Bare Nails Are The It Nail: Here's The One Step You Need To Achieve It
Nail trends come and go—influenced by internet fads and runway shows. But a strong, manicured bare nail is always in style. If you are choosing to forgo a manicure at this time or just taking a break in between sessions, it's actually quite an easy look to pull off. You just need, uh, a healthy nail first.
And to do that, it has to start with healthy growth; there's only so much superficial buffering, trimming, and topical tonics can do. How, do you ask? Take a collagen and biotin supplement.
Advertisement
Why you should take mbg's grass-fed collagen+ for nail health.
Two of best-studied nutrients for nail health are collagen and biotin, both in mindbodygreen's grass-fed collagen+. Collagen supplements contain hydrolyzed collagen peptides, which are short-chain amino acids. These amino acids are the building blocks for your nails—so if you provide your body with said nutrients, your body will be better equipped to grow healthy, strong nails. In fact, one study found that when patients took collagen daily for 24 weeks, it helped support their nail health1, including better growth rates, reduced breakage, and improved appearance.*
Biotin is a popular addition to nail growth supplements as has been shown in studies to enhance the appearance of nails.* In fact, brittle, rigid nails are another common complaint for those with vitamin deficiencies, especially vitamin B deficiencies. Biotin has been shown to support thickness and firmness of nails2 in several human studies: One found that those who took biotin supplements had 25% thicker nail beds3 than the placebo group.*
Finally, you can also take advantage of antioxidants. Antioxidants have a host of full-body benefits thanks to their ability to neutralize free radical damage in the body. These won't necessarily help promote growth, but they will support the nails you have. Vitamin E is a popular one, as it may even help manage yellowing of nails4.
Advertisement
The takeaway.
There are plenty of day-to-day things you can do to tend to your nails (cuticle oils, anyone?), but if you really want to pull off the trend of bare nails, you need to start at the beginning: growing and nurturing your nails naturally.
Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she's held beauty roles at Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com. In her current role, she covers all the latest trends in the clean and natural beauty space, as well as lifestyle topics, such as travel. She received her journalism degree from Marquette University, graduating first in the department. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.