The 3 rules for having perfect nails after the holidays | Unrivaled Guide 2024

Holidays, with heat, saltiness, chlorine, poor nutrition, and incorrect hydration, could also cause damage to our nails.

If it is true that nails benefit from sunlight, which strengthens them and makes them grow better, it is equally true that on vacation we may not be constant in their hydration and care.

For this reason, before going back to applying nail polishes, it would be better to dedicate yourself to nail care for a month, in order to give your hands the opportunity to recover elasticity and strengthen the nails.

If seawater has strengthened the nails, it is good to try to maintain the results achieved by applying specific products to the hands that further strengthen them.

For example, you can massage your nails in the evening with olive oil or jojoba oil, or with sweet almond oil.

But we must also pay attention to what we eat and not forget about the care of our feet.

We must therefore avoid undergoing reconstructions or gel applications: the first periods after returning from holidays must be of relaxation and recovery, even for our nails. No application of semi-permanent or glitter nail polishes, only restorative and transparent top coat nail polishes.

Also Read: Best Top Coats For Nail Polish

DIY nail treatments

If you are a fan of do-it-yourself treatments, there are many ways to hydrate your nails, strengthen them and immediately notice the obvious benefits, without buying specific products.

One solution consists in immersing the nails in a basin of boiling water with olive oil and a few drops of lemon (natural hardener and whitener): in this way, you will soften the skin that can be easily removed. After this treatment, you can apply a moisturizer.

Or, before going to sleep, you can massage your nails with a little shea butter enriched with olive oil and lemon that will work during the night.

Even bicarbonate, when combined with lemon and olive oil, gives life to a compound that, if massaged on the nails for a few minutes, in addition to strengthening the nails can be very useful for whitening them (its antiseptic properties make it a good ally also for the treatment of nail fungus).

If your nails are particularly brittle and tend to break when you return from vacation, they are probably dehydrated. Better to shorten them and massage the nails with olive oil 10 minutes a day, as, in addition to being rich in tocopherols and phytosterols, it deeply hydrates the nail itself. If you think that your nails are finally in need of a regenerating “SPA treatment”, it is better to rely on manicure and pedicure professionals or the many nail centers, now present in large numbers throughout the national territory.

Once you have strengthened your nails with this shock treatment, you will only be able to do it once a week.

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Proper nutrition

As happens with everything concerning our body, often the causes of a weakening of the nails are to be found in an incorrect diet or in any case lacking some nutrients.

Who on vacation has not allowed themselves some luxury by eating at the restaurant? To strengthen the nails, which consist mainly of various layers of keratin, a protein-rich in sulfur, it is important to take cysteine, zinc, vitamins B5, B6, and biotin. These are all elements that we can take with food or as supplements (preferably natural and homeopathic ones).

So what to eat? We should integrate red meat, dark green vegetables, and enriched cereals in our diet as they contain iron, which improves cellular metabolism. Rice, milk, cheese, and eggs instead contain zinc, which is essential for healthy and regular nail growth.

Fish such as sardines, mackerel, salmon, and trout contain fatty acids and omega 3 which maintain the hydration of the nail, preventing brittleness and breakage. Carrots, leafy vegetables, and orange fruits are rich in vitamin A, which is particularly important for nail growth. Finally, milk, nuts, eggs, and grains also contain biotin, which makes nails stronger and thicker (low levels of biotin can cause brittle nails).

Also Read: How To Remove Nail Polish Without Acetone

Remedies for toenails

Toenails are also important. After a holiday, the feet can appear cracked and damaged due to continuous contact with salt and sand, especially if they had not been properly cared for before the holidays. So here we can intervene with simple DIY treatments to take care of the nails and remove cracks from the heels and feet.

First of all we can proceed with a foot bath after removing the enamel. It will take 10-15 minutes of immersion of the feet in warm water with a tablespoon of baking soda (or coarse cooking salt, it has the same effect). Before soaking them, exfoliate your feet with an aloe vera scrub or with olive oil and yellow flour.

Next, we can pass the pumice stone with slow and delicate movements, without applying excessive pressure on corns and calluses, and file the nails with a cardboard file giving them a nice rounded shape. After removing the cuticles with a special stick, you can pour a cuticle cream and, finally, massage the whole foot with a good cream, a nourishing oil, or simply olive oil.