If you wear nail polish every day, you may experience stained, yellow nails on a regular basis. If you'd prefer to not continuously cover the yellow color with polish, there are numerous inexpensive at-home treatments you can do to get nails white. Choose an at-home nail-whitening method that you are comfortable doing on a regular basis, and remember to keep an ample supply of nail-whitening ingredients on hand to ensure that you always have what you need to keep your nails white and healthy.
Step 1
Use lemon juice to remove deeply ingrained impurities and discoloration from nails, Loreal Paris USA recommends. Lightly buff fingernails to remove surface discoloration. Squeeze about 4 tsp. of fresh lemon juice into a small container. Soak fingernails in lemon juice for approximately five minutes and rinse nails in lukewarm water. Alternately, rub fresh lemon slices directly onto, and under, each nail. Let sit for five minutes, then rinse off with lukewarm water. You also can use lemon essential oil to whiten nails. Pour about 2 oz. of lemon essential oil into a shallow bowl. Submerge your nails in the bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes. Rinse off with lukewarm water. Repeat a lemon nail-whitening treatment two to three times per week.
Step 2
Use a simple bleaching solution to whiten nails, nail expert Fran Manos says in Marie Claire. Mix 2 1/2 tbsp. of baking soda with 1 tbsp. of hydrogen peroxide until it forms a paste. Use a cotton swab or cotton ball to apply the mixture under the tip of each fingernail. Leave on for three minutes and rinse off with warm water. Repeat every six to eight weeks.
Step 3
Dissolve one to two denture-cleaning tablets in 1 cup of water, Manos also suggests. Soak fingernails in the solution for 15 minutes and rinse off with lukewarm water. Repeat three times per week.
Step 4
Use toothpaste to get nails white. Apply a small amount of toothpaste to nails. Use a soft nail brush to work the toothpaste into nails. Let sit for about five minutes and wash off with lukewarm water. Repeat two to three times per week.
Step 5
Use a white nail pencil, available at grocery stores and drug stores, to color underneath each nail, suggests Loreal Paris USA. This method only lasts until the color wears off, so repeat as needed.
Step 6
Use a clear base polish to add a protective layer between nails and colored fingernail polish. The dyes in colored nail polishes may cause nails to remain yellow after the polish is removed.
Step 7
Go without nail polish for a week or so if none of the nail-whitening home remedies work after several weeks of use. The nails may not be getting the oxygen they need to maintain their natural color, and may subsequently stay yellow as a result of the oxygen deficiency.
Things You'll Need
- Lemons
- Lemon essential oil
- Baking soda
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Cotton swabs or cotton balls
- Denture-cleaning tablets
- Toothpaste
- Nail brush
- White nail pencil
- Clear base fingernail polish
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