Many women have faced that dilemma many times. You apply nail polish, hold on to the coat for as long as it takes, and when you take it off, your nails have changed colour. While some take the perceived easy way out, others like Ayeesha below, are too confused to continue risking the expected consequences.
See Ayeesha’s letter below:
Dear Makeover,
This isn’t the first time this is happening. However, I think I should do something about it. After using nail polish on my toes for weeks, I clean them and sometimes, my nails become discoloured. I’m a little scared and confused. Is this a fault of the nail polish? Is it safe to reapply the nail polish?
Ayeesha
Nail polishes are made from chemicals, and many times, these chemicals react from overuse. Some persons are guilty of not taking note of expiry dates of nail polish, and keep using anyway.
According to experts, reapplying the nail polish on discoloured nails should be avoided as much as possible. According to beauty website, www.sheknows.com, “Most commonly, yellow nails are caused by our beloved nail polish. The darker polishes especially take a toll on your nails, leaving them stained with leftover dyes. The easiest way to prevent this from happening is by always using a clear base coat. Not only does a base coat increase the life of your nail polish, but it also seals and protects the nail plates from staining.”
Foot specialist, Dr Joy Rowland, of www.clevelandclinic.org advises giving the nails a break from polish.
“I always recommend to my patients that it’s best to leave polish on for a few weeks on, and then remove the polish and go without for a few weeks. The danger with keeping your nail polish on too long is that the pigment in the nail polish can soak into the top few layers of the nail and dry it out.
“When that happens, yeast, bacteria, mold and mildew can develop underneath the nail plate, which can lead to long-term problems. The nail plate is the hard part of the nail that appears on top of the skin. By removing the polish from your toenails, you expose the surface of your nails to the air. This literally allows them to breathe – and keeps them healthy.
“In addition to going without polish for a week or so, try to keep your feet dry during the day. You can do that by wearing cotton socks and sandals or shoes made of natural, breathable fabrics and materials such as leather or cotton. If you remove the polish and your toenails look stained or have a white, chalky appearance, you can take steps to nurse them back to health,” she says.
She also gives advice for nursing the toes back to health. According to Dr Rowland, that same permeability that created the stain can help to ease it as well. Apply vitamin E oil to the nail bed – underneath the nail where it meets the skin – and gently rubbing it in. Your fingernails grow much faster than your toenails – your toenails only grow about a millimetre each month. So, you may have to be patient if you’re waiting for a discoloured nail to grow out. During that grow-out period, Dr. Rowland recommends against using nail polish.
and then