Brittle Nails: Here Are 3 Treatments For Brittle Nails

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Healthy nails enhance the beauty of your hands and often are the indicator of good health. But many people struggle to have strong, thick nails and to grow them properly. This because sometimes our nails tend to peel, chip, become brittle and even break and we don’t know why.

Well, there are various causes that this might happen, such as long exposure to water, chemicals, health issues, infections, vitamin deficiency and sometimes even because of the normal process of aging.

In the same way, when temperatures decrease especially during the winter times, the cold can take a toll on your nails and make them go dry and brittle. There’s even a medical term for brittle nails known as onychoschizia. However, there are ways to treat your peeling and splitting nails. The condition its nothing serious for most people, and you can have healthy nails again if you treat them gently. Keep scrolling to learn more about three common brittle nails treatment:

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1. Avoid Excessive Water Exposure

Since the most usual cause of having brittle nails is excessive exposure to water, you have to prevent further damage first. Worry not as you can do some of the treatments by the comfort of your home. If you’re a swimmer, it’s almost impossible to avoid contact with water entirely, but at least you can try to reduce it. Or we pretty understand that it’s impossible to avoid dishwashing completely, but in this case, you can wear gloves. They will protect your hands and fasten the process of healing. Also, avoid polishing your nails often because using nail polish removers, or detergents that contain various chemicals can pull out your nails’ natural oils and damage nail proteins. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to reduce the internal water intake, because that’s completely different. You have to continue consuming water regularly.

2. Avoid Artificial Nails

According to the American Academy of Dermatology “Do not wear artificial nails to cover up nail problems as they may make them worse. Artificial nails are not recommended for people who are prone to fungal infections or have brittle nails.”

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3. Use Moisturizer

Sometimes we have to literally soak our hands in the water, be it work-related or simply performing our household chores. However, dry and brittle nails can be treated if we use natural creams and oils regularly. According to the dermatologist Cynthia’s blog you have to ensure to use creams, oils, and ointments on your nails immediately after they’ve been wet. Some of the products she recommends to use for your nails are shea butter, jojoba oil, and avocado oil because they hydrate and help your nails stay strong. The other easy hydration options are a natural hand cream, balm or ointments. You have to reach a balance and apply these products more than one time during the day, to fully heal your brittle nails.

4. Take Vitamin Supplements

Foods like fruits, vegetables, natural oils, beans, whole grains, nuts, and fish are full of vitamins, but if you already have brittle nails, then you might need some extra supplements the dermatologist Cynthia suggests. The best supplement recommended according to her is biotin (B7). This because biotin in most of the cases can effectively strengthen and repair your brittle nails. Also, you can take biotin orally, and many people had good results while using it. Moreover, almonds, oats, eggs, sweet potato, onion, and tomato are just some of the foods containing biotin. Another supplement widely used for brittle nails is Vitamin E capsules. You don’t need to take them orally, but puncture a capsule and then put a little bit from the thick liquid into each of your brittle nails. Hopefully, you will see the results in weeks or even months, as it always depends on the level of the damage.

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Brittle nails are not always caused by medical conditions, environmental exposures or nutritional deficiencies. Sometimes, it is about genetics, or as we said it’s just the normal process of aging. Other times it might be because of an injury of nails, or various infections. So, make sure first to detect the cause and then act accordingly to treat them most easily and favorably. Lastly, be patient because healing brittle nails might take longer than predicted. You can support healthy nails care by eating a richly nutritious diet and protecting your nails from excessive exposure to water, chemicals and trying to stick to the above-mentioned preventive steps. Wish you a fast nail healing!

Disclaimer: The contents of this article: text, graphics, images, and other materials contained are strictly for informational purposes only. The Content is NOT intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, advice, or treatment. Please ALWAYS seek the advice of a qualified health provider with all the questions that you have related to, or about, a medical condition.