Long and Natural Nails

A set of long, natural nails looks classy and elegant. Add some deep red nail polish, and now they look sexy. Growing long nails – and keeping them long – might not be as difficult as you think. The key is to know what the "right" nail length is for your lifestyle, proper nutrition for optimum nail growth and health, and how to maintain them.

I type a lot. When I say that, I mean that I use a computer keyboard every day of my life for typing, blogging, commenting on message boards, typing letters for work, business plans for the boss, rough drafts of 96-page employee manuals, et cetera. My lifestyle is that I consistently use my hands; whether I use them on a keyboard, on a game controller, or in the kitchen making meals and washing dishes, I know that long nails would only hinder my lifestyle. The right length for my lifestyle is to keep them short – just about to the end of my fingertip.

Your lifestyle is most likely different than mine, and perhaps you can afford to have longer nails. Although your nails' ability to grow is largely hereditary, there are measures that you can take to allow your nails to grow longer:

• Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Nails are comprised or protein, so feed your body protein such as fish, chicken, and beef. Sometimes brittle nails are caused by an iron deficiency, so take an iron supplement and eat plenty of leafy, green vegetables. Take a multi-vitamin every day.
• Stop nail abuse. While waiting for your natural nails to grow long, don't use fake fingernails, acrylic nails, or wraps. When you glue fake nails to the top of your natural nail, you leave your natural nail susceptible to fungus growth.
• Don't use your nails as tools. If you have long nails, ask someone else to open your soda can. Use a pen to dial your phone, and use a table knife to scrape that stuck-on food off that last plate in the dishwater.
• Wear protective gloves when gardening, washing dishes, or cleaning. Doing so guards against dents and dings to your fingernails, while maintaining moisture in your skin and nails.

Whatever the length of your nails, if they are groomed at least once a week, and if you take care of yourself from the inside, your nails can grow long and look spectacular.