Thin nails (thinning nails), how to make nails thicker

For several years in a row, the trend has been to look natural: wear nude makeup and not paint your nails at all. But for this, the nail plate must look perfect. If your nails look unkempt and untidy, that’s not so bad. A good manicure will fix the situation. But if they are unhealthy, urgent measures need to be taken.

The nail plate is keratinized tissue, plates of keratin. The density of the nail plate depends on keratin, and the elasticity of the nail depends on the saturation of the cells with moisture. Nails also contain microelements (zinc, chromium, calcium, iron, etc.).

Based on the condition of the marigolds, conclusions can be drawn about a person’s health. When making a diagnosis, practitioners of oriental medicine focus on the condition of the skin, nails, tongue and whites of the eyes in order to understand what pathological processes occur in the body.

A healthy nail has a uniform flesh color, the nail hole is smooth, whitish, there are no spots or seals on the nail plate and under it, the nails themselves are dense, smooth, without grooves or cracks, do not delaminate, have a normal thickness: not too thin and not too dense .

Why nails peel: causes and types of nail diseases

An unhealthy condition of nails can result in an unusual color, excessive hardness, and delamination. Various diseases cause specific changes in the structure of the nail. They arise due to external, internal and psychological factors.

External causes of unhealthy nails

Chemical exposure (household chemicals, hard water, plant juices, soil - when working in the garden - and so on).
Using varnishes with formaldehyde and aggressive agents with acetone to remove nail polish.
Improper removal of nail extensions.
Constant hypothermia of the body or being in conditions of low air humidity.
Damage caused by bruises, injuries, regular exposure to tools or devices. For example, the marigolds of people who work in the soil, shoemakers, and musicians are often in poor condition.

Internal causes of nail disease

Disturbances in the functioning of internal organs.
Metabolic disorders due to diseases or a poor diet that lacks trace elements and vitamins. In general, it is very important to monitor your diet. After all, it’s easier to prevent the problem than to later look for ways to deal with peeling nails.
Skin diseases that also affect the condition of the nails (psoriasis, lichen, fungal infection, epidermolysis, x-ray dermatitis, etc.).
Hormonal imbalance in adolescence, during pregnancy, lactation, menopause, in stressful situations, due to certain diseases.
Poisoning with drugs or heavy metals. This also includes regular exposure to toxic substances (tobacco, alcohol, narcotic poisons) on the body.

Psychological reasons

All psychological causes are a consequence of stressful effects on the human nervous system. Certain pathologies develop. Stress itself leads to a malfunction of internal organs, which certainly affects the condition of the nails.

Onychotillomania

- a pathology in which a person tends to break, tear off, or somehow destroy his own nails.

Onychophagia

- a person bites his nails without controlling this process.

Why nails peel: types of nail diseases and causes of peeling

In this section we provide a list of the main nail diseases and general principles of their treatment.

Let us warn you right away: we categorically do not recommend diagnosing yourself with a particular disease and starting to treat it, following general recommendations. Consult a doctor - a dermatologist or mycologist. Sometimes you need to visit a gastroenterologist or endocrinologist, it all depends on the cause of the deterioration in the appearance of the marigolds.

Firstly, without specific knowledge, you will not give yourself the correct diagnosis. Secondly, incorrect treatment and uncontrolled use of drugs can lead to much more depressing consequences than nail diseases.

We have outlined the descriptions of diseases and treatment methods for only one purpose. If you have a rough idea of their symptoms, it will be easier for you to understand that it’s time to see a doctor and find out how to get rid of the dissection. You can’t leave things to chance and think that brittleness and splitting of nails will go away on their own.

Onychodystrophy - unhealthy nail syndrome

The term means that nails become brittle, dull, and dry. The tips split into separate scales. When nails peel, they grow slowly.

Onychodystrophy is not a specific disease, but a characteristic of the ill health of the nail plate. This is a pronounced pathological condition that indicates complex disorders in the functioning of organs and systems of the body. Below we have provided a list of diseases that fall under the general definition of onychodystrophy. Each disease has its own symptoms.

Onychoschisis

- the nail plate splits symmetrically and only in the area of the free edge of the nail. The nail itself may be intact and dense, but its free edge becomes thinner. Sometimes the color of the nail plates changes to off-white or grayish. All of the above factors can cause the disease.

Long-term intake of vitamins A and B12, oral administration of a 10% gelatin solution, as well as medications prescribed by a doctor help restore the nail plate. It may be necessary to carry out certain procedures, which should also be prescribed by a doctor.

Strengthening nails at home

You can purchase special strengthening products in the store, for example, Eveline SOS for soft, thin and flaking nails. There are also strengthening and protecting varnishes from other brands, which contain special components and minerals, thanks to which the nails will become stronger and healthier.

In addition, at home there are all the necessary natural ingredients, which with regular use will lead to the desired result.

Spend time on your nails so that you don’t have contact with water for about an hour and a half after the procedures.

To strengthen thin fingernails at home, use:

baths;
rubbing.

Required ingredients:

lemon;
Apple vinegar;
vegetable oil, especially olive oil;
sea salt, table salt will also work;
vitamin A in solution, glycerin;
potato;
herbal tinctures.

As you can see, all the ingredients are quite accessible and available to every housewife. Vitamin A, glycerin and tinctures can be purchased at the pharmacy.

What to do if your nails peel and break: treatment and manicure

General recommendations are for everyone, regardless of what caused the splitting and brittleness of your nails.

If the reason is a violation of nail treatment technology, we recommend that you carefully read the following articles:

How to do a European manicure.
How to do a trim manicure and care for the cuticle.
How to do a hardware manicure. Description of the procedure.
How to choose wire cutters.
How to choose a file.

We recommend choosing a crystal or laser file. Laser and crystal files are the most delicate tools that can be used to “solder” peeled nail flakes. You need to file the nail in the direction from the edges to the center and from the tip to the base. Sand only dry, unpainted nails.

Check the quality of polishing using nylon tights. Run your nail along them: it should glide smoothly and not catch on the threads.

Sand any imperfections as soon as you find them. File the tip of the nail as soon as it breaks. Before treatment, wipe the nail with an antiseptic. If your nail is damaged by an infection (fungus, eczema), sterilize the file in a special solution after each use. Please note that in such cases, sandpaper files are not sterilized, but thrown away. To save money, it is wiser to purchase glass or crystal, which can be disinfected and washed.

Do not polish your nails for more than 2 minutes: there is a risk of thinning the nail plate.

Signs of thinning nails

Thinning nails make themselves felt almost immediately. First of all, you may notice peeling and a strong tendency to damage the top layer of the plate. This leads to a deterioration in the quality of the manicure, namely to the rapid erasure of the varnish coating and the need for constant polishing to achieve smoothness and shine.

Along with thinning, the nail begins to undergo deformation, and along with it, the ridges of the nail bed may also undergo changes. From an aesthetic point of view, it looks untidy and creates a lot of unpleasant sensations for the owner of the affected fingers. Added to this is a general change in the shape of the nail and its ability to grow, that is, the attractiveness of the hands is jeopardized. If the plate is severely distorted, it becomes almost impossible to make a high-quality manicure.

When the nail becomes thinner, pigment spots of different shades and stripes may appear on it, and its natural smoothness may disappear. Instead of a flat surface, you will get relief - depressions, tubercles and other unpleasant phenomena.

Along with external changes, thinning brings with it increased sensitivity, fragility and separation of the nail plate, which require intensive treatment, cosmetic and medicinal.

How to nourish and restore nails: moisturizing the nail plate

To keep your nails healthy and not break or peel, it is important to maintain the water-salt balance in the body: drink the required amount of clean water daily. Usually it is 2 liters, but it can be 1.5 or 3.

Take baths with nutrient solutions. Salt baths strengthen the nail plate. You can add a few drops of olive or castor oil, as well as lemon oil. It is enough to do such a bath once a week, keep your nails in it for several minutes, and you will already see the result of the procedure.
Do not use nail polishes and gels, cleansers with formaldehyde and toluene.
Buy cuticle oil and apply it daily. The product will not only restore the cuticle, but also saturate the nail plate with nutrients and make it more flexible, dense and elastic.
After a manicure, be sure to use cuticle oil and apply cream to your hands. Choose several suitable products for yourself. You should always know how to strengthen your nails. Products based on shea butter, lemon oil or sea buckthorn are well suited for these purposes. Such creams and the oils themselves nourish both nails and hands well. A manicure for peeling nails involves only surface treatment and nourishing creams and oils: no varnish!
To prevent delamination, include in your diet vitamin complexes for nails containing vitamins A, E, B, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, selenium. It is recommended to take vitamins as prescribed by your doctor.
Make nourishing or paraffin masks regularly. Hands are dipped into liquid paraffin for 5 minutes, which creates a sauna effect after hardening. Hands become smooth, and nails become noticeably stronger and glossier. This can also be done as part of home hand care procedures, without visiting a salon.
Include fermented milk products and liver in your diet, as well as foods with antioxidants. For example, grape seed oil. When there are not enough vitamins and minerals, white spots appear on the fingernails.
Minimize your use of alcohol and tobacco. For peeling nails, these are the first enemies.
Play sports: the general tone of the body will inevitably affect the health of the nails. 30 minutes a day three times a week is enough.

What else should you avoid if possible? From the regular use of medications, which, as the saying goes, cure one thing and cripple another. Very often, for example, due to hormonal drugs, nails, skin and hair deteriorate.

Proper strengthening of nails with folk remedies

Summary:

Causes of poor nail condition;
Homemade nail care methods and products;
Strengthening nails with artificial materials.

All girls dream of having well-groomed hands with beautiful, strong nails, but doing all the household chores and maintaining strong nails and a beautiful manicure is quite difficult. Salon options for solving brittle nails strengthen them artificially and still lead to brittle and soft nails. Some women have naturally gorgeous nails, while others have already lost hope and simply don’t know what to do with their nails, often using salon methods to strengthen their nails, but over time they realize that they have worsened their condition. Therefore, absolutely everyone who wants to make their nails strong should start with a course of strengthening using home methods. The reasons lie both in heredity and in the individual characteristics of our body.

Before you start a home course to restore strong nails, read up on the causes of loss of strength and how to avoid them

Causes of unsatisfactory: brittle condition of nails

Complaints about the condition of nails, their fragility, flexibility and brittleness have increased significantly over the past 5 years. It is not paradoxical, but with the development of nail care products and ways to decorate them, nails worsen their condition. Therefore, if you want to keep them both beautiful and strong, read and remember the reasons that make nails weak, as well as actions that will prevent this.

Many problems arise due to improper care or diet, during pregnancy, and also when the skin of the hands is exposed to various chemicals that are contained in almost all the products that we use every day. Therefore, before treating the nails themselves, it is necessary to eliminate or minimize the main cause of the problem.

Cause of weak nails No. 1: Artificial coverings

First of all, salon products such as gel polish, acrylic powder or artificial nails. They are the ones that cause the most damage to nails, since their application removes the top “protective” layer of the nails.

Important! You can use gel polishes and other artificial products, but in order to maintain the health of your nails, you must take a sufficient amount of vitamins from your diet, since with an artificial coating you will not be able to nourish your nails from the outside. Be sure to contact professionals or carefully study coating and removal technologies yourself. Most often, damage from artificial coating on nails occurs due to improper application of products and their removal. Be attentive to the work of the craftsmen and the quality of the materials they use. Materials for coating and removal are also an important part. which can make your nails soft if it contains harsh substances.

Reason for brittle nails No. 2: How to wash dishes correctly so as not to harm your nails

Please note how many household chemicals we have in our homes: powders, detergents, gels, which have a very strong aggressive effect on our body. Of course, we cannot simply turn away from them, but we can reduce their harmful effects to a minimum. First, wash dishes with gloves so that the harmful chemicals in the detergent will not affect your hands and nails. Secondly, always read what is written on the labels, and try to use gentle and environmentally friendly detergents, at least those that do not contain the strongest substances, for example SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate). After you finish cleaning, wash your hands with soap and apply nourishing cream.

Reason for loss of vitamins No. 4, which leads to peeling nails: What to eat to keep your nails strong

Think about what you eat, what healthy foods are part of your daily diet. It may simply be that your body does not have enough vitamins. Add more dairy products and green vegetables to your diet, such as cabbage, spinach or green apples, and take a course of vitamins. Everyone knows that a healthy body means shiny, smooth hair, beautiful, clean skin and strong nails. If the condition of your nails is not satisfactory, then this is a signal that something is wrong in your body and something needs to be changed.

It happens that poor nail condition is a signal of a hidden internal disease, in particular this may be associated with diseases of the heart and vascular system. First, you need to undergo a full examination of the body and, if necessary, contact specialists. Illness is a serious reason that must be dealt with one way or another. Do not forget that at least once a year you need to undergo a full examination for prevention.

In addition, women face nail problems during pregnancy. When a child develops in utero, he takes a lot of nutrients that he takes from the mother’s body, but with all this, the expectant mother does not need to forget about herself. If you have problems with your nails, eat more foods containing calcium or take special vitamins, but don't overdo it. First you need to consult a doctor for advice.

Now you know that everything is quite simple: care must be professional and of high quality, nutrition must be rich in vitamins and minerals, household chores must be safe and your nails will be stronger. But special procedures will help enhance the effect, especially after removing artificial coverings.