Tips on how to get beautiful long nails

Let's be honest, a beautiful set of, long, natural healthy nails looks classy and sexy. Immaculately manicured long nails say a lot about your personal style and confidence. We know growing long, healthy nails can be a challenge. Our simple tips show how you too can have a beautiful set of long natural nails.


First a quick biology lesson:
Your nails grow from the area under your cuticle called the matrix. The matrix is the living part of the nail. Your cuticle is the layer of skin that protects the matrix so the cuticle is very important for nail health and growth. As new nail cells grow in the matrix, older nail cells are pushed out toward your fingertips and become hard and compacted. Heredity and health determine how fast nails grow but nails typically grow about 0.1 millimeter a day, which means that it takes a fingernail about four to six months to fully regenerate. Healthy nails are smooth, without ridges or grooves. They're uniform in color and consistency and free of spots or discoloration.

 

Did you know: Nails grow faster in the summer than in the winter, nails on your dominant hand grow faster, and men's nails grow more quickly than women's, except when a woman is pregnant when nail growth speeds up.

How long should my nails be ?
This is obviously very much a matter of personal choice but a couple of things to bear in mind:

The optimum practical length for your nails depends on your activities and your lifestyle. In general the nail tip should extend no further than one third of the body of the nail.

Nails break less often when they are all of equal length and shaped square, oval, or round.

Tips on growing, long and healthy natural nails:
Long nails tip 1: Don't use your nails as tools.
Rather than using your nails use other parts of your hand, or a pen, to perform tasks like dialing the phone. Don't pick, poke or scrape with your nails and especially avoid opening soft drink cans with your nails.

Long nails tip 2: Wear gloves.
Detergents are particularly harsh on your nails and can cause splitting and peeling. Wear gloves when washing dishes or cleaning. You should also wear gloves when gardening to protect your nails from infection and prevent dryness, damage, and loss of natural oils.

 

Long nails tip 3: Don't bit your nails or pick at your cuticles.

Aside from the obvious reason of biting shortening your nails these habits can damage the nail bed. Even a minor cut alongside your nail can allow bacteria or fungi to enter the nail bed and cause an infection. Remember your nails grow slowly so an injured nail retains signs of damage for several months.

Long nails tip 4: Look after your cuticles.
The cuticle is a barrier that keeps bacteria from the nail matrix, where new cells are generated, so it should not be cut or trimmed. On the other hand you do want to keep cuticles from becoming overgrown, which suffocates nail growth. If your cuticle has grown out on to the nail plate, after sufficiently softening your cuticles in warm water, very gently use a cuticle pusher to push your cuticles back. As well as pushing your cuticles back this will help to remove dead skin and debris that may have accumulated. Hold the cuticle pusher at an angle, and use tiny circular movements, so that you are as gentle and careful as possible and do not damage the cuticle. When you have finished doesn't forget to moisturize your hands.