Nail care tips

A few people have asked me how I take care of my nails and prevent them from breaking/keep them strong. I thought I'd do a post on my tips to keep your nails strong, healthy and help them grow quickly.

Now, before I even start to think about painting my nails, on a several-times-a-day basis I'll use a hand cream. My favourite is the Vaseline Healthy Hands and Stronger Nails cream as it has made my hands very soft and moisturised since I started using it. You can pick it up pretty cheap from shops like Boots or Superdrug and it lasts a long time so it's well worth the cash.

 Boots - £3.27

Superdrug - £3.27

The next step I follow is using a cuticle cream/oil. I'm lucky enough to not really suffer with large cuticles so it's just a matter of protecting them and keeping them healthy. You can use any really but I've found two that I really like. 

The first is from OPI. I absolute love their polishes and it only follows that the cuticle oil is great too. It doesn't have the most wonderful smell but it's not unbearable. I've got the travel sized one as OPI is quite expensive but you can pick up a full 15ml bottle if you want to. 

The other is a Superdrug cream which comes in a little pot and again moisturises very well. It's a much cheaper alternative and is just as good. 

Superdrug cuticle cream- £2.99 

Boots - OPI Avoplex oil - £10.25

On to the actual nail care. This step is probably the most important one as it directly stops your nails from harm. My advice is to never, ever paint your nails without using a base coat of some sort. I've tried out many different types and finally found my favourite couple:

Essie's Rock Solid Ultra Strength Base Coat - Superdrug - £8.99

a-England - The Knight - £7.00

 Essie's Rock Solid Ultra Strength Base Coat is my favourite as not only does it protect my nails from staining but also does exactly what it says on the bottle - strengthens my nails. £8.99 is fairly steep but it lasts so long there is no question of whether it's worth the price!

a-England's The Knight is also a great base coat but what put me off what the fact that the brush section kept falling out of the lid which got very frustrating after a while. The product is still great though and definitely worth the £7.


The last piece of advice is to invest in some good remover and removing "tools".

For as long as I can remember I've used the Cutex Strengthening polish remover and it's worked great for me. The fact that it again strengthens your nails is a big plus! You can pick it up from Boots for £2.20. I've also picked up Superdrug's nail polish remover to try out after reading that it's fab - especially as you can pick it up for just £1.09 for 250ml.

The other staples in my routine are cotton pads and buds. Using the buds you can carefully wipe of excess from around your nails and the pads for totally removing the varnish. I've found that the Boots cosmetic buds are great and the Superdrug cotton pads don't tend to fall apart as badly as other brands that I've tried.

Boots - Cosmetic buds - £1.40
Superdrug - Cotton pads - £1.69


Those are my main tips for maintaining healthy, long nails (and hands!). If anyone else has some products they use and like, let me know!