HOUSTON – There are several things that lead to dry and brittle nails: Your diet, how long you wear polish, even how much you text could play a role.
The chair of cosmetology at Remington College in Webster, Yalanda White, knows so much about nail health she teaches the class.
"We have to teach them what causes the nails to be brittle, to be dry, what makes them split and what makes them damaged,” White said.
She says there are several things that we are doing to hurt our nails.
Not enough lotion
"After every hand washing you should be applying lotion, every time!"
Too much texting
"If you're texting and you have a job where you're using the keyboard a lot, just imagine the things that are going on with the nail. You're not pounding them but that's a lot of taps," White warned.
Hot-oil manicure
There are special steps you can take to improve the quality of your nails. For example, White recommends hot oil manicures.
"If you have the dry, the brittle, the frayed ends, you know just constant breakage and they're just not looking really good. Then I suggest the hot oil manicure. It doesn't take much more time, it's just one extra step but that one step takes us back toward a healthy nail," White said.
Leaving polish too long
Once your manicure is done, the clock is ticking. White said polish needs to be removed in one week. Leaving it on longer will dry your nails.
Using wrong remover
White said to look for a non-acetone remover. It might take longer to remove the polish but it will save the health of your nails.
Not enough iron
Increasing iron in your diet may help. White said not getting enough iron or people with anemia suffer from brittle nails.