Pic credit: Sheerluxe
With over 60 years pioneering nail health solutions to all manner of nail concerns, Mavala is equipped to assist with a myriad of nail-related issues. Our specialty is helping people achieve an optimum nail condition. You may wonder what this looks like?
A healthy nail is firm yet flexible, and can absorb normal shocks without splitting or chipping. Its surface is smooth with a subtle sheen and doesn't peel or flake at the tip.
As we journey into a new year, we have identified the most common nail concerns, what the underlying causes may be and a recommended solution to alleviate the condition.
Nail concern: Hang nails
Pic credit: Harpenden Beauty Hub
An uncomfortable, unsightly and often times painful condition as a result of dried-out and hardened cuticles that can tear away or splinter from the nail plate.
Underlying issues:
This is usually a sign of poor hydration to the cuticle, a bad manicure or being a nail biter.
Solution:
Intensive treatment for your cuticles whether it be through a gentle manicure in a salon or using an at-home care programme using a daily cuticle treatment oil rich in vitamins E and F to soften the skin and loosen overgrown cuticles. Also take care to remove the excess skin gently with appropriate cuticle removing products and tools.
Nail concern: Soft, peeling nails
Do you experience soft, flexible nails that peel or tear easily?
Underlying issues:
The most common causes of soft nails are prolonged exposure to certain substances (detergents or solvents) without wearing gloves and nutritional deficiencies, in particular in silicium. Soft nails can also be caused by taking certain medication and even by an unhealthy lifestyle including lack of sleep, exercise or a poor diet.
Solution:
Your nails need extra protection, like a nail hardener that goes beyond the nail surface and penetrates deep into the nail plates. Ensuring your diet is rich in silicium, a mineral likened to ‘cell cement’, helping nails to grow faster and be more resistant. Found in vegetables, prunes, whole cereals and garlic. Look after your nails when immersed in water or using heavy duty cleaning products by wearing gloves.
Nail concern: Dry, splitting and brittle nails
Do your nails lack sheen, elasticity and resistance to impact? Do you find they break or splinter easily?
Underlying issues:
Usually a key indicator of a poor diet - dietary deficiencies not only prevent nails from growing normally but can also cause weakness and brittleness. This nail disorder can also be linked to fatigue and illnesses (like metabolic problems, anemia or endocrine disorders). Even taking certain medicines can cause nail trauma. Our nail health also deteriorates as we get older, so something to keep in mind.
Solution:
Eat well and minimise nail contact with harsh substances. Vitamins A,B,C,D and E are the most important for healthy nails, so ensure your diet covers the full spectrum of food groups. Minerals like calcium, iodine, iron and magnesium are also essential. Apply a nutritive nail solution that quenches the nail plate, restoring hydration and elasticity. Keep nails short to minimise trauma and damage.
Nail concern: Nail ridges
The surface of your nail is uneven with irregularities evident through raised ridges or small depressions on the nail surface (called pitting).
Underlying issues and solution:
This can be linked back to a variety of factors including diet, certain dermatological disorders or even an illness. Diet plays such an important factor with healthy nail growth, that it is the most common cause of these irregularities. Ridges often indicate a lack of the mineral sulfur in your diet. The mineral sulfur is readily available in protein rich foods such as meat, poultry, eggs and milk. If you are a vegan, you can get your mineral sulphur intake through garlic, onions, cabbage, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, turnips, nuts, kale, lettuce, kelp and raspberries.
With nail erosion, the principal causes behind this are psoriasis, eczema, alopecia or traumas. It’s best to consult your doctor in this instance and when given the go-ahead, care for your nails through regular manicures. Another common solution is a topical ridge-filler that evens out the nail surface.
Nail concern: White spots
This condition affects the nail plate and is caused by small air bubbles being trapped between nail cells.
Underlying issues:
If you suffer, chances are it could be hereditary but can also be caused by other factors such as bad tissue nutrition, poor keratinization and trauma from an over zealous manicure. These spots are also linked to menstruation.
Solution:
Go gentle on your nails and improve your diet with foods that promote healthy nail growth like carrots, green vegetables, eggs and fish. White spots can easily be camouflaged under a nail polish, so keep your nails painted. If you wear nail polish all the time, make sure you choose one that lets your nail breathe and is free from toxic ingredients like formaldehyde, camphor and nickel to name a few. Mavala nail polishes are 12-free, vegan and safe to use on nails.
Nail concern: Lightly Stained, yellow or dull nails
This is usually reflected in a yellow or dull appearance and can be unsightly, also affecting the colour of nail polish when applied.
Underlying issues:
Generally caused by tobacco use or the application of nail polish directly onto the nail plate, without a protective base coat.
Solution:
To minimise this condition, it’s advised to buff nails regularly and always use a protective base coat prior to colour application, to protect the nails from staining. You may also use an optical nail whitener, which can give the nails a natural and healthy appearance.
Nail concern: Nail biting
A bad habit that is particularly common among children and adolescents but can continue into adulthood. By biting the tips, the top of the nail bed is damaged. It also results in damaged cuticles that become irregular, fissured and increasingly hard.
Underlying issues:
This is usually an indicator of anxiety or nervousness. Sometimes the tic is transient and harmless but even so can be difficult to break. It becomes an uncontrolled reflex that happens in certain situations.
Solution:
By having regular, strength-building manicures, the condition and appearance of the nails will improve and biting potentially discouraged as the individual takes more pride in their appearance. Also, use a topically applied deterrent with a distinct bitter taste to help cure nail biting.
For more beauty advice, visit Mavacademy.
