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Taking care of your nails doesn’t have to mean frequent trips to the salon. With a few simple routines and the right ingredients, you can achieve strong, healthy, and beautiful nails from the comfort of your own home. Whether you’re trying to repair damage, avoid harsh chemicals, or just want your nails to look their best, these nail care tips at home cover everything from strengthening treatments and DIY manicures to natural whitening methods and non-toxic polish options. Here’s a roundup of our favorite expert-approved and easy-to-follow tips to help you upgrade your nail care game. No appointment necessary.
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12 Best Nail Care Tips
1. 3-Step At-Home Manicure to Soothe & Soften Dry Hands
A combination of hand soak, scrub and nourishing cuticle oil is perfect for those who wash their hands a lot or for cold climates. This simple at-home recipe works great for natural nails but can also act as a base for a fancier mani, if you’re so inclined. We love these 9 mani options for spring, these manis for fall and these natural nail designs for any time of the year.
We love a good mani as much as the next girl, but that’s not what makes nails healthy. Experts recommend combining a nutrient-rich diet with healthy habits such as exfoliating, using cuticle oil, and avoiding toxins in nail lacquer.
3. Damaged Nails: What They Mean + How to Fix Them
Your nails may have something to tell you, and it’s not always good news. Watch out for nail fungus, vitamin deficiency, eczema, psoriasis or infections in the body, all of which can be visible on your nails. Fortunately, some of these have natural remedies, which we’re sharing here.
4. 14 Natural Ways to Strengthen Your Nails
To avoid brittle, splitting nails, work on making them stronger. This, of course, will include modifying your diet (think protein, biotin and zinc, for example). But you can also take easier steps such as limiting water exposure by wearing gloves when cleaning or doing the dishes for simple nail care tips at home.
5. 10 DIY Ways to Whiten Your Nails Naturally
Some nails are genetically yellow hued, while others have been affected by too much nail polish or other external factors. Either way, there are plenty of natural methods to whiten them, including inexpensive options like toothpaste or lemon juice.
6. Our Complete Guide to Non-Toxic Nail Polish
Conventional nail polish has more unpronounceable, toxic ingredients than you can imagine. And with nails being porous and absorbent, a lot of that goes inside our bodies to damage our kidneys, liver, and even reproductive hormones in the long term. The alternative? You can quit nail polish altogether, or look for non-toxic, 7-free polish made from natural ingredients.
7. How To Customize Your Own Nail Polish Colors
If you’re not happy with the colors you find at the drugstore, customize your own nail polish with mica powders, eyeshadow pigments, or even food coloring. It’s like making potions when you were a child, plus you have complete control over the ingredients, and you even get to name the shades as you please.
As much as we dislike toxic nail polish, we dislike acetone even more. As it also works as a paint thinner, it’s no wonder it works so well on nails. But to avoid those nasty (and stinky!) chemicals, we suggest friendlier solutions such as baking soda or hydrogen peroxide.
9. The Best Essential Oils for Nails
Nail and cuticle oils are a wonderful way to care for your nails, strengthening and healing them. Use a carrier oil such as jojoba or grapeseed in combination with lemon, lavender or tea tree oil (among others) to hydrate the skin around the nail as well as the nail bed itself.
10. How to Give Yourself a Salon-Worthy Manicure At Home
No extra cash for salon manicures? No problem. Learn how to do your own mani at home, with everything from that initial soak to that final coat of polish. Set aside a half an hour every week and you’ll be saving time, money, and a trip to the salon.
11. Cuticle Balm for Nail Growth + Strengthening
Massage this balm onto your nails before bed for strong, healthy nails. The combination of luxurious, skin-conditioning mango butter with nail-friendly oils such as chamomile, frankincense, geranium and tea tree makes this cuticle balm a staple on my nightstand.
12. 5-Step No-Polish Manicure for Natural Nails
If you’re giving your nails a break from polish or simply prefer a natural look, this tutorial shows you exactly how to get simple, pretty, healthy-looking nails at home. This mani only requires five steps and your nails stay shiny for more than you would expect.
