Clear and white nails accentuate the beauty of your hands and feet. However, under a perfectly polished look, may lie an often ignored problem – that of yellow nails. Factors like poor lifestyle habits, an underlying medical condition or excessive usage of nail polish can impart a yellow stain to your nails.
Fortunately, apart from covering yellow nails with nail color, there exist several useful home remedies to make your nails return to their original white and pink color.
Effective Home Remedies For Yellow Nails
Lemon Juice
Take a bowl of warm water. Add the juice of a lemon to this. Soak your nails in this solution for 15 minutes. Thereafter, dip a soft toothbrush in lemon juice and gently scrub your nails with this. Lemon is well known for removing yellow stains from nails. The toothbrush also helps to scrub the discoloration away.
Hydrogen Peroxide Solution
Pour 3 caps of hydrogen peroxide liquid into one third cup of water. Soak your fingers in this solution for 2 minutes. Thereafter, use a soft toothbrush to scrub your nails.Hydrogen peroxide removes yellow stains from nails, making them turn white. Do not forget to moisturize your fingers and nails with some cuticle oil, after this treatment. Repeat this treatment thrice a week.
Toothpaste
Apply a small amount of whitening toothpaste to each nail. Leave it on for 5 minutes. Scrub gently with a soft bristled toothbrush. Wash this off with lukewarm water. Follow this regimen daily for a week. Your nails will turn white.
Baking Soda
Make a paste of baking soda with some water. Apply a small quantity on each nail. Leave this paste on for a few minutes.Wash this off with some warm water. Baking soda is an effective home remedy for removing yellow stains from nails.
Buff Your Nails
Slightly buff your nails using good quality buffing material. Buffing not only removes discoloration from your nails, but also encourages nail growth by way of increased blood circulation.Make sure you buff in the same direction. Note that too much buffing can weaken nails and break them. So buff your nails in moderation.
Go Nail Polish Free
After every three days of applying a nail polish, keep two consecutive polish free days. Absence of nail color will allow your nails to get oxygen. A brief period without nail polish will let your nails recover and avoid discoloration.
Soapy Water
Mix a few drops of a mild shampoo to a bowl of warm water. Soak your fingernails in this solution till the nails turn soft. Use a soft nail scrubber brush to scrub your nails clean leaving them devoid of any yellowness.Wash your hands and nails with warm water and then massage some cuticle oil over your nails.
Apply Protective Base Polish
Before applying colored nail polish, apply a clear protective base polish. This will prevent the dyes in nail colors from discoloring your nails. This is a must in case of dark hued nail polish colors like red, purple, burgundy, navy blue and more of the same kind.Make sure you follow any of these home remedies on a regular basis to get rid of yellow stains on nails and to keep them healthy.