Three tips for perfectly healthy nails
Collagen as an essential dietary supplement to keep your nails and hair healthy. Discover our three expert tips for naturally strong, beautiful nails.
Diet, vitamins, collagen, nail polish, beauty routine: here are our tips for naturally beautiful nails.
Nails are far more alive than they look. They are sensitive to our diet and, more generally, to our lifestyle. Over time and with age, they also tend to become dry, brittle and sometimes to turn yellow or split. We've put together several tips to help you keep beautiful nails as you grow older.
It all starts on your plate
Nails are essentially made up of biologically dead tissue rich in keratin. This protein, essential to the structure of our hair and nails, gives them, through its composition, the strength and hardness they need to play a protective role. Once a nail is damaged, it cannot be repaired, except by starting again from the root and waiting for it to grow back. So, when it comes to nails or hair, (almost) everything is decided at the moment they are produced, particularly at the level of the nail matrix and the hair bulb.
Indeed, the biologically living part of our hair and nails is located internally, at the bulb and the root. These areas are heavily supplied by blood capillaries that bring all the nutrients needed for their growth. The collagen network surrounding the bulb and the root also anchors them, which is why collagen is so important in the fight against hair loss and breakage.
Our nails and hair are a reflection of our diet; they are, in a way, the visible "memory" of our lifestyle. The first factor impacting nail quality is therefore diet. To have beautiful nails, it must be varied and balanced. This is the essential condition, a guarantee of health and strength. Conversely, a poor diet translates into soft, brittle, even ridged or yellowed nails.
In detail, you should favour food rich in protein and iron, such as red meat for example, as well as zinc, such as seafood and oysters in particular. You can also find these in vegetables, which are important to eat as part of balanced meals. Be aware, however, that strictly vegan diets can lead to iron deficiencies, which you can nonetheless make up for with dietary supplements. Don't forget to drink water regularly throughout the day either. Good hydration gives your nails their suppleness.
To go even further, you can add dietary supplements. A 2017 study1 showed that supplementing your daily diet with collagen peptides improves nail growth by 12% and reduces the frequency of broken nails by 42%. Biotin (Vitamin B8) is also particularly recommended to support keratin synthesis. That's why the Collagen Vital Hair & Nails formula contains, in addition to collagen, biotin, zinc and plant-based actives rich in iron, sulphur, silica, calcium, vitamins and antioxidants.
Let them breathe!
As we've seen, it's at the moment of growth at the root that nails and hair are alive and take on most of their characteristics, but that doesn't mean you should neglect them afterwards. On the contrary, it's important to care for them to make the good foundation built through a healthy diet and lifestyle last.
For nails to keep their shine, you need to let them breathe regularly. The first culprit: nail polish. Wear it for occasions that call for it, but don't forget to remove it. Polish prevents the nail from oxygenating properly, and if it stays on your fingers (or your toes) too long, breakage is guaranteed. This is even truer for semi-permanent polish.
Not only do these smother your nails, but removing them also requires stripping off the "semi-permanent" coat, which damages the already weakened nail. Very often, this results in thinner, less resistant nails. The drier the nails, the more brittle they become and the more they split.
Hydration: a key factor
Finally, don't neglect the external care of the nail, starting with good hydration. The simplest solution is to use a moisturising hand cream that you also apply carefully to your nails and cuticles.
Ideally, you should apply cream regularly throughout the day to ensure constant hydration. Since that isn't always possible, doing it once a day, for example by adding it to your evening beauty routine, is already a good start.
You can use all types of moisturising creams on your nails and hands, including creams with active ingredients. For example, the Coveline anti-ageing collagen cream, which offers extreme hydration along with an immediate firming effect on the hands. The result: beautiful nails and hands that look younger in a... snap.
