Ridges, staining and yellow nails are things that most of us experience. It's not pretty, and no one wants it. So here's my little guide on how to deal with such problems!
On this photo my nails are full of ridges, very yellow and the ring finger is very stained from a red polish:
If you have both ridges and staining the best way to get rid of this is by using a buffer. The buffer will buff away the ridges with of it's rough surface and at the same time remove a lot of discoloring. Most buffers have two or three sides, on rough and one smooth to make the nail shine. My buffers are from Oriflame and consists of three parts. Clean, condition and shine.
The cleaning part is the most important, and I'm actually kinda skeptical to the condition and shine part. It doesn't really do a lot, only make the nail shine and remove the remains from the buffing. So I don't use the other parts that much, but that's optional. Be careful not to buff to much, it will weaken your nail and make it more vulnerable to breakage
After buffing:
After using the condition and shine files:
So the buffer will remove a lot, and is by far my best tip for getting rid of ridges and some discoloring. You can see from the photo that all the ridges have gone, and most of the staining!
Yellow nails
If you have really yellow and stained nails, but no ridges you can still use a buffer, but it will not be as effective and will mostly only weaken the nail plate. For dealing with this problems I have two main tips to share:
1) Toothpaste
Most toothpastes contain bleaching of some kind and all of them contain very small particles to scrub the surface of the tooth. So pick a toothpaste, preferably one that promises you "
white teeth in a month" or something, 'cus that will contain bleach. Place a small amount on a nail scrub, and scrub away!
I like to scrub hard for about five minutes, depending on how yellow your nails are.
Option 2)
Take a small amount of toothpaste and rub some on each nail.
Leave on for 10 - 15 minutes and then massage the paste into each nail and rinse of.
Tip 2) Lemons
Lemons are natural bleachers and people use them for everything from cleaning their house to bleach skin and hair. So obviously it will help to bleach your nails! Cut a lemon in half, stick your finger tips into it and stay like that for 15 minutes. This is great to do when you're watching a movie or something. After the 15 minutes have gone, wash your hands and use a good handcream 'cus lemons will really dry out your hands and cuticles!
Option 2) Lemons and baking soda
Along with lemons, baking soda has also been used to clean around the house a lot. Somehow it removes stains really well if you let it sit for a while, so why not use it on our nails? Make a paste with the juice of half a lemon and one teaspoon of baking soda. This mix will create a chemical reaction and swell, but just wait until it has "calmed down"
Then smear some of the paste onto each nail, let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes, depend on how yellow your nails are, then massage it into the nail. Rinse of with warm water and use a good handcream.
Yellow nails come from a lot things including color pigments in the polish, lack of oxygen and may also be a sign of diabetes (contact a doctor if you suspect this!) Ridges can come from lack of vitamins, and some claim that it's a sign of bad digestion. Anyway, their both signs of there being something wrong with your body, so you should be aware if you're having major problems with ridges or discoloring.
So those were my tips for getting rid of ridges and dealing with yellow and stained nails! I also like to use a ridge filler or nail strengthener afterwards. As you can see from this photo, my nails look a lot better!
I hope these tips were helpful! And if there is anything else your wondering don't hesitate to ask!
