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Brittle nails: what to do if nails are delaminated? Video
Hands can tell a lot about a person: indicate diseases, tell about the specifics of work (physical or mental) and even give out age, which is especially important for women. Wrinkled skin, knobby joints, and uneven peeling nails indicate that there is a problem somewhere. Either the person cares little about his health, or does not properly care for his hands. Meanwhile, caring for brittle peeling nails and hand skin is not complicated at all and does not take much time.
Brittle nails: what to do?
The body is deficient in certain vitamins, as well as proteins and some trace elements.
In order to understand what exactly is missing, you need to have an idea of what the nail consists of and what is needed for its successful construction. The main building material of the nail is the keratin protein, which is composed of amino acids. The amino acid cysteine, which contains sulfur atoms, provides the nail plate with density and hardness. Often it is this factor that determines the degree of strength and vulnerability of nails: little sulfur – little strength.
However, in addition to sulfur, other microelements give strength and strength to nails:
- calcium
- iron
- zinc
- phosphorus
- selenium
- chrome
The lack of these elements in the body can also cause thinning and stratification of nails.
Negative effects of chemicals and water loss from the nail plate
Often, the fat molecules located between the keratin protein are simply washed out with surface-active detergents – washing powders, gels for washing dishes, stoves, bathtubs and toilets. The use of low-quality nail care products leads to a similar result: toluene, acetone, formaldehyde and their derivatives, which are part of these products, dry the nail plate, water molecules evaporate from it. Lack of water is also a good reason for splitting nails.
Healthy nails contain 18 to 30% water. Much depends on the relative humidity of the air: at its level of 20%, the water content in the nails drops to 7%, and they begin to exfoliate. Keeping your nails hydrated is an important part of grooming.
Brittle peeling nails can indicate diseases such as anemia, diabetes, fungus, as well as disorders in the metabolic and endocrine systems.
Sometimes the integrity of the nails is violated due to hormonal changes in the body, after severe stress or undergoing surgery.
Strengthens brittle flaking nails
Baths. To strengthen and nourish your nails, use salt, oil, milk or iodine baths. Dissolve 1-2 tbsp in 3 liter of warm water. sea salt and 3-4 drops of iodine, dip your fingers in the solution and hold for 10 minutes. Then dry your hands with a towel and apply a moisturizer or nourishing cream. Pour half a glass of water and the same amount of lemon juice into a bowl, add 3-4 drops of cypress, eucalyptus and chamomile essential oils. Soak your hands in this composition for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with cool water and lubricate with hand and nail cream.
Mix equal amounts of cream and almond oil (for example, 25 ml each) and pour the mixture into 0,5 cups of heated still mineral water. Keep your fingers in this bath for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with warm water, blot and apply a moisturizer.
Warmed milk, beer, unsweetened kvass or dry red wine can be used as a healing solution for baths. All these liquids contain a fairly high amount of trace elements, amino acids, tannins and other substances useful for improving the condition of the nails (they will stop breaking and exfoliating).
Applications, compresses, masks. Mix in 1 tsp. hand cream for 0,5 tsp. ground red pepper, ginger and turmeric powder. Rub everything well and rub into the nail plates. Put on cotton gloves and take them off after half an hour. Rinse off the composition with warm water and apply the cream to your hands. Hot compresses nourish fragile and peeling nails well: heat almond oil or grape seed oil in a water bath, soak cotton pads with it and apply on the nails first with the left hand, pressing them with the fingers of the right hand (hold for 5–8 minutes), and then on the nails with the right hands, pressing them to the nail plates with the fingers of the left hand.
Vegetable, fruit and berry masks show a good effect. Everything is very simple here: mash the pulp of any fruit or berry and apply it to your nails. After holding for 10-15 minutes, rinse with water, dry and lubricate with hand and nail cream. You can also finely grate potatoes, apples, pears, carrots or cucumbers and use the resulting mixture as a nourishing and moisturizing nail mask.
You will increase the effectiveness of the nail mask if you use a mixture of fruits, berries and vegetables as a healing composition. For example, apple, potato and strawberry or apricot, pumpkin and cranberry. Vary
How to treat brittle nails
Wax “thimbles” are an original and very effective way to strengthen the nail plate. Melt a piece of natural beeswax in a water bath, add a few drops of jojoba essential oil. Dip your fingertips in warm wax (nails should be clean, without varnish) and immediately remove them. In the air, the wax will quickly harden, forming a “shell” around each marigold. After 10-15 minutes, carefully remove the thimbles, wipe your hands with lotion and apply the cream.
Homemade hand cream and brittle nails. Take 1 yolk of a hard-boiled chicken egg and mash it with 1 tsp. glycerin and 5-6 drops of castor oil. Melt some beeswax in a water bath and, when it becomes liquid, pour it into the yolk-glycerin mixture. Mix everything well, put it in a jar and put it in the refrigerator. Use as normal hand and nail cream twice a day.
Strengthening nails with diet
Review your daily diet. Evaluate if it contains enough foods high in vitamins and minerals, which are so necessary for strengthening brittle and flaking nails.
The diet must include products that include:
- iron (red meat, liver, pomegranates, legumes, citrus fruits, carrot and beet juice, natural unrefined vegetable oils)
- gelatin (jelly, aspic, marmalade)
- calcium (milk and dairy products, almonds, dates, figs)
- zinc, iodine and phosphorus (fish, seafood)
- manganese and magnesium (bananas, rice)
- vitamins A, D, E and group B (carrots, apricots, egg yolk, fish oil, nuts, leafy vegetables, cauliflower, etc.)
See also: raisins grapes: benefits and harms.