Yellow Stained Nails – Ask Ana
Yellow Stained Nails
ASK ANA
“I have a question …How do I get the whites of my nails super white? They get yellow so fast and I need an easy, “cheap” way to get them white again.I use base coat, but I work a multitude of construction jobs- from construction to welding. My nails always look yellow ( and I smoke too). I tried denture tabs, bleach… nothing works. I am at the point of sheer embarrassment that I may just cut them all off- but I like my long nails with clear coat.” ~Monica
ANSWER
Monica, I’m happy you’re using basecoat.
The major downfall for your nails is the smoking. I’m betting your smoking hand is worse than the other?
As you know, the tar residue is sticky, so it sticks to everything. This is why your nails stain so fast.
Here’s an article I wrote about yellow stains. It might help: https://www.nailcareheadquarters.com/yellow-nails-how-to-prevent-staining/
The best option, besides quitting (which I’m sure you’ve heard a 100+ times) is to conceal it with a manicure.
Several of my smoking customers have said that using Pure Nail Oil™ has decreased the staining. My sense is that the oil fills the top layers of keratin, making it difficult for the nicotine to penetrate the top layers of your nail plates.
I find that my a high quality ridge filling basecoat covers my polish stains quite nicely. Yours is probably more intense though.
Ophilie from Tartofraises has a natural manicure technique to make natural nails look nicer….it’s basically a soft french manicure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voWMHfMDP2A
The other option would be to find a soft pinky-beige polish that you wear all the time and is so soft that others don’t notice small chips or edge wear. Your biggest challenge will be that the nicotine will stain the polish as well. Hope that helps! ~Ana