How to Remove White Spots on Nails

Small white streaks that sometimes appear as spots or stripes on fingernails and toenails have the medical term leukonychia. These white spots are usually benign, forming due to damage, allergies or vitamin deficiency. Often you can treat white spots on your nails yourself at home with many natural remedies. If the white spots don’t go away, see your doctor to get checked. In rare cases, white spots on the nails can be a sign of an underlying disease.

Table of Contents

Use home remedies

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Moisturize nails daily. In addition to moisturizing the skin of your hands, you also need to nourish your nails. Rub hand oil or vitamin E oil onto your nails every night before bed to maintain nail strength and help fade white spots. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Try using essential oils. Essential oils are known to treat white spots caused by nail damage or nail fungus. Tea tree oil and orange oil are often the most effective. Mix a few drops of essential oil with a carrier oil like olive oil and apply it to your nails. Orange oil should be left to infuse for about 45 minutes, while tea tree oil only needs to infuse for 15-20 minutes. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Always wash your nails thoroughly after applying oil.

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Soak nails in white vinegar and water. Mix 1 part white vinegar with 1 part water in a bowl to soak your nails. Soak for about 10 minutes, then wash and dry your nails. Do it 4 times per week and you will start to see the white spots reduce. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

If you have sensitive skin, you should mix the solution with more water than vinegar.

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Rub lemon slices on your nails. Sometimes a vitamin C deficiency also causes white spots on the nails, and lemons are high in vitamin C. Just cut a lemon in half and rub it on your nails. Leave the lemon juice on your nails for about 20-30 minutes, then rinse and dry your nails. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Soak your nails in unsweetened yogurt. Natural, unsweetened, unflavored yogurt promotes nail health and can reduce the appearance of white spots. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of yogurt into a bowl and dip your nails in the yogurt for 10-15 minutes, then rinse them with warm water. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

You can also add a few drops of lemon juice or vitamin E oil to yogurt.

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Use alka seltzer tablets. Alka seltzer tablets are known to reduce white spots. Drop a few pills in warm water and soak your nails for about 5 minutes. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Wait for the nail to grow out. In most cases, patience is essential to get rid of white spots on nails. The white spots will usually fade or will be pushed out as the nail grows longer. While there are steps to speed up the process, sometimes you just have to wait. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Lifestyle adjustment

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Change your diet. Deficiencies of zinc, vitamin C, calcium and protein are sometimes the cause of white spots forming on the nails. You can reduce white spots on your nails by getting the missing vitamins and minerals. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Eat fruits like oranges, lemons, grapefruits and apples to get vitamin C.
Broccoli, cabbage, kale, turnips, poultry, fish and nuts also provide essential nutrients for nail health.
You can also try taking multivitamins available at drugstores. This is helpful if you have food sensitivities, making it difficult to absorb nutrients directly from food.

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Avoid biting and picking at your fingernails. Bad habits like biting or picking at your nails can actually hurt your nails. If you often play with your nails, stop immediately. As you bite your nails less or pick them up less often, you may notice that the white spots are reduced. ^{[9] X Research Source}

If you find it hard to resist the habit of biting your nails, try putting a band-aid on your nails. Nail polish can also help, as you won’t want to ruin your beautiful freshly painted nails.

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Adjust footwear. If your toenails also often have white spots, change the footwear you’re wearing. Tight and uncomfortable shoes can injure toenails, leading to the formation of white spots. You should swap out your regular shoes for a wider, more comfortable pair to see if the white spots reduce. ^{[10] X Research Source}

This is especially important if you do things like jogging or other vigorous exercise. A comfortable pair of tennis shoes is essential for nail health.

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Wear gloves when cleaning. Never use your bare hands when washing dishes, cleaning or doing other household chores. While it may not seem like much, these household chores can damage and dry nails. To maintain optimal nail health, you should wear gloves when doing housework. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Don’t paint your nails too often. If you like to wear nail polish, you should try not to wear it for 2 days in a row. Nail polish can dry out and damage nails, leading to problems like white spots. You should also pay attention to the reaction of your nails to nail polish. If white spots often appear after using certain paints, you probably have an allergic reaction. Stop using that paint immediately. ^{[12] X Research Source}

In addition, you should also limit manicure. Try to get manicures only on special occasions if you are prone to white spots on your nails.

Seek medical attention

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See your doctor if the white spots don’t go away. If white spots still don’t go away with home remedies, make an appointment with your doctor to get checked. While usually harmless, white spots on the nails are sometimes a sign of underlying problems, such as anemia or liver disease. ^{[13] X Research Sources} In addition, you may need prescription medication for fungal nail infections.

Advice

You can also use neutral nail polish to cover the white spots if you want.

Steps

Use home remedies

Lifestyle adjustment

Seek medical attention

Advice

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