Attention to healthy nails is an aid to good grooming

Press, 15 June 1983, Page 9

Attention to healthy nails is an aid to good grooming

In vogue

Paula Ryan

The most important part of the nail is the part we don’t see — the matrix.

The top of the matrix is sometimes visible as what we term a half-moon, but most of its lies below the cuticle.

The visible area, called the nail plate, consists of layers of a hard, enamellike substance (keratin) which are held together by a small amount of moisture and fats.

The nail bed lies under the pink part of the nail plate. The surface of the nail bed bears tiny parallel ridges which dovetail into similar ridges under the nail-plate binding. them firmly together. The nail plate and nail bed move forward together as the nail grows.

The free edge is the white part which is not attached to the nail bed, and the cuticle is the thin line of skin around the base of the nail protecting the matrix. Nails, being an extension of the skin, should be treated in the same way as you would care for your face — with care.

All the aspects about skin - the acid mantle, the importance of protein, apply equally to your nails. Detergents, being harsh and drying are apt to cause flaking and breakage. This is one reason for glove protection of hands when immersed in water mixed with detergent. A New York dermatologist, Dr Norman Orentreich, has spent many years on research of nails.

“Fragile nails .that break and split are a problem to many. Such nail problems are apparently not due to calcium deficiency as often thought There is little calcium in the nail — furthermore people with calcium deficiencies do not necessarily have fragile or splitting nails.”

Dr Earle Brauer, an American cosmetic research director, warns that if you have let your nails get into less than lovely shape — *be patient.’ Once you start to care for them ‘properly it is still going to take six months before you have new, beautiful fingernails. You can however give nature a speed up with lecithin, B-6, cider vinegar, and kelp? •

Dr Orentreich cautions about manicuring. “Not too much, and certainly not the wrong sort. Never cut off the cuticle or even trim it unless there are dry, damaged pieces protruding. “Your cuticle protects the nail fold from infection. However, a painful hangnail should most definitely be trimmed. Try this nail care method: Soak you nails in warm water, to which you have added some acid-balanced soap suds, or some wheat- germ oil. Then gently push your cuticles back with a cotton wool bud. Finish with a Vitamin E oil massage. Everybody should know by how that there is only one way to file nails and that’s ‘one-way’ in ‘one direction.’ Keep your emery board at a 45 degrees angle. Nail polish is optional. Personally I only occasionally wear (if at all) a cream, non-pearl shade to obtain a shine. However, most women wear it more often. After all, it does serve as , a shield against external knocks.

When you do remove your polishi try adding a little wheatgerm or baby oil to soften up the strong action of the acetone-based remover. Several women today are reverting to natural polishing of nails with a paste polish and a chamois buffer. Buffing stirs up the blood and spurs nail growth. A warning though - harsh buffing can actually ‘burn’ the nail. Nail health stems from good food nutrition. The benefits of gelatines have long been over-stressed. Gelatine has no effect on the growth of nails, and is

no permanent cure as a nail hardener. Leave the gelatine to the preparation of foods as in aspic and jelly, and get your protein in more edible ways by eating fish, cheese, dairy product, chicken, and eggs. I am not saying that gelatine is not at all useful in obtaining hard nails, but it takes three months for any signs after daily intake, and must be taken continually after that. Nail research has also shown that ‘best nails’ are

grown on workers. The harder ..the work, the stronger the nail grows. It’s a sort of built-in, no-self-destruct device. This doesn’t apply to work involving keeping your hands in detergent, or working with harsh, hand-held implements. Amazing — but true. Nails of nail biters grow 20 per cent faster than anyone else’s. But since the nail biter never lets them get long enough for anyone to have a look, I don’t recommend this sort of stimulation. Nails, like hair, also grow faster in warm weather, and on pregnant women. Cold weather makes them more brittle. However, the rate of growth varies on each one of us. It is our general health and wellbeing that determines the state of our nails. Generally it takes from 3 to 5 months for the nail to grow all the way front the matrix to the tip. Two interesting facts are that the middle fingernail on everyone’s hand grows fastest, and the nails on the right hand grow faster than

those on the left. The rule reverses on us ‘leftips.’ As I mentioned earlier, this is proof that the greater the activity, the faster the growth. Typist and piano players through their finger use stimulate extra growth patterns. Today there are many sophisticated nail care products on the market. However, these alone will not work nail miracles. Regular care, a correct and bal-

anced diet, and protection are all vital for beautiful nails. If you start helping your nails now — you will soon see results.