How To Have Strong Nails

It's extremely annoying when your nails are finally looking good and a little bump sends one ricocheting off into the distance. Why are nail perfect one day and not the next?

This article was in my paper a couple of weeks ago and I thought it contained some helpful advice. I hope you gets some good tips from it.

Did you know that your nails are actually 18% water? They are made up of millions of tiny keratin cells packed firmly together. The cells produce keratin fibres that cross each other like a net and keep the whole arrangement hard. Your nail strength depends on how the cells are arranged, ow well they stick to each other and how well those keratin fibres interconnect.

BRITTLE NAILS
Lack of moisture makes nails snap off. Brittle nails typically don't flex and feel very hard. Most people notice the problem gets worse when there isn't as much moisture in the air. It's also a very common problem whose hands are in and out of water.
Hand moisturisers that contain Lanolin and Vitamin E are excellent for brittle nails. Rub into nails and cuticles straight after a shower to prevent moisture loss. Keep a tube wherever you spend the most time and apply whenever you remember.
Wear gloves for cleaning. Nail polish can also help to seal in moisture but avoid any quick-dry formulas which can make the nail cells even drier.
Taking 2.5 milligrams of the vitamin Biotin daily can help but don't expect to see improvements overnight. It can take 6 months for the nails to grow through to the tip.

BENDY NAILS
The average fingernail is 0.5mm thick, but some people's are thinner, and bendy nails are a sign you have a looser arrangement of cells. The Keratin fibres are fewer in number than average or the nails are thinner because they don't have as many cells.
Look for nail hardeners that contain Formaldehyde. This stimulates keratin cells to produce more fibres and cross link each other to make the nail stronger.
You will find formaldehyde in many strengthening products but don't use it *all* the time. It can make nails too strong, which can create problems such as nails lifting off the bed. Using it for just a few weeks will help.

NAILS THAT SPLIT
Splitting happens from repetitive wetting and drying of hands over a long period of time. Even children's nails will split during Summer when they are in and out of swimming pools or even if they have a bath everyday.
Exposure to household cleaning products can also cause the nails layers to separate. It rarely has anything to do with vitamin deficiencies.
Ridges in the nail are also caused by the same reasons. Wear gloves whenever cleaning, apply nail polish to protect and keep nails short until they recover.

WHITE SPOTS
The most common cause of white spots is an injury to the nail matrix, which lies under the skin. When the matrix gets damaged, the injury leaves a scar on the keratin cells, which appears white when the cells grow through to the nail.

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So, to me, the advice for most of the problems can be cured with the same fix.....wear gloves when cleaning or doing dishes and wear nail polish!!

I did heed the advice for the Vitamins and am now taking a 'Hair, Skin and Nails' tablet everyday. And for months I have been religiously using a nail hardening base coat....nail lifting advice be damned! I have noticed a difference with my peeling nails doing these 2 things alone. I also 'seal' my nails every time I file them with my glass nail file. I also try not to use nail clippers when shortening the length of my nails as this causes splitting, guaranteed, every time.

Did anyone else get any good tips from this article?