Strong, Healthy Nails?

Why is it so hard to grow and maintain gorgeous nails? One big reason: Nails aren't alive; they're dead (if they were living tissue, they could repair themselves instead of making us do it for them). If nails aren't alive, then how do they grow? Actually, they don't; new cells develop deep under your cuticles and push out the older, dead ones — forming those flat, hard surfaces we love to pamper and polish. Here's how to have yours looking great in no time.

DON'T SHARE YOUR NAIL FILE
Resist the urge to let anyone — even a relative — use your emery board. This tool is a porous germ-trapper. Keep yours to yourself, and replace it often.

DO MOISTURIZE DAILY
Nails need to be hydrated, since most problems crop up when they're parched. "Dry nails can crack, peel, and become brittle. Plus, dehydrated cuticles not only look ragged but also can turn into painful and infected hangnails," says Audrey Kunin, M.D., a Kansas City, Missouri, dermatologist. The best moisturizers are thick — even greasy. Try Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Hand Cream.

elp Nails Grow

"Everyone has an individual rate at which her nails increase in length, and that can't be changed," says Paul Kechijian, M.D., a nail specialist and a former clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University. On average, nails gain about one eighth of an inch per month. Their growth can be influenced by hormones (which is why pregnant women's nails grow like crazy) and temperature (more growth in summer than in winter). While most experts agree that there's no single food or pill that will speed nail growth, it's well-known that poor nutrition, infections, and aging can all slow it. "To keep nails healthy, hydrate them and minimize the use of harsh chemicals and tools,