Why Do My Nails Break?

Don’t Miss: The Things You Might Be Doing to Your Dry, Brittle Nails

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Cindy Coleman

Excessive pressure on nails and even vigorous fingernails can send them to rock-hard neutral state as a result of capsaicin’s breakup — at the same time, it can raise the risk of stress-related nail breakage.

Put these things together and you’ve got dry, brittle nails, which are especially disruptive to your style in the bedroom and outdoors. New research shows that hand energy input — an active grip, a pounding movement, a bracing punch to the palm — is linked to the formation of this neutral state. Because a solid handshake is the foundation of all human interaction, better hands result in better behavior in the whole face.

So how do you stop this flailing?

But first, you must find out why your nails have been treated this way: why your dry, brittle nails don’t respond to ordinary hand pressure? These findings can help you when you apply pressure to your fingertips.

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Give yourself some space, and remember to relax your fingers.

Your muscles produce micro-movements that stabilize your hands. If your hand activity is elevated, your fingertips take on excess pressure, and have been creating an imbalance between the muscles in the fingers and the ones that support them, says Wayne Luskin, M.D., professor of dermatology and scientific consultant to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Apply heat.

The immediate benefit of using a topical OTC product on dry, brittle nails is reducing the dry, brittle feeling. Some topical ointments and gels have been shown to reduce dryness by reducing the internal heat of cuticles, says Dr. Shilpi Sharma, D.M.D., MPH, skin and nail surgeon at Beverly Hills Skin Care in Los Angeles.

There are also commercial toners, like Toxic Avenger, that can help, says Dr. Sharma. The Tox Vemether Pigment Gum (neither of which are helpful for drinking liquids) is injected into the nail bed, reducing the freezing process of oil release, explains Dr. Sharma.

Don’t overload on cuticles.

Your skin is like an oven, so if you overdo the hand caress, the oil in the cuticles will not be warm enough to drop into the blood stream. If you’ve got a bad case of salivary congestion, however, go to the restroom and change your look.

If your nails are unsightly, the most important part to help prevent nail breakage is stop applying pressure on your nails.

Cuticle clipping does not speed up nail growth, and is used only to ease stress fracture or stress fracture formation in digits, says Dr. Sharma.

Wrap your fingertips in tightly formed moisturizers, such as Neutrogena Wipes Moisturizer for Deformed Chins.

Wrap your fingertips in tightly formed moisturizers, such as Neutrogena Wipes Moisturizer for Deformed Chins, Dr. Kadoosh Anwar MD, PhD, tells POPSUGAR. By covering them with a soft liner, Dr. Anwar says, you prevent your fingertips from being shocked. (Anhui Pharmaceutical Group reports sales of $1.16 billion in the first half of last year, according to Hong Kong Business Times).

It’s safe to wear nail polish.

You may notice that your nails look cracked, particularly around the edges. Let’s not beat around the bush here: you can’t avoid nail polish exposure to washing your hands.

The good news is: your nails are not going to get ripped off by a pair of “new nails” — so coat those talons with Zoya’s nail colors to protect against friction, prevent dry nail breakage, and help keep your digits beautiful, says Dr. Anwar.

When you put on your polish, remember to resist using a nail file so your nails will have space to breathe.

Are your nails suffering from dry, brittle nails? These tips will help and make your digits as easy on the eyes as they are on the feet.