When you have sensitive nails, it becomes quite the hassle to try and maintain a beautiful manicure. Learn what causes brittle nails and, most importantly, what you can do to keep maintain them healthy and strong.
What Causes Brittle Nails?
The causes are of all kinds, varying from something plain and controllable to clinical issues. Most of the time, though, the main reason is age. As you grow older, so do your nails, which weaken and develop a predisposition for breaking.
Other causes:
- Certain health issues and imbalances may cause brittle nails. Examples include hypothyroidism, biotin deficiency, or eating disorders. In most of the cases, these afflictions come with other symptoms too. Generally, this also means thin hair with a predisposition for falling.
- Iron deficiency is a very common trigger since it’s the compound that adds strength to your nails.
- Painting your nails may take its toll in the long run. Leaving polish on for too long can dry your nails up, ridding them of natural nutrients that keep them strong. Moreover, most polish removers contain properties that drain natural oils from your nails.
- In recent years, using phones has become a cause too. When you repeatedly tap your screen with your nails, they wear out around the edges.
5 Ways to Prevent Brittle Nails
#1 Take Minerals and Vitamins
You can either start stocking up on supplements or alter your diet so that you boost your intake of zinc, iron, Vitamin C, and B-group vitamins. Where to find them:
- Zinc: Lean meat, seafood, and zinc-fortified breakfast cereals.
- Iron: Dark leafy vegetables, beans, turkey, red meat, dried fruits, eggs.
- Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, berries, green vegetables.
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B000M8ON5S” locale=”US” tag=”beautifu0f2-20″]B-Group Vitamins[/easyazon_link]: Liver, salmon, carrots, cauliflower.
#2 Dip Your Nails
You need to keep your nails moisturized and nourished to keep them healthy. The quickest way to do so is by soaking them in nature’s best nail-protectors – olive oil and coconut oil. Turn this into a routine, dipping your nails for 10-15 minutes on a daily basis for a month. Afterwards, switch to a weekly treatment.
#3 Paint with Fortified Polishes
There are many nail polishes which serve more than a mere aesthetic purpose. Fortified nail polishes come packed with minerals and nutrients that can help you get a healthy intake in a very accessible manner. As mentioned before, most polish removers are pretty harmful, though. So, to not ruin the work of the fortified polish, avoid removers that contain formaldehyde, toluene, or acetone.
#4 Glove Up for Chores
Household cleaners contain powerful chemicals which affect and break down your nails’ strength. Whenever you’re doing the dishes or cleaning something up using a substance, it’s best that you do so while wearing some special gloves to protect your hands.
#5 Protect Your Nails
Many see their nails as tools for various purposes. Don’t push the limits of your nails by using them to pop open soda cans or to attempt other tasks which require stretching their physical limits.
Wrapping Up
In just a few lines, you now know what causes brittle nails and how you can avoid them in the future. Prevention is the best cure, so perk up and start protecting your nails today.