step, carefully push back the cuticle with a rosewood stick. Please do not cut it off, as this could inflame the nail bed. A polishing file conjures up a great shine without polish and also smoothes out any ridges and unevenness. A little oil with active ingredients such as vitamin E moisturizes and prevents tearing. If you still don't want to do without nail polish completely, go for a delicate rosé shade or - now brand new - a highlighter for the nails. This is usually a light pink pigmented, transparent polish with fine shiny particles. A hand cream at the end nourishes the skin and makes the hands look well-groomed. Products with highly effective anti-ageing ingredients already known from facial care, such as plumping hyaluronic acid, score highly here.
Bye-bye, gel nails: how to keep them healthy
Anyone who has ever had acrylic or gel nails removed knows that the nail plate is extremely thin and sensitive afterwards. Now it's time to strengthen and repair them. Restorative polishes with keratin or silicic acid, care with minerals and vitamins as well as nail hardeners with diamond dust and titanium have proven their worth. Important: Be patient and keep at it. It can take up to three months for natural nails to recover.
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