Healthy pretty hands with beautiful nails – who does not want it? But because of dark cuticles or dark skin around your nails, pretty hands may seem like a dream for many. While we all make great efforts to keep our nails white and shining, we often ignore the skin around the nails.

Before looking for any remedy, you should first identify the causes behind dark cuticles around your nails. Environmental factors, like extreme coldness or sun exposure, can also play a big role in darkening your nail cuticles. The harmful sun rays can increase melanin production and eventually cause darkening of your skin. Excessive washing of hands with soap can also strip away moisture from your skin and lead to darkening around your nails.  Dehydration is another potential cause of dark cuticles. Some medical conditions like fungal infection, heart disease or kidney problems, skin cancer, etc may also cause the skin around nails to turn black. In such cases, consult a doctor to treat the internal problem.

Natural remedies or home remedies are the best solutions when it comes to brightening dark skin around nails. Here are some home remedies that can give you best results –

Rub tomato slices

Tomatoes can help remove pigmentation and brighten your skin naturally. Cut a medium-sized tomato into halves and rub the slices on the skin around the nails. You can leave it overnight.

Milk cream scrub

Make a scrub using milk cream, oats, lemon juice and honey. Use this scrub on the darker part of the skin around your nails. Milk acts as an excellent nutrition and moisturizer as well.

Lemon and sugar scrub

Take a lemon and cut it into two equal halves. Put some sugar on one half and scrub it on your skin around the nails for about 10 -20 minutes. While lemon helps cleanse and lighten your skin, sugar is a good moisturizer.

Aloe Vera Gel

The antioxidants in aloe vera gel can help rejuvenate the skin as well as make it look brighter and softer. Apply regularly to get the desired results.

Potato Juice

Potato is known as a cleansing agent. It can also help fight pigmentation and uneven skin tone. Apply potato juice on your fingers with the help of a cotton/pad or ball. Leave it for 15-20 minutes and wash it off using normal water. Repeat this as much as you want.