When you have weak nails, it may seem like a constant (and impossible) battle to keep them from breaking. While getting your nails done frequently or doing them yourself at home may seem like the solution to maintaining the look and health of your nails, it may be doing more harm than good, especially when your nails are noticeably weak.<\/p>\n
Double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, Dr\u00a0Jaimie DeRosa\u00a0says that \u201cwhat you use to polish your nails can also weaken the nails. Gel nail polish and acrylic nails can harm the nails, as can the use of acetone-based nail polish remover.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Meet The Expert: <\/strong>Dr Jaimie DeRosa, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon,\u00a0Dr Hadley King, board-certified cosmetic and medical dermatologist<\/p>\n<\/p>\n This may be the last thing you want to hear if you\u2019re a regular in the nail salon, but the good news is, if you\u2019ve noticed your they\u2019re getting weaker, there are things you can do to strengthen brittle nails and prevent further damage.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are several practices that can weaken or damage your nails,\u201d Dr. DeRosa explains. \u201cOverwashing your hands or over-use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers can dry out the nails and make them weak,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n Getting your nails done at a salon and continually getting gel or acrylics on your nails isn\u2019t helping the health of them either. Board-certified cosmetic and medical dermatologist\u00a0Dr Hadley King\u00a0shares that \u201cacrylic\u00a0and\u00a0gel nails\u00a0can reduce evaporation of water from the nail, which causes the nail and nail bed to be excessively hydrated and makes the nail bed more likely to separate from the nail plate.\u201d In that case, if you refresh your acrylics or gel manicures every few weeks, you may want give your nails a short a break every once in a while.<\/p>\n You may also notice that your nails feel a little weaker during the wintertime. That\u2019s because your hands being exposed to extreme cold weather and freezing temperatures can also have a negative effect on your nails.<\/p>\n The signs of damaged nails can vary, but you may want to look out for the following:<\/p>\n \u201cYour nails should also be smooth and without pits, as well as no horizontal ridges,\u201d Dr. DeRosa explains. One thing you should keep in mind is that it\u2019s ok to have vertical ridges in the nails, which are more common with ageing.<\/p>\n There are actually a handful of things you can do to make your nails stronger. \u201cOne of the easiest is to limit the amount of time your nails are soaking in water,\u201d Dr. DeRosa explains. \u201cSo whenever you\u2019re able, put on a\u00a0pair of gloves\u00a0before washing the dishes or cleaning.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep your nails trimmed and neat to help reduce the chance of a sharp edge or snags that can break the nail. \u201cFile your nails with a\u00a0soft file\u00a0routinely to help prevent those jagged edges that may snag or cause breakage,\u201d Dr. DeRosa offers.<\/p>\n When taking care of your nails, it\u2019s important to think of moisture. Frequent use of hand lotions and moisturizers is a great way to help keep the nails from drying out. When using hand lotion, make sure you\u2019re rubbing the lotion into your fingernails and cuticles too. A\u00a0nail or cuticle oil\u00a0is also a great way to keep your nails healthy and prevent them from drying out.<\/p>\n When painting your nails, it\u2019s important to look for non-toxic polishes that aren\u2019t made with ingredients like formaldehyde,\u00a0DBP (dibutyl phthalate), and\u00a0toluene. Some polishes will include \u201c3-free\u201d on their labels, which means they don\u2019t have those three ingredients. Others will even say \u201c5-free\u201d or \u201c7-free\u201d which means they also lack formaldehyde resin,\u00a0camphor, and\u00a0xylene. \u201cYou also want to avoid gel polish and be sure to apply an\u00a0undercoat\u00a0and\u00a0overcoat\u00a0containing a nail hardener to help strengthen nails and prevent breakage,\u201d Dr. DeRosa explains.<\/p>\n Dr. DeRosa recommends taking a break from polish every once in a while, too. \u201cIn addition, do not bite your fingernails or pick at your cuticles since doing this can damage the nail bed,\u201d she explains. When choosing a nail polish remover, look for an\u00a0acetone-free product\u00a0as acetone can dry out the nails. If you have acrylic nails, know that it is hard on the underlying nail. It also doesn\u2019t allow the nail to breathe. Removing acrylic can also be tough on the nails, so just remember to be gentle with yourself.<\/p>\n \u201cMake sure your diet is full of nutrients and vitamins that help nail growth, including calcium, protein, vitamin C, biotin (vitamin B7), and vitamin E,\u201d Dr. DeRosa explains. You don\u2019t necessarily need to take nail supplements to accomplish this. You can incorporate foods such as nuts, vegetables, and eggs into your diet, which are rich in these vitamins. Dr. King recommends a supplement to support collagen, elastin, and keratin, which is the primary protein in nails and hair. <\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0Biosil Liquid Capsules\u00a0contain choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, which stimulates the body\u2019s production of collagen, elastin and keratin. It also protects existing collagen from degradation,\u201d she explains. Biosil is a clinically proven supplement and may improve blood flow under the nail plate to help nail growth, as it activates I-proline, an important component of keratin, and it supplies orthosilicic acid, which can bind to keratin fibres to help make them stronger.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n This article was first published in womenshealthmag.com<\/em>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you have weak nails, it may seem like a constant (and impossible) battle to keep them from breaking. While getting your nails done frequently or doing them yourself at home may seem like the solution to maintaining the look and health of your nails, it may be doing more harm than good, especially when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[976,986,985,1003],"class_list":["post-4379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-style-beauty","tag-beauty","tag-beauty-advice","tag-beauty-tips","tag-nails"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4379"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5263,"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4379\/revisions\/5263"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Causes Your Nails To Weaken?<\/h2>\n
Signs Your Nails Are Damaged<\/h2>\n
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How To Strengthen Your Nails<\/h2>\n
Keep your nails trimmed<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Moisturize<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Use non-toxic polish<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Take a break from polish and acrylic<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Reassess your diet<\/strong><\/h3>\n