Yellow nails -- what causes them? Most commonly, for beauty junkies, yellow nails are the unfortunate effect of painting your fingers and toes with red-based nail polish colors. Deep burgundies, fire-engine reds and crimson-based violets are too pretty to pass up, though, so any nail polish addict can relate to the yellow nails that result from applying polish in a scarlet hue. Luckily, there are a few easy ways to bring your yellowed nails back to their original healthy color. (If the below solutions don't work, consult your doctor. Yellow nails can also be a sign of a fungal infection or other health concern.)


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Turn to Fruit
Since lemon has bleaching effects, it can be an effective remedy for whitening yellow nails. There are a couple of different ways you can use lemons to treat your nails. You can slice one in half and rub it onto each of your nails for around 30 to 60 seconds, or swipe a cotton ball soaked in lemon juice onto each nail. If you regularly eat oranges, rubbing your nails with the fresh peel two or three times per day for a few weeks will have a brightening effect. If you're Gwyneth Paltrow-level healthy and happen to have juniper berries lying around, you can also crush a teaspoon of them in a bowl of warm water and soak your nails in it before going to bed each night.

Check Your Medicine Cabinet
Some common dental treatments can actually help remove stains and discolorations from fingernails. For example, dissolving two to four denture-cleaning tablets in water and soaking your nails in the solution for 10 minutes three times per week can make them whiter over time. You can also cut teeth-whitening strips to fit the shape of your nails and leave them on for 15 minutes. Or, use an old toothbrush to whiten yellowing nails -- create a mixture of 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and brush your nails with it every night.

Filing and Buffing for a Quick Fix
Lightly buffing away the top layers of your nails is a quick and easy way to remove stains and make your nails shine. You should only buff each nail for no more than 10 seconds to avoid removing too many layers. Otherwise, your nails may weaken and break. Invest in a good buffer to remove the top layer, not a nail file, which is too harsh or the top of your nail.

Always Use a Base Coat
If you're a true polish junkie, you're going to need to know how to get rid of yellow nails, even if you rarely let your bare nails see the light of day. Yellowed nails can affect the color of lighter polishes, and that simple won't do. The best way to prevent yellow nails is to always, always start with a base coat. This is especially important if you're going to apply a dark-color polish. Vampy, dark nail polish shades like burgundy, brown, blue, and black are the main culprits behind yellow nails -- so basically, all the best shades. Using a base coat like Deborah Lippmann's All About That Base CC Base Coat, $20, adds a protective barrier between your bare nails and the dark nail polish. Apply one layer of base coat and let it dry before applying your polish.