You've probably heard that gel polish spoils your nails and after wearing artificial coating for a long time, your nails need rest and recovery.
Is it really? If this is true, then how to restore the nail plate? And if it’s a myth, then why do some girls’ nails become thin and brittle after gel polish? Well, let's find out.
Reasons for brittle nails after gel polish
In principle, any varnish leads to the destruction of the nail. And modern and fashionable gel polish lasts on the nails for 3-4 weeks, so the nails under it become brittle and fragile. Inflammation and peeling of the skin around the nail and unpleasant grooves on the nail itself appear. All sorts of infections develop under a layer of varnish, and if the instruments are handled incorrectly, fungus may appear.
Brittleness can also be caused by prolonged treatment of nails with nail polish remover, allergic reactions, self-removal of the coating, resulting microtrauma, or the natural thinness of the nails.
Low-quality cheap materials also do not improve nail health. And no salon or store can give a guarantee on the varnishes and other care products used.
Therefore, procedures and materials that can be used to restore nails after gel polish are becoming quite popular among fashionistas.
Filed nails to minimum length
After removing the gel polish, your nails will be very thin: along with the material, the master also files off the layer of the nail plate on which the gel polish was held. Therefore, the best option after removing gel polish is to file your nails down to the root. This way you will reduce the likelihood of nail breakage and mechanical damage.
Changing your diet
One of the options for quickly restoring nails after gel polish is changing your diet. Healthy food will help saturate the body in general and nails in particular with useful substances and vitamins.
The most beneficial foods will be those containing large amounts of protein, calcium, and zinc. Lean meat, beans, dairy and seafood, eggs, nuts, and herbs will be especially attractive for nails.
Fresh fruits and vegetables will not only help restore the composition of your nails and skin, but will also continue to be a tasty treat.
Use cuticle oil
Household chemicals, hard water, cold, frequent hand washing and other habits and external factors can cause the cuticle to become rough and dry.
During the process of hardware manicure, masters remove the cuticle with special cutters, which also affect the condition of the cuticle. Therefore, it is important to properly care not only for your nails, but also for the skin around them. Cuticle oil contains many vitamins and fatty acids. They nourish the skin and protect it from bacteria. Apply cuticle oil periodically to protect your nails from brittleness, cracking and accelerate the growth of the nail plate.
Nail trimming
If chips and cracks have become a common occurrence, you can try to correct the problem by simply trimming your nails, leaving a free edge no longer than a few millimeters. Such a simple solution will help you avoid wasting energy and vitamins on restoring the damaged surface and will stop the delamination of the plate.
Cut off extra millimeters, and sometimes centimeters, in a straight line. A glass nail file will help you file your nails, giving them a slightly rounded shape.
Baths for nail restoration
If the damage to your nails is not particularly severe, you can use homemade restorative nail baths after gel polish.
Oil baths are considered an excellent remedy. The basis for such a pleasant and useful procedure can be olive oil, which must be heated in a water bath to a comfortable temperature. Nails are immersed in heated oil and kept there for five to ten minutes.
To get additional pleasant sensations, you can first create a relaxing environment for yourself: turn off the bright lights, turn on relaxing music. This won’t make your nails any worse, but the hostess will have a great time. It is recommended to do this procedure at least three times a week.
Almond or argan oils can replace the olive component. Castor oil is great for quick results. It is applied to the nail plate one to three times a day, after which the skin around the nail is lightly massaged.
Sea salt, dissolved with honey and lemon, will do a good job in restoring and strengthening nails. The advantage of this type of care will be the ability to use such a bath only once a week. But after it you should use nourishing creams.
Do a hand massage
Hand massage will improve blood circulation, soften the skin and make it firmer and more elastic.
This will have a positive effect not only on the condition of the cuticle, but also on the nail plate as a whole. To massage yourself, you will need a rich cream. Gently rub it in with your fingers and apply it to the skin and nails with massaging movements until the product is completely absorbed.
Home Remedies for Maintaining Healthy Nails
To strengthen your nail plates, you don’t have to sign up for expensive procedures. To begin with, you can try using traditional methods.
Lemon juice will help maintain the health of your marigolds. To do this, you can immerse your nails in a piece of lemon or simply apply the juice to the nail plate and leave for a few minutes. After completing the fragrant procedure, rinse your hands with warm water. In addition to strengthening, your nails will look healthier and more natural.
A small amount of iodine applied before bedtime will help make the surface more resistant to negative external conditions. During the night, the iodine will be absorbed, so that by the morning there will be no trace left of the unsightly yellowness.
Chamomile decoction (dried flowers can be bought at any pharmacy) and sea salt will delight your nails, giving them vitality and health. It is recommended to do a similar procedure 3 times a week for 15 minutes. Instead of salt, use lemon juice (a couple of drops) and any essential oil.
Cosmetic wax or paraffin will make the life of the nail easier, making it stronger and stronger. To do this, special products are melted using a steam bath, applied to the nails and gently rubbed. You can simply immerse your nails in a warm substance for 15-20 minutes.
This procedure will be especially beneficial during the cold season, when the delicate skin of the hands is exposed to sub-zero temperatures and actively begins to peel off and lose moisture. The complex of the event will require at least 10 procedures, with a difference between them of 2-3 days.
Puréed berries (currants, sea buckthorn, cranberries) will add essential vitamins to the surface of the nail. The mixture is applied for 20 minutes, after which hands are washed with warm water.
Regular food gelatin will bring a lot of benefits to a damaged plate. It is dissolved in warm water (30 grams of product will require a glass of water). Lubricate the marigolds with nourishing cream and dip your hands in the warm mixture for 15 minutes. After the time has passed, gently blot your fingers with a napkin.
Varnish film
Along with multi-colored stickers, which were at the peak of popularity in the early 2000s, film varnishes, which can be either plain or with prints, have also returned to fashion. Of course, in order to make a full-fledged manicure with their help, you will have to put in a lot of effort - cut out squares to fit the size of the nail, warm them under a lamp, smooth them well with an orange stick and carefully remove any residue from the edges. But such a coating will allow air to pass through well, last for about two weeks, and due to the printed prints, it allows you to experiment with rather complex patterns, which can be quite difficult to draw on your own.
Photo: unsplash.com
In general, of course, you shouldn’t be afraid of shellac and deny yourself the pleasure of doing a manicure with a long-lasting coating. In order to preserve the health of your nails as much as possible, it is important to remember only the basic rules: study the composition of the products used by the master, and avoid obvious toxic elements that can cause severe allergies - camphor, formaldehyde resins, toluene, xylene and others. Also, when you get tired of the coating, in no case should you just scrape it off your nails, otherwise you can seriously damage their top keratin layer. It’s better to spend a little more time on this procedure, and then give your nails a few days to recover - and then you’ll be fine with them. everything will be all right.
Special means
Special products are intended for beauties who do not really want to prepare baths and decoctions on their own or do not really trust such methods.
Industrial products include all kinds of creams, strengthening bases, and varnish coatings. They have different contents and different application frequencies. You should pay attention to this before purchasing.
Cuticle oil will answer the question of how to restore damaged nails after varnish. It contains natural softening and nourishing extracts.
A good option would be to use base oil with the addition of apricot kernel extract or wheat germ.
For very thin nails, special hardeners are purchased.
Reviews of nail restoration after gel polish praise both homemade and store-bought remedies. It all depends on the condition of the nails and the owner’s desire to care for them.
Vitamin varnish
Vitamin varnishes, or “strengtheners,” can be used both to restore the structure of the nail after shellac, and simply for prevention. Sometimes, in addition to microelements that accelerate the regeneration process of keratin, which our nails are mainly made of, they contain oils, proteins, silk and Kevlar fibers, which seal microcracks and exfoliated scales. The only disadvantage of such coatings is the meager color palette, which is limited to transparent, pink and beige shades, although for the perfect nude this is exactly what you need!
