Home remedies for brittle nails
Are your nails too fragile, weak and sensitive? If your nails are long and you are tired of seeing brittle nails, the following is a list of some home remedies for brittle nails that we will read together.
The causes of nail fragility can be hereditary factors, small injuries, wet and dry nails by alkaline substances such as detergents, anemia due to iron deficiency, zinc deficiency, decreased peripheral blood circulation, as well as the use of various varnishes and acetone. Or manicure the nails.
Brittle and dry nails
You generally apply strengthener to your nails; From olive oil and lemon juice to all kinds of commercial products, but you still miss having strong nails. Where do you think it will work? Could calcium deficiency have weakened your nails?
The horny layer of nail keratin has a sulfur substance called cysteine, and it is this substance that causes the hardness of the nail.
In terms of strength, sulfur and the stratum corneum of keratin are the most important factors in the strength of nails.
Calcium makes up about 1% of the nail volume and does not affect the hardness of the nail in any way. So the nail will never break due to lack of calcium.
Between 10 and 30% of the volume of the nail is water, and if this water is less than this amount, the fragility of the nail increases.
Fats make up about 5% of nails. The lower the fat of the nail, the lower the water holding power of the nail, and the brittleness of the nail also increases. The fat of women’s nails decreases during menopause and after, and because of this, the brittleness of nails increases.
As the flexibility of the nail decreases, its fragility increases, and fat and water are the main factors of nail flexibility. Therefore, using nail polish removers makes the nails brittle, because while removing the nail polish, fat and water are also removed from the surface of the nail.
Detergents that women use at home only remove the fat from the surface of the nail, but by removing the fat, they increase the brittleness of the nail.
Nails grow on average one-tenth of a millimeter a day, that is three millimeters in a month. The growth of toenails is one third of fingernails.
The maximum growth of nails is between the ages of 10 and 14, and after the age of 20, its growth decreases. Brittle nails is a common phenomenon that occurs in 20 to 30 percent of people, especially women aged 40 to 50. This phenomenon is also more common in people who deal with a lot of detergents at work or at home.
10 causes of brittle nails
1- Repetitive injuries: A person who works with detergents every day causes the nails to become brittle because this damage is done to the nails on a daily basis.
2- The length of the nails is directly related to the brittleness of the nails. The longer the nail, the more brittle it is, and I advise those who have this problem to always keep their nails short.
3- Occupation of people: Carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths and doctors (because they use solvents) usually experience brittle nails.
4- Constantly applying and removing nail polish: nail polish does not cause nail brittleness, but those who remove their nail polish with acetone with a very short interval of time are at risk of nail damage because acetone is a solvent.
Fingernails and toenails
5- Age is directly related to nail fragility. The older the person is, the more fragile the nail becomes. In women, because their nails are thinner, the fragility of nails is more.
6- Skin diseases: Some skin diseases also cause brittle nails. Those who have dry skin problems also have brittle nails.
7- Those who have nutritional deficiencies, especially those who are deficient in iron or zinc or have less vitamins A, B, C, D and E, are prone to brittle nails.
8- Iron deficiency anemia also causes brittle nails. Anemia is a condition in which the number or size of red blood cells or the amount of hemoglobin in the blood is reduced and the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between blood and cells is disturbed.
9- Thyroid gland problems such as hypothyroidism.
10- Doing beauty work on nails such as manicure or using artificial nails or nail implants also causes nail brittleness.
8- Advice for the strength of nails
1- Do not keep your nails long, and if you arrange your nails squarely, usually their fragility will be less.
2- Avoid nail fragility factors such as direct contact with detergents and work with gloves, so that you first wear cotton gloves and plastic gloves on top of them, or use double-layered gloves whose inner layer has a cotton coating, because the use of Simple plastic gloves make the hands sweat and the nails become soft and more brittle.
Calcium makes up about 1% of the nail volume and does not affect the hardness of the nail in any way. So the nail will never break due to lack of calcium
3- Avoid being in cold environments too much.
4- Keep the nails greasy and moist. We recommend using vegetable oils, such as olive oil and almond oil. Apply a coat or two of these oils to your nails every day after you wash your hands.
5- Moist and softening creams are also effective to prevent brittle nails. The more times you oil your nails in a day, the less brittle your nails will be.
6- Try to use less varnish and acetone.
7- In addition to adding enough milk and protein in your diet, you can also mix some gelatin in fruit juice and eat it.
8- If you have anemia, treat it. The important point in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia is that the treatment should be continued for one or two months after the symptoms and complications are completely resolved, so that the bone marrow reserves are also saturated with iron.