Anyone got any ideas about I can make my fingernails appear whiter please?

It doesnt matter how much I scrub them,scrape them whatever,they still look dirty when they arent.
I have 3 brittle nails on one of my hands which tend to split if i use anything too harsh and  I really dont want to go down the route of a french manicure because I always manage to chip any nailo varnish I waer withing about an hour regardless of how many base /colour and top coats I put on.

Its driving me nuts so id be gratefull of any help or advice cos a few people have commented on me having dirty nails

Thanks
Philly xx

There is such a thing as a nail whitening pencil.
You run it under your fingernail and it looks quite pleasing and natural.
Boots or any cosmetic place have them.

Karen :)

eta;
there is also a nail remover (cutex) that whitens the outer nail when removing polish.

thanks  Karen, ill have a look for both of those :)

Lemon juice is also meant to work too.

M.

Soak your hands in bleach,, sounds crazy I know  but my mum used to do it years ago, I think I would water it down a bit and then just soak the fingetips

Whitening toothpaste is suposed to work well,you scrub them once a day.I use a whitening nail polish that I bought from ebay that does look good but peels off too quickly.

I've always thought that you either have or have not white nails, bit like teeth really. I have very white nails but my daughters are more see through. Mine go see through after a bath! My girls sometimes use french nail polish ( the white polish) to paint just the tips :)

thanks everyone ...ive lots of new ideas to try now....:)

hope one of them works

A gel french manicure won't come off, but it is another expense as it requires to be refilled every couple of weeks.  Looks fab though!  I've been getting mine done for years and couldn't go back to not having it. :)

There are loads of nail whitners out there.  See this list for an idea of whats available

Emma

I'd go for some warm water in a small bowl and soak with some hand soap and sqeeze of lemon juice as mentioned in an earlier mail.  Can be a bit drying so, moisturise well after.

How about a professional manicure?  They will soak and deep clean nails, and can do a fantastic top coat with "optical brightners".  My sister painted one of my nails last week with a product by "Magnetix" just to show how effective it is - fantastic result!  My nails are all yellow from fake tan, and looked awful, but the nail painted with the brightner was great!!!  White tip and pretty pink nail, almost like an instant french manicure.

Nail pencils are a cheap quick fix! Rimmel do one for about £1.99. Gwens idea is more fun tho.

Thanks everyone for your help....ill try to try them all out and see which one works best for me :)

see if you can buy calgel top coat somewhere. I buy it out of my local beautician round the corner.

Here it is just so you know what it looks like
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Calgel-Calcrystal-Top-Coat-Polish_W0QQitemZ230285008310QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230285008310&_trkparms=72%3A984%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
It is a clear top coat with a purple tinge to it, when you put it on it pinkens the nail bed brightening the white..

Honestly really good. For years and years I would not leave the house without painted nails. sounds strange I know but it was a wee phobia I obviously had, a bit like going out with unwashed hair to me :-)  but this top coats gives nails a lovely fresh cared for look I think :-D

Looks good!