Sickening yellow nails

[Autumn]

I've noticed over the past few days that my nails are turning a sickening yellow color. A really gross bright I smoked for 20 years, and at my high point smoked nearly 3 packs a day. ( I KNOW!) Do you think it's all the tobacco and crap coming to the surface? My nails NEVER looked like this before. YUCK!!!!!!! Can you imagine what my LUNGS must look like? Although, after a year of being cigarette-free (with 2 tiny slips), I imagine my lungs are starting to clean up at least a bit.

Anyone else experience this with their nails?

[VeganVixen]

well it sounds like detox to me (????) but get some good nail polish ;) (maybe a natural variety?) and move those toxins out out out ! :p

[Revvell]

Oh YESSSS!!!! Time for celebration and joy! And forget the nail polish! No such thing as "natural" nail polish. Good for you!

I've heard of women who've died their hair black for many years and when going through detox, the black came out of the soles of their feet as a sticky tar.


Revvell

[blue_sky]

OMG revvell, SCARY!!! just goes to show you how the things we put ON our bodies end up IN our bodies.

Autumn-- you could try buffing your nails- you can buy a buffer in the nail care section of any pharmacy-- that way no yucky chemicals, and you may speed up the process a bit. Good luck! I'm sure it won't last too long :)

PS-- Congrats on kickin the butts.

[AubreyG]

I bet it is the tar; when I was a little girl, I ran my hand along a wooden telephone pole, and there were thousands of tiny splinters in the palm of my hand. My mother couldn't remove them all. To this day, I still get the occaisional splinter that comes out in my fingernail, and eventually, when I clip my nails, its out and gone. I would never doubt that your body is getting rid of all that niccotine (sp?)!

[Sweet lips]

YEEEEEESSSSSS LAWD! Now, to help you cosmetically, soak them in a little perxiode and see if that helps you. Other than that as Revvell said Celebrate the changes and your increased mortality. :D

[Autumn]

Thanks all for the tips and encouragement. I messed up in my original post, I meant to say they are a really gross, bright dark yellow, almost orangy brown.
It's exciting to think what is leaving my body!

I rarely use nail polish anymore, but I was wondering if it possible to make a truly natural polish (more like a sheer wash of color) with berries. I know women used to use berries to color their lips and cheeks. I wonder what would help the berry juice stick to the nail without coloring the whole finger. :D I do like a bit of color at times on my nails. Anyone have any ideas?

Another thing about my nails-they are growing like wildfire! I've nearly always had rather strong, long nails, but in the past few years they were breaking and getting weaker. Now they get so long I have to cut them. :D My hair too is growing like weeds, and the more I get it trimmed, the more it grows. I swear it's growing an inch a month!

[AubreyG]

Autumn:

The latest issue of Yoga Journal has a section called "OM" with a bunch of interesting health and beauty tidbits in it. I read somewhere about a couple different brands of more natural nail polish, some of which don't even require acetone to remove the color (the color will peel off if need be). Next time you go to the grocery store to buy more organic veggies and fruits, check the newsstand to see if the current issue is up and what polishes are listed.

In the meantime, rosewater might work (the kind used for blush or rouge for lips). I buy mine from Benefit Cosmetics out of San Francisco (www.benefitcosmetics.com). They don't test any of their products on animals, and the product is called BeneTint. That might work on your nails for the time being. It comes with a little brush you can use to dab onto cheeks, lips, and perhaps even nails!

I have one thumbnail that is very thick and brittle; I rub tea tree oil on it a lot and it has been getting better. Maybe that would help extract some of the niccotine faster, too. But bye-bye toxins, anyhow!

:) Aubrey

[VeganVixen]

yeah ,Ive seen natural nail polish at the h.f.s. -if you want to go that route,and about the black dye -henna is GREAT and it comes in a bunch of colors!

[Airmid]

I had the same thing happen over the weekend. I was doing a lot of work in the garden, and thought I had just gotten my fingernails really dirty, but couldn't figure out why they were that orangey color. I forgot all about it later. I smoked for sixteen years and quit about two and a half years ago.

When reading your post, I remembered the funky color I kept noticing over the weekend and checked out my nails now. They look great. My nails are usually very clear, opaque-looking. Now they are bone white, like french tips.

[rawpriestess]

Hi Autumn,

it certainly might be nicotine, or it might be a nail fungus, that is just showing, you might try the tea tree oil, as it is anti fungal, or you might try soaking your fingers in vinegar, it is also anti fungal, but tee trea is much stronger, it all depends on how much you choose to use, and what you can handle directly on your skin.

You could use household bleach, either dipping your fingers in a mild solution, but it can be toxic, but it will remove the discoloration, and get rid of any fungus, or you might try hydrogen peroxide, again, all of these can be a challenge if you have sensative skin, or cuticles.

so, at least you have a few ideas.

If you have thick and discolored nails, it is about 99% guaranteed, it is a fungus, usually the doctor will prescribe a very strong anti biotic to get rid of it, but I wouldn't go to a doctor to save my life, so I would never suggest that, but it is nice to know what it could be.

Good luck, and keep all of us posted.

[rawpriestess]

OH, Henna will stain your nails beautifully, you can buy Mendhi (henna for skin and nails) at Hot topics, or sometimes stores like Hippy type stores, or Pier 1, or palces like that. I would just make a small batch of the henna (never use metal anything near henna) and then paint it on your nails, just like finger nail polish, but really thick, let it sit about an hour, then rinse off, your nails should be bright red, or whatever color henna you buy.

Have fun. It's a blast to use henna as a temporary tattoo on your face and body too.

[Autumn]

I'm going to try henna. I've always heard about it but never really knew what it was.

[Tina]

Hi Autumn,

I'm a licensed nail technician and wanted to provide you with textbook definition of the common nail disorder of discolored nails:

Discolored nails are a condition in which the nails turn a variety of colors including yellow, blue, blue-grey, green, red and purple. Discoloration can be caused by poor blood circulation, a heart condition, or topical or oral medications. It may also indicate the presence of a systemic disorder.

If your nails are very discolored and you don't wear dark polish, which may have caused discoloration since it stains, and aren't on medication I would seek medical advice to rule out anything more serious. Just a thought.

Hope this helps.