Well-groomed hands are a feast for the eyes. But are your nails the calling card of your hand? Do you use nail polish or artificial nails to accentuate the look of your hands? Or do you have a bad habit of biting your nails?
Nails are the horny covering of the fingertips and toes. The nail is a more or less square, cylindrical curved plate of keratinized cells, corresponding to the clear layer of the skin. The plate has a free edge at the finger - or toe tip. The non-free side edges and the root of the nail lie in a skin groove and are covered by a fold of skin, the nail wall or the extension of the cuticle. The cuticle is the edge of this nail barrier and consists only of the horny layer of the skin. The nail rests on the nail bed, which is membranous and has longitudinal frames.
Our nails grow 2 – 3 mm per month. Men's nails grow just a little faster. Due to our changed living conditions, our nails do not wear out in a natural way. That is why you must take care of the hygienic maintenance of the nails yourself (cutting, filing, keeping nails clean).
After reading the medical and general stuff about your nails, you may be wondering how to make your nails and hands your business card and why it's necessary. To go straight into the latter. Your hands are often the first thing people notice about you. You shake hands, you use your hand while speaking or you pay with it. Anyway, people see your hands very quickly. Your hands are especially important when working in the office.
Taking good care of your hands means using a good hand cream. In addition, beautiful nail polish for your nails is a plus. Keeping your nails (all the same length) is also important for a good appearance.
The painting of nails dates back to a few thousand years before Christ. Even though nail polish was made from natural products back then. Nail polish as we know it was first used in Paris in the 1920s. Initially mainly intended for the elite women of Hollywood. Banned by the Nazi regime during the 2nd World War, it now generates a turnover of more than 250 billion dollars a year. As a result, nail polish has become a very popular item among all women.
Nail polish for women is all the rage these days. And the choice of colors and brands is huge. Not only ordinary colors, but also nail polish containing glitter, shapes and much more. The trends change every year and so it never gets boring and everyone will get their money's worth. Of course you have to make sure that your nail polish stays beautiful for a long time.
Men are not forgotten either:there is also a wide collection of men's nail polish. The colors that dominate here are mainly the dark types, including black, blue, green and the like. However, there are also men who choose to simply wear colorless nail polish. Whether a man wears nail polish mainly depends on his own taste and background. A businessman is less likely to choose it than someone who works in a bar.
Just like in the fashion world, new trends in nail polish appear every year. In 2020, for example, blue nail polish is completely trendy. Depending on the fashion colors, nails with diamonds or nails in a certain shape are also completely hip.
Nail polish itself has a very nasty smell, because acetone is one of the components of nail polish. But there are many more ingredients in nail polish that not only cause the bad smell, but are also toxic. Now there are a number of major fashion brands that have come up with something for this. They come with nail polish, to which a fragrance has been added. This is in line with the so-called children's nail polishes, which have been using added (fruit) scents for a long time.
Reading tip:Safe nail polish for pregnant women
Many women nowadays choose to wear artificial nails. Here the own nail (if necessary) is cut to a few mm from the edge. The surface of the nail is first roughened. The cuticle is pushed back and then the whole is disinfected. Now your own nail is ready for applying the artificial nail.
If you opt for an artificial nail, you can choose between acrylic nails and gel nails. Both types have their pros and cons. The biggest advantage of fake nails in general is of course the fact that you have beautifully colored and well-kept nails for weeks. You don't have to worry about it anymore. Many women also find it so easy:after all, you can paint the artificial nails in advance and this is much easier than painting your own nails.
Although many women have their nails done by a professional, there are ready-made nails for sale in the most beautiful colors and with the most all kinds of decorations. Another additional advantage is that the nails are available in various shapes or can be cut into various shapes.
A major disadvantage of wearing artificial nails and which unfortunately most women do not stop at is the following:bacteria and fungi easily remain between the artificial nail and their own nail. There they get all the space and warmth to grow further, with all the nasty consequences that entails. A good manicurist will therefore always recommend wearing gloves if you have to do housework that involves a lot of contact with water.
When it comes to nails and hygiene, there is still a lot to be gained. Unnoticed the nails come into contact with anything and everything. The longer the nails are, the greater the chance that all kinds of bacteria and fungi will remain under the nails. These can easily develop into infections. Unfortunately, these can also cause other health problems. Too much nail biting can cause permanent damage to the nails.
Therefore, especially with long nails, you should observe good hygiene. Think of things like:
Biting nails is a bad habit. The chance that people will contract a worm infection as a result, for example, is many times greater than with people who file and cut their nails neatly.
Children are often guilty of biting their nails. This must be unlearned at an early age. Some tips to stop nail biting in children:
Well-groomed hands and especially nails are a must for every woman. It does not matter whether you have long or short nails. As long as you take good care of it.
What do you do to take good care of your hands and nails?
