Winter is coming faster than you realize, which means that dry, brittle nails and peeling, cracked skin are sure to follow. Rather than worrying about how to repair your skin after the damage is done, it’s important that you take preemptive measures to prevent your skin from drying out.

Like your face, your hands, especially your nails and cuticles, require extra care to stay healthy and soft, without any hangnails or brittleness. By just adding a few of these extra steps into your routine, you can help keep your nails in their best shape.

Moisturize Often

It’s no secret that moisturizing often will help keep your cuticles from drying out. Compared to the rest of your body, the oil ducts in your hands are more compact, which means that the skin on your hands is more prone to drying out and chapping. This can also affect your cuticles, leading to painful hangnails.

Protect Your Hands

Think about how you protect the rest of your body from the environment – you use jackets, boots, umbrellas, and much more. As the weather gets colder and the air gets drier, you need to make sure that you are protecting your hands as well. When you go outside, especially if is raining or snowing, you need to make sure that you are protecting your hands by wearing mittens and keeping them dry. When you wash dishes, wear gloves as the heat of the water paired with the sudden coldness when you’re done can chap your hands, drying out your cuticles.

One thing that people often don’t think about is the importance of sunblock. Even during the winter, the sun produces UV rays that can damage your skin, leaving it unable to produce new healthy cells.

Use Treatments

With the popularity of facials and hair masks, it’s no surprise that there a spa-style treatment options available for your fingers as well. The Elon Essentials Nail Treatment Package has everything you need to help keep your cuticles from becoming dry. It includes an almond-based cuticle oil, a nail conditioner, and a nail file to keep your nails looking beautiful and healthy all winter long, no matter how harsh the climate is.

Consider Taking Supplements

Between all of the holiday dinners, the cold, and the lack of sunlight, it’s easy for your body to fall out balance during the winter. This can cause your body to begin showing signs such as ashy skin, dull hair, and even dry cuticles and weak, brittle nails. Rather than ditching all the comforts that make the winter season so wonderful, though, sometimes the only thing you need to do is make sure you’re getting the vitamins that your body needs to produce healthy nails and skin. Some of the best vitamins and nutrients to promote healthy nail growth include Biotin, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B. By increasing these to an appropriate amount during the winter, you can help fight off seasonal dryness.