Why Do Nails Break And Get Weak?

I think many of us ladies have this problem. The once carelessly strong nails have become brittle or weak and it's a pain in the butt to keep them looking pretty.Especially since they seem to really be working against you.

Such is my case too. The cause for my nail damage was that I was a swimmer and spent up to 4hrs a day soaking my hands in not just water,but chlorinated water.And that, for years. Super awesome you say? My thoughts exactly.
I sometimes wonder how they didn't give up sooner and how they were still in pretty decent shape after I stopped my training.

But,the causes are many and the solutions also. Here are some common ones:


Your nails are simply dry!
Yeah,dry. You moisturize your body,  you moisturize your face but your hands and nails need a whole lot more. Why? Because you don't wash your face 3-4 times a day,do you? Your hands on the other hand         ( wasn't that just remarkable use of stylistic abilities?) get water on them much more frequently and that just dries them out an extra bit more and takes off any moisturized that was on them.
That's why,you always have to be careful that your hands and nails are nourished.
A handy way is to always have some hand cream in your bag,that is also made for nails. I personally use one that is designed to strengthen nails also,from Vaseline,that I will do a post about soon.

What your nails will really love is oil. Don't go out and get some fancy nail oil,you can use olive oil just as easy!
The ideal oil for your nails is argan oil , but if you can't get it,olive oil will do an amazing job also!Another uber-savior is the Shea Butter You can read about it in my post about raw Shea butter .
Think about it,when your skin feels dry, you feel the need to moisturize.The problem is,you can't really feel when your nails are dry,so you need to moisturize on suspicion,but when your nails are brittle and weak,there's a very high chance that they've dried out too much.
And remember, never ever soak your nails! Wear gloves when washing dishes or doing housework that involves the handling of chemicals. Your nails will thank you!


Are you over-polishing?

And I don't mean just putting nail polish on and taking it off at a rate imperceptible to the human eye, but also buffering them and making them smooth and shiny.
You like them shiny but do you know how you get them to be like that? By taking tiny layer after layer off the top. How do you expect them to be strong when you're thinning them out?
Once a week is still okay,but do it more and your nails won't like it.
As for nail polish,well that one's tricky too. If you're like me and love changing up the color of your nails every couple of days,then you have to be careful.
Nail polish remover also dries your nails out,so make sure you use one that contains some moisturizing elements.Mine is from Byphasse and I really like how gentile it is in removing polish.

Check your supplements!
The cause of brittle nails can be the lack of some substances your body needs to work better.
Vitamin C for example produces collagen,and that is a vital substance for healthy hair and nails. Vitamin C is usually found in most citric fruits like lemons,oranges,grapefruit, if you like it the natural way. If not,there's always pills. The thing with pills is,they package the Vitamin C in such a way that the body actually absorbs all of it,whereas eating lemons might get sour and you will need a lot of it to get a decent amount of Vit C each day. With that being said, a healthy diet,with fruits and vegetables will ALWAYS have good consequences for your body!
Another Vitamin you might be lacking is Vitamin B. And by that I mean several of them ( B1, B2, B3, B6, B12) all helping you get healthy nails. What you should look for is a Vitamin B complex that includes all of the above listed B's.
Last but not least, Beta Carotene . This one might be the most important one for your nails,as it works against dry skin and thus creates a natural balance in your body and nails.

Like I've said before,it's very important to balance your diet out with some healthy things,such as vitamin packed fruits and veggies. Very awesome are : avocado (and this one is all round amazing!),mango,papaya,leafy greens,black beans,broccoli or kiwi. And also,never forget the salmon!

 Don't be biting!
A sure way to kill any nail is by biting it. What you can do is either convince yourself to stop by thinking how pretty they will look when they grow out a bit and that they will get a more elongated shape if you stop nibbling OR, if you can't bring yourself to do that, try  Orly No Bite. It tastes awful and will probably put you off from touching your nails with your mouth in the future.



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