Healthy, Strong Nails: Your Nail Care 101 Guide
Table of Contents
Five Things To Do for Healthy, Strong Nails
Five Things NOT To Do for Healthy, Strong Nails
Caring about nails often feels like juggling a few priorities. Nails have to feel great, look beautiful, and be healthy.
Unfortunately, women are often forced to choose between the three. You can have one or the other. And after years of choosing to have beautiful nails, nail health degrades — ironically leading to healthy nails flying back to the top of the wish list.
As Philadelphia’s nail care experts, we help women escape what we call “The Tyranny of the OR” — the false choice between beauty and health — so you can have all three: natural nails that feel great, look beautiful, and are healthy.
In this article, we share ten keys (five things to do and five things not to do) that will help you achieve healthy, strong, natural nails. Because health is the foundation of everything we do.
Achieving Healthy, Strong Nails
Healthy, strong nails aren’t the result of one product, one manicure, or one appointment. They’re the result of thoughtful, consistent choices — what you do and what you don’t do.
We’re reminded of the saying, “When you’re born, you look like your parents. But when you die, you look like your decisions.”
The same holds true for your nails. Over time, they reflect not genetics, but habits — how gently you treat them, how often you protect them, and how consistently you invest in their care.
Let’s begin with what to do.
Five Things To Do for Healthy, Strong Nails
1. Find A Nail Salon That Doesn't Use E-Files
E-files are the most common source of nail damage, visible to the naked eye or hidden. They thin the nail plate, disrupt the natural seal between nail and skin, and can cause sensitivity that can become permanent.
This tip is first on the list for a reason – it affects everything else. Stop using E-files and that alone will get you well on your way toward having healthy, strong nails. Follow everything on this list BUT this one, and it’s as if you’ve attached bricks to your waist as you attempt to swim across a river.
We also know that 99% of nail salons use E-files. The difficulty in executing this advice isn’t taken for granted.
Seek out a nail salon that works by hand only, where nail shaping and product removal are done with the human touch, not industrial rotary tools. Your natural nails will thank you for it.
2. Commit To Regular Appointments
Healthy, strong nails aren’t achieved in one session — they’re built through rhythm and repetition. Regular appointments allow your nail care specialist to maintain structure, prevent lifting, and monitor the long-term health of your nails as they grow and strengthen over time.
This is especially true if you’re beginning your nail care journey with weak, brittle, or thin nails. Restoration happens in layers — each appointment refines, protects, and reinforces the work of the one before it.
But what you do outside of your appointment matters just as much as what happens during it. Daily habits, gentle hand care, and avoiding behaviors that compromise the nail plate all contribute to lasting results.
Think of it like hair trims or dental cleanings: professional care is essential, but the routine you maintain between visits determines how beautifully the results endure.
3. Treat Nail Walls and Hangnails — Don't Stop at Cuticle Care
We don’t love the term “cuticle care.”
Caring only for the cuticle — the thin layer of skin at the base of the nail — is like cleaning just the entryway and ignoring the rest of the home.
That said, considering how many salons overlook even the basics, finding one that performs true, detailed cuticle work is already a step in the right direction.
But achieving healthy nails requires more. The entire nail wall — the surrounding skin, folds, and tissue that frame each nail — must be cleaned, hydrated, and free from buildup or tearing. Trimming hangnails isn’t cosmetic; it’s essential for preventing inflammation and maintaining a smooth, protected nail perimeter.
At Atelier Anaiis, what we call Nail Care expands far beyond “cuticle care.” We refine every surface that borders the nail, restore balance to the nail walls, and create the healthy foundation that allows gel to bond flawlessly — without trauma or shortcuts.
True Nail Care treats the entire perimeter of the nail as a living structure — one that deserves attention, protection, and respect.
4. Gel Polish as Protection
At Atelier Anaiis, we see gel polish not as decoration, but as protection — a safeguard for the natural nail beneath it.
The best gel manicures — those skillfully performed from soak-off to reshaping to curing — are inherently protective. Each step, when done with intention and skill, adds up to create a shield for the nail as it regrows under proper structure and guidance.
We understand the attraction to bare nails. They feel light and effortless — until the nail plate has been weakened. Once nail damage occurs — when nails become thin, brittle, or begin to peel — protection is no longer optional; it’s essential.
A thoughtfully applied gel manicure acts as a suit of armor: it reinforces the nail, prevents dehydration and breakage, and gives the natural nail the opportunity to heal safely beneath the surface.
True gel manicures are not about covering flaws. They’re about creating the right environment for restoration — so that beauty and health can coexist seamlessly.
5. Know That Beauty and Health Can Coexist
Today, beautiful nails and healthy nails often stand on opposite sides. Most salons cut corners — shortening appointment times, using electric nail drills, skipping essential care steps, and focusing on surface-level beauty.
But we’re here to reassure you: you don’t have to choose.
At Atelier Anaiis, beauty and health are not competitors — they are harmonious reflections of one another. When nails are restored, structured, and protected with care, their natural beauty emerges effortlessly.
Beautiful nails are healthy nails. And healthy nails are beautiful nails.
Don’t cheat yourself by returning to a place that offers thirty-minute manicures. You already know where that path leads — temporary results and long-term damage.
When your Nail Care process is built on restoration and protection, beauty becomes not an illusion, but the inevitable outcome.
Five Things NOT To Do for Healthy, Strong Nails
1. Don't Pick at Living Skin
Most people call it “picking at your cuticles,” but what’s actually being picked is living skin — the protective tissue that supports and seals the nail plate. And yes, what happens around the nail directly affects the health of the nail itself.
We know this is a habit many women struggle with long before becoming our clients at Atelier Anaiis. It often begins unconsciously — a small distraction during the day — but over time, it causes inflammation, infection, and thickened skin around the nails. What starts as a nervous reflex can quickly add months to your nail restoration timeline.
The key isn’t simply self-control — it’s prevention. When your nail walls are properly maintained through consistent, detailed care — what we call Nail Care, not just “cuticle care” — there’s nothing left to pick at. Healthy nail walls lie flush, smooth, and free of irritation.
And once you experience how refined and healthy your hands look after true Nail Care, something changes. The urge to pick naturally fades, replaced by an instinct to protect what you’ve worked so hard to restore.
2. Don't Peel Nails
Peeling your nails may seem innocent — a small lift you catch with your fingertip — but each time you do, you’re tearing away microscopic layers of your natural keratin. Over time, that damage leaves nails thin, weak, and uneven.
It’s closely related to the habit of picking at cuticles: both are often unconscious attempts to “fix” a surface that doesn’t feel perfect. But the truth is, manicures from Atelier Anaiis leave nothing to pick or peel.
At our Philadelphia nail care studio, our Signature Foundation Manicure remains beautifully intact for three to four weeks, maintaining its smoothness so your nails stay undisturbed throughout their natural growth cycle.
Relying on self-control alone is exhausting — willpower is a finite resource. The better path is to remove the temptation altogether by fixing the root of the problem: weak product application, overgrown edges, or improper curing.
When your manicure is done correctly, there’s no urge to peel — only the quiet satisfaction of nails that stay pristine, protected, and whole.
3. Don't Get Refills
Refilling product over and over may seem efficient — a quick way to extend the life of your manicure — but in truth, it violates one of the most basic fundamentals of Nail Care 101: cleanliness.
Refills always rely on nail drills, and that alone makes them incompatible with healthy nail care. As we mentioned at the very beginning, you can follow every other principle in this guide, but if you continue allowing an E-file on your natural nails, the damage will persist.
Stopping its use is that crucial to long-term nail health.
Think of it like eating out of the same bowl for weeks without washing the dishes — each refill layers new material over old buildup, trapping bacteria, concealing damage, and disrupting the natural architecture of the nail beneath.
Remember: your hands are your first point of contact with the world. They touch countless surfaces each day, inevitably interacting with bacteria. When old product is sealed under new layers — often with an E-file dangerously sawing away at the surface first — you create the ideal conditions for that bacteria to thrive: invisible to the eye, but harmful over time.
A truly restorative manicure always begins with a clean slate. Each product layer should be removed completely and safely before new structure is built. This isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about hygiene, integrity, and self-respect.
A fresh foundation every time is how natural nails stay healthy, balanced, and strong for the long term.
4. Don't Use Regular Polish
Regular polish may offer color, but it offers no protection. It chips easily, requires frequent removal with harsh solvents, and leaves the nails dry, porous, and exposed.
What many don’t realize is that regular polish seeps into the natural keratin layers of the nail, slowly breaking them down. The yellowing often seen after long-term regular polish use isn’t just cosmetic — it’s evidence of structural nail damage. The keratin that gives your nails strength becomes compromised, leading to peeling, brittleness, and uneven texture.
The same caution applies to acrylics and dip systems. Both rely on harsh chemical processes and adhesives that can weaken and break down the natural nail plate over time.
Trust your instincts: when you smell the harsh, pungent chemical fumes of regular polish or acrylic, run. That reaction is your body’s signal — a reminder that beauty should never come at the cost of your health.
5. Don't Use Cuticle Oil
This one surprises many first-time clients at Atelier Anaiis. Cuticle oil has long been marketed as a universal cure for dryness — and while it can be beneficial on bare nails, it behaves very differently when applied over gel.
When oil seeps into the micro-gaps between product and natural nail, it can soften the bond and begin to force small separations in the seal. Those gaps may then trap water, creating the ideal environment for fungus and bacterial growth beneath the surface.
It’s one thing to use cuticle oil on natural, product-free nails. But once a protective gel layer is in place, oil becomes counterproductive. Instead, focus on gentle, water-based hydration — lightweight hand creams and lotions that condition the skin without disturbing the structure of the manicure.
Leave the deeper restorative work to your nail professional, and reserve cuticle oil for the moments when your nails are truly bare.
A healthy seal — not excess oil — is what keeps your nails strong, secure, and protected between appointments.
Atelier Anaiis — The Home of Healthy, Strong Nails
At Atelier Anaiis, we believe nail care should never force you to choose between what’s beautiful and what’s healthy. The two can — and should — coexist in harmony.
Our work begins with restoration, continues with protection, and results in nails that not only look refined but feel strong, resilient, and alive.
Healthy nails are not a luxury — they’re the natural outcome of thoughtful, consistent care.
If this philosophy speaks to you, we invite you to stay connected.
Subscribe to The Atelier Anaiis Journal to receive refined insights on nail health, longevity, and restoration — written with the same care and intention we bring to every manicure.
Because the more you understand your nails, the more beautifully they’ll serve you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What makes nails healthy and strong?
Healthy, strong nails are the result of consistent, restorative care — not quick fixes. Choosing a salon that avoids E-files, maintaining regular appointments, and protecting nails with well-structured gel all help rebuild strength from the foundation up.
Q. How do E-files (nail drills) cause nail damage?
Nail drills thin the nail plate, break the natural seal between nail and skin, and often create heat or friction that leads to long-term sensitivity. Even when used “lightly,” E-files disrupt the nail’s structure and can make healthy nails weaker over time.
Q. Can I have healthy nails if I go to a salon that uses a nail drill?
No. If an E-file touches the natural nail, it creates micro-tears, thinning, and long-term weakness. You can do everything else right, but if a drill remains part of your routine, truly healthy nails will always be out of reach.
Q. Why is regular polish bad for nail health?
Regular polish chips easily, requires harsh acetone removal, and seeps into the keratin layers of the nail, causing yellowing, brittleness, and peeling. It offers color, but no protection — the opposite of what fragile, damaged nails need.
Q. What causes peeling nails?
Peeling nails are often the result of E-file damage, regular polish use, or picking/peeling at the nail surface. Each of these removes microscopic layers of keratin, leaving nails thin and fragile. A proper gel overlay can help stop peeling and protect new growth.
Q. How do I stop picking my nails or cuticles?
Picking is usually a response to overgrown skin, rough edges, or irritated nail walls. When the nail perimeter is refined and healthy — not just “cuticle care,” but true Nail Care — there’s nothing left to pick at, and the habit naturally fades.
Q. Is peeling off gel polish bad for my nails?
Yes. Peeling gel pulls layers of natural keratin with it, leaving nails thin, weak, and uneven. The urge to peel comes from improperly applied product or overgrown edges — issues prevented through skilled, intentional application.
Q. What nail habits damage healthy nails the most?
The most damaging habits include picking at living skin, peeling nails, using regular polish long-term, and allowing E-files on natural nails. These habits strip away protective keratin and disrupt the nail’s natural architecture.
Q. Are refills safe for nail health?
No. Refills always require nail drills and leave old product trapped beneath new layers. This creates a breeding ground for bacteria and prevents healthy, balanced nail growth. A clean removal and fresh foundation is essential every time.
Q. How often should I get my nails done to keep them strong?
Most women maintain healthy, strong nails with appointments every 3–4 weeks. This cadence supports structure, prevents lifting, and allows your specialist to monitor and guide the growth of your natural nail.
