How To Make Nails Grow Stronger

Sophia Tsibikaki

Why is it and then hard to grow and maintain gorgeous nails? I big reason: Nails aren't live; they're dead (if they were living tissue, they could repair themselves instead of making u.s.a. do it for them). If nails aren't alive, and then how do they grow? Really, they don't; new cells develop deep under your cuticles and push out the older, dead ones — forming those flat, hard surfaces we love to pamper and smoothen. Here's how to take yours looking great in no time.

Physician Dos & Don'ts

DON'T SHARE YOUR NAIL FILE

Resist the urge to allow anyone — even a relative — use your emery board. This tool is a porous germ-trapper. Keep yours to yourself, and supervene upon it oft.

DO Wear THE RIGHT SHOE SIZE

Are you lot cramming your feet into besides-pocket-size or as well-pointy shoes? If then, your toenails may grow into the surrounding skin — causing the dreaded ingrown nail, which can lead to pain, swelling, and infection. When nails are likewise long, tight shoes tin cause even more impairment, says Mitchel P. Goldman, Thousand.D., an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Diego. "If your toes hit the front end of your shoe, nails tin crack or turn blackness-and-bluish. Or nails may lift, which can lead to infection."

DO MOISTURIZE DAILY

Nails need to be hydrated, since virtually bug ingather up when they're parched. "Dry nails can cleft, peel, and become brittle. Plus, dehydrated cuticles not only expect ragged but also can turn into painful and infected hangnails," says Audrey Kunin, M.D., a Kansas City, Missouri, dermatologist. The best moisturizers are thick — even greasy. Try Elizabeth Arden Eight Hr Manus Cream.

DON'T GO BAREFOOT

Keep your shoes on while at public places (swimming pools, locker rooms, shoe stores) — if you don't, nosotros won't be responsible for your toenail health. Why worry? "Warm, damp environments are a breeding ground for fungi and viruses," explains Phoebe Rich, M.D., a nail disorders skillful and a clinical associate professor of dermatology at Oregon Health & Scientific discipline University in Portland. Tip: If hose isn't offered when you're shoe shopping, ask for information technology.

TLC to Help Nails Grow

"Everyone has an private rate at which her nails increase in length, and that can't be changed," says Paul Kechijian, M.D., a blast specialist and a one-time clinical acquaintance professor of dermatology at New York University. On boilerplate, nails gain about 1 8th of an inch per month. Their growth can be influenced by hormones (which is why pregnant women's nails abound similar crazy) and temperature (more than growth in summer than in winter). While most experts agree that there'due south no unmarried nutrient or pill that will speed nail growth, it'southward well-known that poor nutrition, infections, and crumbling tin all slow information technology. "To proceed nails healthy, hydrate them and minimize the use of harsh chemicals and tools," says Marsha Gordon, M.D., associate clinical professor of dermatology and vice chairman of the dermatology department at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Help prevent breakage with a hardener like OPI Nail Envy.

Valua Vitaly/iStock

The Facts About Fungus

These infections can settle in without your fifty-fifty realizing it. To be on the safe side, says Dr. Rich of Oregon Health & Science University, you should periodically remove any polish and audit your fingers and toes. "Fungus is contagious and can spread from ane nail to another — and even from nails to skin," she explains. "These infections aren't dangerous, only they can exist painful and cruddy." What to know:

Causes

Humid places are fungus favorites, which helps explain why sweaty shoes and socks make toes more susceptible than fingers. Fungal nail infections account for near l per centum of all boom disorders, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Untreated athlete's human foot and smash injuries can besides brand you prone to infection.

Warning Signs

Your nail is thickening, yellowing, crumbling, or lifting from its bed (as if information technology's most to autumn off).

Treatments

The bad news: "Since the infection occurs under the nail plate or in the nail bed, successful handling volition take several months or more," says Dr. Rich, who suggests trying prescription oral medication (like Lamisil). For new or mild cases, a topical medication may assistance.

Prevention

Wash and dry your feet thoroughly. Go along your shoes on in public places. If your feet sweat a lot, alter your socks oftentimes.

The Aging Nail

"As you lot get older, nails grow more than slowly, become more than brittle, and tin can as well develop vertical ridges," says Dr. Gordon of Mount Sinai Schoolhouse of Medicine. 1 production that helps: Sally Hansen Age Right Strength Handling, left, which reduces breakage by fortifying the nail; information technology also fills in the ridges, making them less obvious. Buffing can also smooth the surface, but be gentle so you don't thin the nail and leave it even weaker.

Your Top Nail Questions

Q: Tin can I prevent peeling, breaking and splitting?

A: Exposure to water is about often the culprit here — surprisingly, the more you soak, the drier the blast becomes, weakening over time. Detergents in soaps, household cleansers, and some nail polish removers tin can also accept adverse effects. Prevent farther damage by wearing safe gloves during chores (see page 70 for winners of a GH Constitute glove examination). After manus-washing, apply a rich moisturizer to nails to replace the natural oils that water washes away. Using a polish (even clear) or a cuticle oil (like Creative Nail Design SolarOil) will provide a protective shield.

Q: What's the best fashion to manicure my nails?

A: File in one direction only — sawing back and forth can crusade splitting. Nails are strongest when you shape them into an oval, says Dr. Kunin of Kansas Metropolis. The pointier you make them, the likelier they are to pause.

Q: What exercise those tiny white marks mean?

A: Information technology'due south a myth that these flecks indicate a vitamin deficiency. More probable, they're the result of a minor injury and volition disappear every bit the nail grows. Only scout out for dark marks. If you lot recently hurt your hand (say, in a motorcar door), don't worry. But if not, and yous see a blackness, brown, or purple band on your nail, information technology could be a sign of skin cancer. Come across a doctor right abroad.

Michele Bender Michele Bough also writes for Self and Fitness and lives in New York.