Things You Shouldn't Do (If You Care About Your Nails)

Of course, you care about nails and most likely you do a lot to keep them healthy and good looking but it is not an exception that people unintentionally damage their nails by doing things that are not good for them. Sometimes it is just of pure ignorance, sometimes it is just due to negligence. And the worst is when you go to a “professional” manicurist and the results of your visit are far from astonishing. The following list of activities is not exhaustive but even it is long enough to give you an idea about the traps to avoid.

Diets and malnutrition.
This might not be the most severe way to damage one's nails but probably is one of the most frequent ones. As already mentioned in the other articles, nails are a mirror of the health status of the body and of the nutrition disbalance inside it. Lack of vitamins (B, C, D, etc.) and minerals (zinc, iron, etc.) shows on the surface of the nails. Yes, very often you can hide the trails under the polish but when your nails become brittle, for example, then no polish can help.
Frequent use of nail polish and nail removers.
People are different in their reaction towards nail polish and nail removers. Some ladies can apply nail polish and removers for decades and still have strong and healthy nails, while others begin to suffer from stains and brittle nails if they use nail polish more than once a month. There is no doubt that cheap nail polishes with unidentifiable chemical composition are a real danger to one's nails but even with expensive, designer brands some people continue to experience negative effects. Acrylic nail polish removers are especially harmful and generally health experts recommend to use them at most once a week.
Nails are not an opener or another household/office tool.
Even though nails look tough enough, they are too fragile to be used as an opener (using your teeth instead is also a bad idea). Paper clips might not be that hard but sure they are hard enough to cause damage to your nails. Pinching things with your nails to pick them also sounds crazy but a lot of people do it, instead of grabbing the thing with their fingers. As you see, there is no shortage of mechanical ways to damage your nails.
Nail biting.
If you can't damage your nails enough by nail polish or in a mechanical way, nail biting is just for you. Well, the only positive aspect of nail biting as far as nail care is concerned is that nails grow faster because of the trauma you inflict them but certainly this is hardly a comfort.
Fungi and infections.
There are numerous diseases that can damage your nails. Sometimes nails are damaged by a general disease but most often a local infection, fungi or another nail disease are the reason for their poor looks. Nails are relatively difficult to infect under normal circumstances but sharing towels (or shoes, slippers, socks and other items that can in contact with the toe nail), or using not sterile instruments for manicure or pedicure pose a risk for transmitting an infection or fungi.
Cutting cuticles.
Besides towels and instruments, cutting the cuticles is another way to open the door to infections. Even a minor cut alongside your nail is enough for bacteria and fungi to sneak it and stay there for a long time. Probably because of the possible health implications, cutting the cuticles is illegal in some states.
Toxic substances.
Although it is unlikely that anybody sane will use toxic substances knowingly and willingly, it does happen that many people use them – most often without being unaware of this. Toxic substances of all origins leave trails on the nails. But it is really sad to see somebody who has damaged his or her nails in the course of beautifying them. There were times (still not over for sure), when beauty saloons used toxic substances like methyl methacrylate (MMA) for liquid monomers in artificial nails. The long-term result of these fake nails was really unpleasant for the eye.
Besides toxic substances that come together with nail cosmetics and procedures, different poisons in the food, air and the body itself also leave a mark on the nails. Some therapeutic procedures (like those involved in cancer treatment) have a really devastating effect on the nails but when one's life is at stake, the look of his or her nails is of minor importance.