If you are a polished nail junkie, you have probably fallen victim to the yellowing of your nails. It’s an unsightly thing to see your nails in misery.
Discolored nails may indicate an infection, but if you’re also making extra trips to the bathroom, constantly reaching for your water bottle, and feeling fatigued, a likely culprit could be diabetes. The condition can cause glucose to attach to collagen proteins in the nail, turning them from pink to yellow.
What to do: See your doctor to test for diabetes. If it’s positive, he can recommend a combination of lifestyle changes and medication to keep the disease under control.
Other, rare causes of discolored nails include the “yellow nail syndrome,” an inherited condition that results in slow-growing, yellowing, discolored nails and is associated with lymphedema (swelling of tissues due to the accumulation of fluid) and lung diseases. Nails may also appear lightened to a whitish-yellow color if there has been separation of the nail from the nail bed, termed onycholysis.
If it’s none of the above, below are some solutions that don’t require you to stop wearing polish altogether.
1. Steer clear of dark polish.
As if Black Cherry Chutney isn’t the prettiest dark red polish on the planet. I don’t know how I would live without it. Unfortunately, dark polish is usually the culprit for nail discoloration. Every now and then it wouldn’t hurt to do something more nude or light so that you can give your nails a bit of a break and some time to recuperate.
2. Always remember the base coat.
There are steps for polishing your nails properly for a reason, and as silly as it may sound the base coat is truly meant to protect your nails from things like yellowing. It’s important to never skip out on it, as it adds a protective layer between your nails and the polish. If you get an even more purposeful base coat it can have strengthening and other added benefits as well.