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Health

What to do at home if your nails break?

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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If the condition of the nails worsens, it means that something is missing in the body. This usually happens in winter and early spring. Are there methods for preventing this phenomenon? How to accumulate vitamins and other substances useful for nails so that they last for the entire unfavorable period? How much does such a pleasure cost and what to do at home if nails are peeling?

What can I do to prevent my nails from splitting and to make them grow faster?

Under the influence of unfavorable factors, delamination, fragility, and discoloration of the nail plates occur. Such problems signal that there are problems in the body. Why do nails delaminate? What to do at home if nails delaminate? Brittle nails are caused by:

  • Deficiency of proteins, vitamins, microelements: zinc, sulfur, calcium, selenium, iron, chromium, phosphorus.
  • Abuse of diets.
  • Exposure to aggressive chemicals and high humidity.
  • Injury caused by improperly performed manicure.
  • Pathogenic fungi.
  • Smoking and some medications make nails yellowish.
  • Lack of hemoglobin, hidden diseases of the kidneys, liver, spleen are the cause of pallor.
  • A blue tint appears when there is insufficiency of the cardiovascular and circulatory systems.
  • Severe fatigue can lead to redness. The same picture is formed by blood stagnation and increased hemoglobin levels.

What to do to prevent nails from peeling and grow faster? The lack of components useful for nails can be replenished by adjusting the diet in the right direction. If the color changes, you need to quit smoking and undergo an ultrasound of the internal organs. For other defects, contact a dermatological clinic for an examination for the presence of fungi.

During the recovery period, nails require special care, namely: for a while, you should give up manicure varnish and acetone removers. To strengthen nails, make salt baths from table or sea salt, in a proportion of 20 g per glass of water. Do the baths for 10 days in a row, then several times a week. Another useful procedure is rubbing aromatic oils into the plates: cedar, sandalwood, pine, bergamot.

How to strengthen flaking nails?

Before deciding how to strengthen peeling nails, you should determine the cause. At a minimum, exclude a dermatological problem that requires a separate solution. If peeling is caused by dryness, you need to nourish your nails with oils or a special cuticle cream. This product is applied and rubbed in with the thumb of the other hand. Massage activates nutrition and breathing of the growth zone, due to which the nail grows stronger and more elastic.

What to do at home if your nails are peeling is to prevent the problem. To begin with, household chores that require the use of detergents should be done with protective gloves, and make such protection a permanent habit. In addition to protection, hands should be properly cared for.

An affordable and effective nail care product is a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice. Rub a few drops of the olive-lemon mixture into your nails at night, wearing cotton gloves on top. Do this twice a week.

  • Problem nails can be strengthened with baths and compresses. Baths are made from salt water, compresses - from glycerin and alum in a ratio of 25 g: 5 g, plus 70 g of water.

During the strengthening procedures, you can continue to have a manicure, but it is important not to use acetone-containing solvents and metal files. And also periodically give your nails a rest, for example: two days "off" - every five days with varnish.

An effective way to strengthen is to use medicinal varnishes containing proteins, minerals, vitamins, and moisturizers. All these components are aimed at increasing the strength of the nail plates and accelerating their growth. More complex methods are not for home use.

What vitamins should I take if my nails are peeling?

Avitaminosis has a negative effect primarily on the skin, hair and nails. What vitamins should I take if my nails are peeling?

  • As a rule, increased fragility and brittleness of nails indicates a deficiency of biotin, vitamins D and C, and excessive thinning is caused by a lack of vitamin B and minerals (iron, iodine, selenium, zinc or silicon).

Sometimes weakening of nails is provoked by taking antibiotics; in such cases, a course of acidophilus and B vitamins is prescribed to restore the situation.

You can also ask a specialist what to do at home if your nails are peeling. Doctors usually prescribe vitamin and mineral complexes: Vivasan, Viaderm Complete, Vitrum, Biotin, Doppel Hertz, etc. These drugs replenish the loss of calcium and other important microelements for nails, enrich tissues with "beauty vitamins".

At home, it is convenient to use vitamin ointments, creams and gels intended for rubbing directly into problem areas. Akademin Derm and Limoni have received good reviews.

When we talk about this problem, we usually mean the nails that are visible, that is, on the hands. Toenails also require care and attention. In addition to poor manicure and varnish, they suffer from varicose veins, tight shoes, and circulatory disorders.

To prevent the pathological process from worsening, you need to follow the rules for caring for your toenails:

  • trim and file correctly;
  • wear good quality, loose shoes;
  • maintain personal hygiene;
  • use scrubs, softening creams, massage your feet daily.

Baths for peeling nails

Peeling nails cannot be hidden by manipulation or camouflage, and if you try to do this, the situation will only get worse. You can eliminate defects and restore the integrity of the nail plates in elite salons, spending a lot of time and money. Therefore, the idea arises: what to do at home if nails peel and break?

You can help yourself by using available non-cosmetic methods and procedures. The following baths for exfoliating nails are especially useful - with sea and table salt, iodine, infusions of medicinal plants, natural fruit juices. We offer popular bath recipes:

  1. A solution of sea salt at a concentration of 30 g per cup of water: quickly prepared and absorbed by the horny tissue. The same result is achieved with table salt with added iodine.
  2. Apple cider vinegar is poured into warmed vegetable oil, mixed until smooth and fingers are dipped for 10 minutes. After the procedure, moisturizing cream is rubbed into the fingers.
  3. The nourishing mixture for the bath is prepared from base and aromatic oils. Sandalwood, pine, and bergamot are useful for splitting nails. Dipped for 10 minutes, the nails are wiped with a napkin and moisturized with cream.

The following preparation precedes strengthening procedures for nails. So, first:

  • Nails are cleaned of varnish using a non-acetone solvent.
  • Medicinal liquids are heated to approximately 40 degrees.
  • Bath time: up to 20 minutes.
  • After the procedure, wipe your fingers dry and apply a moisturizing or nourishing cream.

Proper preparation and implementation of baths ensures the health, beauty and well-groomed nails.

Mask for peeling nails

The main reasons for the appearance of various defects on nails are either diseases or improper care. Even if we seem to care about their condition, but do it illiterately, or in pursuit of fashion we resort to aggressive salon technologies, then as a result we have a beautiful, but temporary camouflage. And after its removal we find an unattractive picture: sick, brittle, unsightly nail plates that need urgent treatment. Information on what to do at home if nails are peeling will be very useful in such cases.

The best home methods to improve the condition and appearance of nails are baths and masks. The former are not very diverse - as a rule, soda, salt, and aromatic oils are used for them. In contrast, masks for exfoliating nails are quite variable.

A mask with red pepper is considered very effective in all cases, if there is no intolerance to the hot product. It powerfully stimulates the growth of healthy tissues, strengthens the nail plates. To prepare the mask, half a teaspoon of pepper is mixed with a few drops of water and a fat cream. The mass is required so much that it is enough to cover all the nails.

  • Heat the mixture in a water bath, rub into the fingertips, you can insulate with polyethylene, but this is not necessary, depending on the subjective feeling. Keep the mask for about 15 minutes, then wash off with soap. Apply nourishing cream or manicure oil to dry hands.

A similar procedure can be done with a lemon-olive mask. A simplified version is rubbing lemon juice in at night.

Gelatin masks or baths have a special effect. Gelatin for them is dissolved according to the recipe on the package. Fingers with prepared nails (without varnish and cuticles) are immersed in the solution cooled to a comfortable temperature. Wet nails are wrapped in film and warm gloves. Gelatin solution can also be used for baths.

Care for peeling nails

Beautiful nails indicate at least two things: the well-being and physical health of their "owner". For specialists who read not palms, but nails, the nature of the flaws tells what is wrong with the body of this person. For example, longitudinal grooves of a dark shade indicate an excess of iron, and transverse stripes - about gastrointestinal pathologies. Thus, the appearance and condition of the nail plates hint at what to do at home if the nails are peeling, and what kind of care is needed for peeling nails in each specific case.

Care is not complicated, but consistency is important in this matter. It is best to develop a habit and a kind of care ritual aimed at preventing defects, since delamination is the most annoying of them.

The first rule is that hands should be protected and taken care of from everything that harms the skin and nails: cold, heat, scorching sun, chemicals, dirt, water.

  • Periodically they need to be softened with baths.
  • Use special manicure tools.
  • Do not use nail polish removers containing acetone.
  • Lubricate your hands with high-quality hand and nail creams.
  • Apply medicated varnishes regularly.
  • Leave your nails unpolished from time to time.
  • Seal your nails with wax or a mask at the salon.
  • Sometimes wear moisturizing mittens at night.

Such simple measures prevent brittleness and delamination, and if you are prone to them, they cure your nails.

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File for peeling nails

The nail file for exfoliating nails is selected depending on the reasons that caused the destruction of the horny plates. To understand why nails exfoliate, you should know about their structure. The nail plate consists of horny keratin, between the layers of which are fatty layers and water molecules. A nail half a millimeter thick consists of more than a hundred such layers.

The protein keratin has a particularly strong structure. Lipids bind the keratin layers, and sulfur provides strength. Therefore, with a lack of lipids and water, nails become dry and inelastic.

What to do at home if your nails are peeling when you file them? Answer: choose the right nail file. Today, there are traditional metal files, more modern glass and laser files.

  • The metal tool leaves microtraumas on the edges of the plates - hangnails, which grow and lead to delamination of the horny layers. As a result, the nail weakens and begins to crumble.
  • Glass nail files are called the ideal abrasive tool. Due to the fine grain, the file gently processes the free edge of the nail plate and seals microcracks.
  • Laser instruments are used for unedged manicure and for processing nail ridges and nail beds. They are also suitable for polishing feet during pedicures.

When using files, it is important to remember that this is a personal tool, like a toothbrush. It should be used individually, washed with soap after the procedure, disinfected, and thermally processed.

If the file is correct, then to improve the condition it is recommended to perform an oil massage of the nails, preferably twice a day.

How to file nails so that they don’t split?

It would seem that everyone knows how to file their nails. And what is there to know? Take a nail file and file slowly... In fact, this is not so, and this simple task has its own nuances. Knowing how to file nails so that they do not peel is necessary for those who have problem nails and for the prevention of such problems.

High-quality filing is performed with harmless tools, careful movements and according to established rules. The first of them is not to cut nails with scissors, because even the best ones provoke the formation of microcracks, followed by delamination. In this context, the answer to the question of what to do at home if nails are delaminating is one: shorten nails not with scissors, but with nippers or a file. Rules of the procedure:

  • Filing to the desired length is done on dry hands.
  • The instruments are wiped with an antiseptic both before and after use.
  • The frequency of the procedure is no more than once a week, but no less than once every two weeks.
  • The nail file is used in two cases: to smooth out corners after nippers or scissors, and also for self-correction - if the free edge has not grown too much.

Today, the best tool is considered to be a glass file with a coating of sapphire or diamond. A softer level of abrasiveness is suitable for natural nails than for extended nails. The optimal indicator for thin nails is 180-280 grit, for exfoliating nails - 320-400. If we are talking about men, then their nails are thicker, and accordingly, coarser files are needed.

To remove corners and give roundness, use a banana file instead of a traditional rectangular one. You cannot file wet or varnished nails. Children are not filed at all.

It is recommended to make the edges of the toenails straight, and round the sides with a file of minimal abrasiveness. This shape prevents ingrown nails and discomfort when wearing closed shoes.

Ugly nails can ruin the appearance and mood of even the most well-groomed person. Unfortunately, no one is immune from nail problems, but you can prevent or cure nails without visiting salons and clinics. The main thing is to know what the problem is and what to do at home if your nails are peeling. Healthy food, quality care, protection from harmful factors, and the absence of bad habits can prevent most problems associated with fingernails and toenails.

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