How to Keep Your Nails Clean and Healthy

You’ve worked for years to get your career in good order — but now you’re using your nails to decorate?

As of this year, it’s OK to manicure your nails every now and then — which sounds really freeing and exciting, but let’s be real: no one likes getting manicures, and it’s really a pain when they end up looking terrible. Nails can get ridiculous expensive — $50?!!! — so don’t overdo it. To save some money, use a mild product, like a latex or chemical polish, or even soap and water — that way, you’ll definitely have a pretty mani to be proud of, but you’ll keep the costs low.

Below, some easy tips on how to keep your nails clean, shine, and as sexy as possible. Let’s get to it!

1. Sticking Your Finger in the Nail

That’s one of the scariest things you can do to your nails. Luckily, with all the square nails on our fingers, if you turn your finger away too quickly, the nail will probably come off, too! (Seriously, check your fingernails for any cracks that you can cut into.)

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2. Under-Rubbing

The only thing that stinks more than dying your nails is not the polish itself, but actually putting too much pressure on the nails. Use a steady hand and the slightest bit of pressure. It’s OK if you pop a nail out here and there — but don’t constantly under-rub.

3. Missed Nail Fingers

Do you know how it happens? When you’re in the middle of taking care of something on your hands or feet, you tend to ignore your nails. It happens when you get tired or if you’re feeling hot (or if you have some allergies in your hands). As the nail grows back, it may break down a bit, then crack from overcrowding with the dead skin. If this is the case, trim the clippings away from the nail, and gently tap the nail to relieve pressure — and/or use white nail polish remover — to remove them.

4. Nonexistent After-Nail Finesse

Whenever you’re painting your nails, take a break for at least three hours! Clean your hands and put on some nonsynthetic cleanser, before applying a thin layer of mineral or hypoallergenic polish. When you put your bare nail into the basecoat, clean your hands thoroughly with your favorite soap and warm water. Add a thin layer of the basecoat onto your nails, and then let the basecoat dry for a few hours (about four or five hours, tops) before you reapply it to cover up the excess polish.

5. Frying Your Pies

You don’t need to do the exfoliation process all over the nail, and there’s no need to scrub or polish the entire nail. But do pat some soap and water onto your cuticles, scrub a bit of salt (or baking soda) on your nails, then massage in a tiny bit of alcohol or perfume to refresh your cuticles. Make sure your cuticles are dry and not red. That way, you can remove the polish in a gentle way without damaging the cuticles.