Peeling nails

[Sapphire'sWings]

I want to grow my nails longer but my nails are always peeling!I have very weak nails!Any solutions to this?I just can't grow my poor nails without breaking them all the time.

[eiyela]

The same vitamins you take for hair helps some. You can also try daily oiling and nail strengtheners. But the most important thing is to be gente with them. Don't use them as tools. I'm growing mine out from some truck decorating last week, and boy do I remember that lesson!:pissed: Couldn't do much about it at the time, though.

[Rain]

I used to think I had weak nails because they’d break and peel easily but then I realized my problem. I was washing dishes and doing other dirty chores without wearing gloves. All the extra handwashing (not to mention soaking in hot water) was taking a toll on my hands and nails. I didn’t need any special foods or vitamins. I just needed to put on some gloves. D'oh!

[Kitty]

I agree with Rain, doing the dishes without gloves will definitely take a toll on them.
I would also suggest against using anything artifical on them (even the so called "strengthening" nail polishes) because they contain alot of harsh chemicals that in my experience make my nails much worse.
Lately I have not been painting them at all. Just wearing gloves for dishes (or getting DH to do them LOL) and generally not using them as tools which was also previously mentiioned. They grow very nice now.
My grandma also used to tell me to eat lots of jello because the gelatin helps nails grow strong. Dont know if this is true, but she always had long strong nails, and always ate lots of jello. :grinhappy:

[Pierre]

I take BioSil, which helps a lot to strengthen my nails. Calcium is also important to nails, and lots of sunshine makes them grow thicker.

[enitsirk]

I'm going to go against what a few other people have said and say...try putting some clear nail polish or a top coat on them. I think what I use is supposed to be a 'nail strengthener' but I like it because just having the extra layer of stuff makes them less likely to break/peel for me.

However..if you're going for getting the actual *nails* to be stronger and not going just for the look / growing out the nails maybe listen to the others :lafhard:

What I said did help me grow mine though :)

[kimberlily]

When my nails were giving me greif, I used Nail Magic on them. Poof, stronger nails! It's good stuff...

[BBGrrl]

2 things have helped me. 8 oz. of soy milk each morning has made my nails thicker. They used to just lay down if touched. I also keep them painted. 1 coat base, 2 color, and 1 top coat. without the polish my nails still flaten out and break. The polish fills in the week spots from the peeling. I havn't figured out a cure yet for that. But with the soy and the polish my nails now grow about .25 inchs before I need to file them down because they are to long.

[Shermie Girl]

Sapphire'sWings, I have peeling nails, too. :sob: :sob: Two things have helped my nails. 15,000mcg. of Biotin a day and keeping them painted with Sally Hansen Diamond Strength. My nails are a bit thicker and don't peel as badly as they used to. The SH stuff helps keep them protected and all the layers together so they don't peel so much. I also make sure to paint the free edges of my nails and keep them coated.

I wear gloves when doing dishes and other household chores, I never use my nails a tools and I keep them filed in squovals. This shape helps give them strength. I keep the length to a quarter of an inch or a little less past my fingertips. They still look long and pretty, but they are much less likely to get in the way of everything I have to do and to break. HTH. :grinhappy:

[Kitty]

OH I just thought of something I heard from a nail esthetician awhile ago about growing strong nails that wont break or peal. Apparently, you are always suppose to file nails in one direction and not saw back and forth (which I like to do but try not to).
Not sure if this actually accomplishes anything, but I thought I would just mention it as well.

[Elle]

When my nails were giving me greif, I used Nail Magic on them. Poof, stronger nails! It's good stuff...I second that! Nail Magic worked wonders on my nails! As Kimberlily knows, I kept a log along with pictures of my nails as they went from extremely weak, tearing nails to long, strong nails. It's in my journal over at LHC, though... :(

[Pegasus Marsters]

Someone else might have recommended this already (Sorry, I didn't read the whole thread) but coconut oil works great! any time you get your hands wet, put a little coconut oil on after and rub it into your nails. It solved my problems!

[enitsirk]

OH I just thought of something I heard from a nail esthetician awhile ago about growing strong nails that wont break or peal. Apparently, you are always suppose to file nails in one direction and not saw back and forth (which I like to do but try not to).
Not sure if this actually accomplishes anything, but I thought I would just mention it as well.

I have always read and heard that but I can never make myself do it. It just takes way too much time!

I think I could see how this would help them to be stronger at the tips though.

[myrrh78]

Hi,

Sometimes I get peeling nails also. I tried a few things and it has improved:

-I have started wearing gloves to do dishes and cleaning.
-I use Nutra Nail Aloe Formula occasionally (this one seemed to have the least sketchy ingredients) Incidentally I was actually planning on getting the brand that Elle uses but couldn't remember the name and this was on sale :happy:
-I file in only one direction from either side to the center. It doesn't seem to take any longer that side to side sawing. It also seems to make it easier to get exactly the nail shape I want--which I saw cleverly combined as "squovals."

I haven't had any peeling since, and my nails seem to grow faster than I can keep up with.

Good Luck :happy:

[Sapphire'sWings]

Wow!Lots of advice! :grinhappy: Thanks.I went to my doctor today and he prescribed a multivatamin.Other than that I'm just going to put some polish on the and hope for the best.I'm also putting oil on my nails.I'll see if I can do anything else and use your great advice.

When I file my nails I file in one direction too.I guess it helps,but my nails are still very weak.

[Stephanie]

If your nails are soft and peeling, you likely have too much oil in them, so avoid putting more oil on them. This is the case with my nails and I find that I can grow beautifully long, hard yet flexible nails with the help of a strengthener (I use OPI's Nail Envy for Sensitive and Peeling nails).

If your nails are hard and peeling, hit the oil (internally and externally) like crazy. My favorite recommendation for this is Burt's Bees Lemon Cuticle Balm. Or, wash your hands frequently in nice, warm water and apply lots of lotion to seal in the moisture.

:flower:

[birdiefu]

My nails are peel-prone also, but I think it's due to my wonderfully sweaty hands :depressed:. If I keep my hands as dry as possible, the nails seem much harder and stronger. When my hands get really sweaty, I notice that the middle portion of the tip (not touching skin) is strong and white, while the areas close to the nail bed touching the skin are sorta see-through, softer, and flimsier. When my hands get overly sweaty, I give them a good rinse and dry and it improves a bit.

The easiest way for me to grow my nails out is to keep them covered in nail polish all the time, as it helps keep the edges from too much moisture and from peeling. A nail buffer also works to 'heal' any areas that partially peeled from peeling further and taking a whole section of nail off.

[Elle]

After trying all kinds of nail strengtheners and having absolutely nothing to show for it (except for a drawer full of crummy products) I did some research and found that OPI's Nail Envy produced excellent results. They have a few strengthening formulas for different nail problems.

If you decide to go the nail strengthening route, be sure to get the proper formula. There are some products on the market for soft, thin and peeling nails and others for dry, brittle nails. As obvious as it is, I didn't realize this at first and bought pretty much anything that said it was for strengthening nails. I'm sure I did myself a disservice by trying to add moisture (brittle nail products) to nails that obviously needed hardening.

[faerie]

... If your nails are hard and peeling, hit the oil (internally and externally) like crazy. My favorite recommendation for this is Burt's Bees Lemon Cuticle Balm. Or, wash your hands frequently in nice, warm water and apply lots of lotion to seal in the moisture. :flower:

That's me. My nails peel, chip and break at will. Just started using oil on them, hopefully I can get them at one length soon.

[Peggy E.]

Might depend on why your nails are weak and peeling as to what will help strengthen them for you.

I had great nails until all of my illnesses crept over me - and the medications to keep me from succumbing to them. :o(

Now they are weak, peel, break way down and it makes no difference that I do nothing to cause my nails this grief (other than to be sick and on meds, that is!).

I use Sally Hansen's "Advanced Hard as Nails" clear as a base coat, one coat of light color, then top with the AHAN. As touchups become necessary, I simply coat with the Hard as Nails, no more color.

I've found that using a color nail polish will cause more chipping - and subsequent peeling - than the clear. So, I only use a color every other time I do my nails.

[MerryKat]

I find that wearing nail polish agrivates my peeling. I have found that rubbing olive oil into my cuticles once or twice a day has made them much less inclined to peel and also prevents those painful hang nails.

[Isilme]

Try henna! Looks good, gives you strong nails and are all natural!

[FeetR2C]

Peeling nails is a sign of poor nail health. It can be caused by certain poor health conditions that YOU may have. Contrary to popular belief, drinking Knox gelatin does NOT strengthen nails. There a numerous nail fortifiers on the market, and Sally Hansen has a superb selection of them, with their Triple Strong being one of the best. In EXTREME conditions, when ALL ELSE FAILS, you can remove the affected toenail(s) completely and let it grow back. That is best accomplished with a 40% urea skin lotion called Carmol 40. It is used to treat extreme calloused skin, such as cracked and scaly heels. Under occlusion, it will remove a toenail in 10 days, painlessly at that. That is done by taping a gauze bandage that is saturated with lotion to the nail. Replace it daily so that fresh wet lotion is in constant contact with the nail for 10 days. Once off, apply a topical ointment such as Bacitracin or Neosporin to the bare nail bed to thwart off infection. Once the new nail is visible, treat it daily with a topical nail fortifier to ensure that it grows in strong and healthy. This also works to eliminate nasty conditions of nail fungus -- no nail, no fungus. One caveat - Carmol 40 is available only by prescription the last I knew. Some people have friends in the pharmacy field that can work around that ;) It's totally possible that it may be available OTC now, as the FDA is loosening up restrictions on many topical meds. Your pharmacist could tell you.

[vilard2000]

Try using Sacte all-in-one nail treatment. Every one I've recomended this to loves it. It did a miracle for me and my daugter. I buy it on www.hello-gorgeous.net (http://www.hello-gorgeous.net). Item link is: http://store.hello-gorgeous.net/saalnagrtr.html

Good luck!
Mary.