Common Nail Problems and Ways to Solve Them!

For Fingernails Prone to Ridges

When your fingernails develop horizontal ridges, it’s important to address the underlying problems. However, you can also carefully, cautiously take a nail buffer to your nails in order to take the edge off (no pun intended). You should never create enough friction in your buffing to make your nails feel hot—this will damage even the healthiest of nails. Every now and then, be aware that nail ridges can tear and split. What is best in this situation is to come see us and let one of our experts determine what the options are for your needs.

For Nails That Are Dry and Raggedy

Let’s face it: cuticle care can be difficult, intimidating, and even painful if we don’t know what we are doing. You should put the orange stick away now. Let us help you by doing the necessary maintenance of your cuticles for your and recommending a personalized home treatment plan for in between your visits. One pretty good at home trick to try is to get a good cuticle oil and keep it handy—again with those puns…

For Nail Biters

We cannot stress enough how bad a habit this is, and not just for the appearance of your nails. You touch a lot of things in your day to day life, and no matter how much hand washing you do, you are always going to have bacteria and other gunk on your hands, and it loves to accumulate under your nails. That’s why nail biting is such an unhygienic practice. It also leaves the very real damage of broken skin, which can lead to infections and fungi and more terrible things no one wants to deal with. Let us know if you are a nail biter when you come to visit so that we can be extra careful in your treatment. There are many options for how to quit, and keeping a good attitude and the desire to put an end to your habit is at the top of the list.

For Dry Nails That Do a Lot of Peeling

One key practice is to keep at it: Your fingernails are not going to improve overnight. Dry nails and peeling nails especially take time to heal and get better. This can take weeks or months but is so worth it in the end. Keep your rubber gloves on when cleaning—nail soaks are actually bad for dry nails because your natural oils are sapped away by the water. Keeping your nail beds nourished and oiled is particularly helpful. Ask your doctor about taking a multivitamin to improve the health of your nails and your body overall. It’s best to leave your nails naked during the healing process, but if you must use nail polish, use ones specifically made for damaged, dry, and peeling nails, and never, ever used acetone-based nail polish remover. It can also be helpful to sometimes pick a good nourishing topcoat to prevent peeling and brittleness. Your regular polish topcoat will not do the trick, but we have many options and recommendations available for you to choose from. Ask one of our top-notch technicians about the top coat of your nails’ dreams when you stop by for your next visit.

Preventing Fingernail Breakage

At the risk of sounding repetitive, we have to say again that nourishing your nail beds is the best solution for this problem, as well. Regular nail maintenance is also key. We are here to help you learn the best techniques to use in between your nail salon appointments so that you do not snag a nail and wind up breaking it. Careful practices in filing and buffing your nails can go a long way to stop breakage of fingernails. That cuticle oil we mentioned earlier will also help. Healthy cuticles are essential to keeping your fingernails strong and healthy, as well. One mistake to avoid is using too many nail hardening treatments for too long. This is where we also come in handy—we can help you choose a good course of treatment that you can upkeep at home, and advise you on how long this treatment should last. A good rule of thumb (we will stop with the puns soon, we promise) is that this type of treatment should last no longer than a month, but some treatments may last up to two months to see the best results. Overusing nail hardening products can lead to brittle nails which break easily, the very problem you were trying to avoid!