How to Lighten Stained Nails At Home, According to the Pros

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Meet the Experts

What Causes Stained Nails?

“There are many things that can cause nail stains,” says Ventura.

African American female with French manicure touching hand gently on beige background

Photology1971 / Getty Images

However, she says the most common cause is pigmented nail products.

How quickly it’s possible for you to fix nail stains will depend on the cause of it.

In some cases, you may just have to wait for it to grow out."

See below for nine easy ways to whiten surface-level stained nails at home.

Some stains are very superficial and can be taken care of quite quickly.

She recommends using the ISDINSI-Nailsstrengthener on bare nails daily as it’s formulated with hyaluronic acid.

Then, apply the paste to the tops and undersides of your nails.

Let it sit for at least five minutes before rinsing it off.

In fact, she says it’s one of her favorite nail-whitening hacks.

Give your nails a break from potentially-staining nail polish and opt for press-ons instead.

InformedHealth.org [Internet].

Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2006-.

In brief: Structure of the nails.

[Updated 2021 Dec 2].