10 Hair and Nail Secrets You'll Wish You'd Known About Earlier

by Miriam Lacey 0

When you're in a jam and desperate for hair or nail help, the perfect fix can come from some highly unexpected places. Whether you tore a nail and can't get to the salon, need a manicure to dry fast, or forgot your curling iron before a big event, there's slightly bizarre but excellent assistance for you when you keep reading.

• Weak or chip-prone digits? Dump a teaspoon of finely chopped garlic in your base coat. It strengthens nails really well (some people claim it also helps them grow faster) for a fraction of the price of drugstore nail hardeners.

• Want curls, but forgot your tongs and rollers? Put paper on your head. Seriously. "Paper" curls work on the same principle as rag curls. You just tear industrial strength paper into strips, then roll your towel-dried or slightly dampened hair up in them. You can sleep on them or, for faster results, blow-dry and then spray with hairspray.

• Use canola oil to set your manicure. In the old days, salons used mink oil to set manicures and help dry them. Now they have fancy hand dryers, but oil is still a good way to keep your nails from smudging or getting creased.

• Got oily hair and there's no shampoo or powder in sight? Grab a packet of (plain) dry oatmeal. It absorbs oil just as well as dry shampoo or powder, and it's easy to brush out.

• Hair dry and brittle?Use mayo as a hair mask. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did it, and look how shiny their hair was. All jokes aside, the egg and oil in mayo make it a good strengthener and hydrates.

• Don't peel off a chipped nail. If you can't get to a salon, grab some fake nail glue. Using something small, sharp, and unlikely to flake off (like an orange stick, a toothpick, or the tip of a pin), swipe a tiny bit of glue into the crack, let it dry, and then paint over it with a base coat and polish if you have it.

• Need more shine without the product? If shine spray weighs down your hair too much, or you just don't have any available, rinse your hair with vinegar while you're in the shower, leave it on for three to five minutes while you're shaving, washing up, etc., and then rinse it out with cool water when you're done.

• Another fast shine fix? Dip your hair in ice water. The cold seals your hair's cuticle, making it look smoother and more reflective. Just don't dip your scalp in and give yourself brain freeze.

• Static in the air got your hair looking like you just touched a generator? Swipe a dryer sheet across the offending hairs to tamp down flyaways. It reduces static in your hair the same way it does in your towels.

• Dreaded nail fungus got you keeping your feet and hands hidden? Try putting Vicks VapoRub on your hands and feet before you go to bed, then wear gloves and socks over it. It should take about six to eight weeks to alleviate most of the effects of the fungus, although it may not kill it altogether.