Nail care procedure isn’t just about making your nails look nice. It’s about maintaining healthy nails to prevent infections that can cause problems. Read on to learn more.
Nail care procedure do’s and don’ts
Keep our hands clean
It is surprising how many people don’t wash their hands regularly. Only 19%, or one in five people globally wash their hands with soap after defecating.
We use our hands to interact with our environment. Following this, a lot of dirt, grime, and bacteria stick to not only our hands but also our nails. While most of that dirt can be washed off easily enough, a lot of the bacteria and dirt can get trapped under our nails and require more attention to get rid of.
Make sure to take care of this dirt to make sure that your fingernails don’t become hotbeds for bacterial or fungal infection. Wearing gloves when working jobs that require you to touch dirty things regularly is another great way of keeping your hands and nails clean and protected.
Toe nail care procedure: Wash your feet at least once a day
Many people overlook taking care of their feet, or even washing them. There is a lot of dirt and sweat that builds up in the feet. Not washing our feet at least once a day may lead to bacterial and fungal infections.
Keep your cuticles healthy
A lot of people don’t like how cuticles look and so have them removed in salons during their nail care procedures. However, our cuticles are like tiny shields that protect the nail bed. Pushing them back too much or completely removing them every time can compromise your nail bed and may expose it to bacteria and other germs. Good nail care procedure includes taking care of your cuticles.
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Don’t split or crack the nails
There are a lot of ways that you can potentially crack your nails. But a cracked nail can leave openings for bacteria and other germs to slip through. There are a few things you can do to prevent cracking.
- Moisturize. Moisturizing isn’t just for the skin. Keeping the fingers and nails moisturized is also very important because this can keep your nails and the skin around your nails adequately hydrated and therefore more resistant to cracking.
- Keep nails dry. Avoid soaking your hands in water for too long because this can actually cause nails to split or crack. Keeping your nails not too dry and not too wet is the key. This is because when nails are soaked in water for long periods of time they expand, and when they dry up, they shrink again. Having this expanding and shrinking process repeated too frequently can lead to the nail splitting because of the constant warping.
- Proper filing. Typically, people will grind the nail file back and forth on their nails. However, there is a technique to avoid damaging the nails. Part of good nail care procedure is filing in one direction only. Although slower, this will prevent too much agitation to your nail bed. A back and forth motion will agitate the nail bed too much and may cause tearing, which may possibly lead to an infection.
Part of good nail care procedure is staying healthy
Since nails are a reflection of our overall health, staying healthy, and eating a balanced diet with ample vitamins and nutrients is important. Minerals and vitamins, specifically vitamin B, are vital to keeping nails strong and healthy.
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Protect your hands
Avoid too much contact with harsh chemicals like muriatic acid and bleach that are common in strong cleaners. This is important especially if your occupation or hobbies expose you to these chemicals. Avoiding them completely is preferred but wearing thick gloves is recommended if unavoidable.
Key Takeaway
Nail care is a very simple and important part of our hygiene and routine. Good nail care procedure is important to keep nails both good-looking, and healthy.
Learn more about Nail Care here.
