They say that you can recognize an elegant woman by her hands. I agree with this, that is why I try to keep my manicure perfect all the time. Of course, this is impossible unless I spend hours every day painting my nails. Not to mention that sometimes, my nails look strangely yellow or brown from too much nail polish. A base coat does not really help me; I need to find alternative solutions to whiten my nails. Here are some of the ones that worked for me:
- Whitening toothpaste. This method is used since a long time in many countries, but it does not always work. The secret is in the toothpaste that you use; the natural, high-quality ones will not change your nails in any way. If you want this to work, apply a small amount of whitening toothpaste (with a good content of fluoride) even if you would not use this to wash your teeth. Leave it on for 10 minutes, rinse it off and use a buffer to clean your nails. Don’t use this method too often; it can damage your nails.
- Hydrogen peroxide. I bet you heared a lot about this substance, but you never actually thought about using it. Well, it is extremely useful for a number of things like bleaching your hair, desinfecting your mouth and tootbrush, whitening your teeth and, of course, your nails. Combine half cup of warm water with two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Soak your nails for 15 minutes, then rinse the solution off your hands. You can repeat this every few days until you get the result you want.
- Baking soda, olive oil and salt. This is one of the most common methods used to whiten the nails. Mix a few tablespoons of olive oil, one teaspoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of salt. Apply on your nails, leave for 15 minutes then use a manicure brush to clean your nails. Since it’s all natural, it will not do any bad to your nails even if you apply it daily.
- Lemon and baking soda. This will not only whiten your nails, but it will also strenghten them. If you want to skip the “baking soda” part you can just rub a slice of lemon on your nails for one minute, and allow them to dry. Repeat the process as often as you can and in short time your nails will look ten times better.