Emma Roberts's Manicurist Told Us Her Top 10 Nail Tips

As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm annoyed. After getting a lovely gel manicure about a week and a half ago (one that was still going strong up until about two seconds ago), my thumbnail just ripped in two. Or to be more specific and less dramatic, my thumbnail caught on something, ripped, and I couldn't resist going rogue and completely tearing it off so that my left thumbnail is about half the length of the right. (Sorry for that sordid visual.) Of course, this probably wouldn't be a problem if I weren't a nail obsessive who polishes and lacquers up weekly, never picks up a cuticle oil even though I have countless gorgeous elixirs sitting on my night table, and notoriously peels off gel. (If you don't know what that last part is, we'll enlighten you below—it's not good.)

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Luckily for me and my apparently weak and now very gimpy thumb, I had just finished picking Mazz Hanna (celebrity nail artist and founder of her eponymous, crystalline nailcare line) about her best tips and tricks for those looking to strengthen their nails. While I didn't think her answers would hit quite so close to home (I've always prided myself on my nails and my favorite nail supplement intake), her intel proved mega-helpful and interesting all the same.

Plus, she gave me one of her signature crystal manicures a few months back, and I've been wistfully daydreaming about the experience ever since. So I'm spilling the dirt! Here, 10 top nail tips for how to strengthen your nails—celeb nail artist approved. 

1. Mind Your Diet

2. Drink Water, Lots of It

3. Try a Targeted Supplement

4. Baby Your Cuticles

5. Choose a Healthier Nail Polish

6. Skip the Gel—or at Least Don't Pick Your Nails

7. Err on the Shorter Side

8. Don't Become a Serial Nail Polish Wearer

9. Give Your Hands a Skincare Routine

10. Wear Rubbers

Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.