The Do’s and Don’ts of Fingernail Health

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Your fingernails are often a tell-tale sign of how your overall health is. White, grooves, and pits can all be signs of underlying conditions, but they may also be because you haven’t been taking care of your nails properly. To keep your fingernails looking their absolute best, here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to their care.

Do’s

For optimal nail health, please do the following:

  • Keep fingernails dry. Bacteria thrives in warm, moist areas, and having your fingernails wet for a prolonged period of time can cause the spread of bacteria and cause problems.
  • Keep your nails trimmed. Long nails are prone to breaking, splitting, and cracking which can be incredibly painful and in some scenarios even cause an infection if it’s not treated.
  • Apply a protective layer. Using a product such as Plei Nail Strengthener will keep your nails strong.
  • Use biotin. If your nails are particularly brittle, using a supplement called biotin has been proven to work on strengthening the nail.

Don’ts

Nail damage can be caused in the following ways:

  • Bite your fingernails. This causes direct damage to the nail bed, makes you have jagged nails, and also make health concerns appear. Your nails are one of the dirtiest places on your body and should not be put anywhere near your mouth.
  • Pick at your cuticles. Infections can be caused by bacteria that find their way into the wound that you create.
  • Pull off hangnails. Hangnails are essentially dead skin and have no feeling, but pulling them off can also pull off live skin which is not only painful, but exposes a tender area that has the potential to be infected. Trim them instead.