Why Are My Nails Brittle? Causes and What Helps (Cleveland Clinic)
Why do your nails split and peel now, when they never used to? Cleveland Clinic dermatologist Rosemary Keskinen, MD, explains the mechanics: nails grow more slowly with age, so each nail spends longer exposed to dry air, water and hand sanitiser, and nails lose water faster than skin does. Longer nails and regular gel manicures make splitting more likely, because removal damages the nail. What helps is unglamorous: heavy hand cream at bedtime, daytime moisturising, a lanolin nail conditioner without alcohol, petroleum jelly, formaldehyde-free clear polish, and leaving your cuticles alone. What does not: drinking extra water to make nails supple, or eating gelatin. Biotin is a qualified yes, around 5,000 micrograms a day helps some people, but the nail bed takes six to eight weeks to grow out. And brittleness is sometimes a messenger: fragile nails can reflect low protein, iron or vitamin B, and can be an early sign of thyroid disease, so grooving, separation, or redness and swelling around the nail is a reason to see a doctor.
Where this fits: Why Are My Nails Splitting in Perimenopause?
Claims this source supports
- Brittle nails become more common with age: nails grow slower, so the nail has more exposure to dry air, water and sanitizers.
- Frequent handwashing and sanitizing dry nails out because nails lose water faster than skin does.
- Longer nails and regular use of nail cosmetics (especially gel manicures, whose removal damages the nail) increase the chance of split, cracked and broken nails.
- Treatment basics: heavy hand cream at bedtime, daytime moisturizing, lanolin nail conditioner (avoiding alcohol-containing conditioners), nail slugging with petroleum jelly, formaldehyde-free clear polish, and leaving cuticles alone.
- A daily biotin supplement of about 5,000 micrograms can improve nail health for some people, but it takes six to eight weeks for the nail bed to grow out.
- Protein supports nail health; aim for a minimum of about 45 grams a day.
- Myths: drinking extra water does not make nails more supple, and consuming gelatin does not improve nail health.
- Fragile nails can be a sign of not getting enough protein, iron or vitamin B.
- Brittle nails can be an early indicator of thyroid conditions including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and Graves' disease.
- See a doctor for grooving or separation of the nail plate, or redness, swelling or soreness of the skin folds around the nail; thickened or yellowing nails may indicate fungal infection.