If you follow me over on twitter, you would have seen my tweet not long ago about how happy I was about the quality/healthiness of my nail right now. 

I'm obsessed with painting my nails, and as a bit of a perfectionist, every time they chip, I have to fix them. Towards the end of last year, I want through a phase of changing my nail colour every couple of days, just so they stayed perfect.

As you can imagine, that isn't very good for the health of your nails. So, I decided I needed to do something about it - and now my nails are so healthy I don't know how I'm going to be able to cut them without them cracking lower down. 

So, here are a five tips and the products I use to keep my nails healthy:

1- Nail polish remover:
My new go to nail polish remover is the Sally Hansen Strengthening nail polish remover. The easy way to remember this is that its the pink Sally Hansen bottle.  

Before I switched to this I used a supermarket brand nail polish remover and when I used it I would notice how dry my nails were. Not a good look. The Sally Hansen nail polish, however, always leaves my nail nice and 'shiny'. They look naturally healthy and shiny without any effort.

A supermarket brand costs about $4, and in comparison, Sally Hansen nail polishes are about $6, BUT at Farmers they sell two packs of remover (you may have to ask if they have them, in my local store they were kept in the storage room) and they are only $8, so comparable in price.  The few extra dollars spending is worth it for the health of your nails. 

2- Nail moisturizer
No matter which nail polish remover you use, you will definitely need to use a moisturizer. This is to replenish any moisture loss, and to improve your nail quality.

My go to hand and nail moisturizer is Vaseline healthy hand and nail conditioning lotion. This product is something I have been using for as long as I can remember, and it's also something my mum swears by. We've always had a bottle on the table in the lounge for us all to use.

I tend to dab a bit of the moisturizer onto all of my nails and rub it in, and then rub any excess product over my hands.

3- Take Breaks
Definitely let your nails be 'naked'. Even if you can only manage a few hours, it's better than nothing. Every couple of weeks I try and go a day or two without nail polish just so my nails can breath.

4- A good base and top coat
For me a good base coat and a top coat is necessary. Not only does a base coat protect your nails, but combined with a top coat it extends the lifespan of polish on your nails. Less chips = less often you need to take your nail polish of and redo them.

My go to base and top coats are both by OPI. I can't personally recommend top/base coats from different brands - I haven't tried any others. BUT with my OPI base and top coats, I got to about a week before any chips on my last nail colour. My mum tells me the Sally Hansen base/top coats are good too - and I think they're a bit more affordable too.

5- Acrylics and gel nails
I have never had either.  I'm lucky that I have nails which grow quickly and easily and I'm happy with their shape so I've not felt the need for acrylics for that. 

Acrylics weaken your nails.  Taking breaks from them to let your natural nails replenish and strengthen is good. Short nails can be cute if you go for the right colours -pale/light colours, as darker colours make your nails look short.

For me, the removal of gel nails put me off. The idea of soaking my nails in acetone for ten minutes makes me fear for their life, basically.  If you prefer gels, definitely give them a few days break between colours, and moisturize frequently to get them back into tip top condition.

Do you have any other tips on getting healthy nails? Comment below!

xx


(excuse the awkward 'taken on a pillow slip' picture - I went to take a photo, and then realised there's no white surfaces in this house to take a photo on!)