Many of our clients already know what this is but for those that don’t here’s the lowdown!
If after removing your toenail polish, you see these white chalky patches then in most cases it is a condition called keratin granulation. These occur from constant polish wearing. This is not a fungus but can look much like it and can trigger a fungus so it is important to treat it.
Keratin granulations occur because the polish dries out the surface of the nail. When the nail surface gets this dry it can encourage fungus to take root in the nail plate. Nail fungus can be very challenging to treat so let’s get those nails healthy to avoid that!
Our clients that get keratin granulation know the remedy – keep your polish off and allow the nails to recover. They cannot recover with polish on. Nail strengtheners do not work for this. The nails need to be re-hydrated. This is why we often encourage clients to keep polish off in the winter months.
Here is our easy remedy:
- If your nails are not already thin and fragile then use CND’s Koala Buffer to very lightly buff away some of the white chalky appearance. Use very sparingly - do not try to get rid of all chalky appearance as it will thin and damage the nails even more.
- Now it is time to deeply hydrate and repair your nail plate. Our rapid remedy begins with applying OPI Repair Mode morning and night to the naked nail beds - no nail polish! This rapidly rebuilds the strength/keratin in the weakened nail bed. Do this for two weeks. If your fingernails are weak be sure to repair them too!
- After two weeks use OPI Repair Mode in the morning and Gehwol's med Nail and Skin Protection Oil in the evening. It not only deeply hydrates the nail but it also contains a fungicide. Continue until nails are fully recovered.