I Quit These 5 Bad Habits & Got Long, Strong, Healthy Nails

For many of us, a manicure is one of life's little pleasures. But with the pandemic throwing a wrench in our previous standing weekly salon appointments, we've been left to our own devices when it comes to our nails.

There are so many great long-wearing nail polish collections and countless genius DIY tools for achieving an expert finish at home, but I recently came to realize that some of the nail care techniques I'd been following weren't giving my nails the best start at growing long, strong, and healthy. Add nervous picking and biting to the mix thanks to COVID-induced stress and anxiety, and my nails were looking decidedly worse for wear.

So, to try and breathe life into my flimsy nails, I decided to switch things up. From investing in a top-quality nail file to always using a base coat under nail polish, read on to uncover the most common nail mistakes — and the simple adjustments I've made to achieve my best nails so far.