Recently, like within the last 2 months or so, I've notice my nails have been flaking pretty badly. I have to keep them cut really short when previously, I've always had pretty nice nails. They've never been really strong, but I can't remember them being soooo darn prone to flaking ever before!

I haven't really changed my diet recently... well, no, I've been eating healthier, less fat and more well balanced. I don't spend a lot of time washing dishes or anything (it's the kids' chore 4 days out of the week), I haven't taken up any new hobbies that would affect my hands, and I don't feel sick or anything.

I've started taking prenatal vitamins (I'm NOT pregnant, just taking them for the vitamins) within the last week and I'm trying to use a hand and nail cream on my hands everyday. I'm also using gloves now whenever I do have to do dishes or other cleaning.

Any of you smarty-pants have any idea why my nails would suddenly start being so cranky and hard to deal with? They look so icky!
:ick:

My nails used to flake and peel when I wore polish. I stopped wearing polish and started taking vitamins and now I have to cut them because they get so long.:shrug:

Maybe when you started eating healthier, you cut something out/down that had a good nutrient for your nails? Like milk? Is calcium even good for nails?

Kristin, have you had artificial nails at any point? I had a set a couple of years ago and had to have my thumb nail (real) surgically removed.. the rest of my nails now peal and are very thin. Some one told me to eat Jello (yuck!) I tried but no improvement. Good luck-please share any remedies that seem to help pretty please. :)

anne

I hardly ever wear polish, and have only started wearing it regularly to help prevent the peeling. I'm using "Miracle Cure" by Sally Hansen.

I'm drinking more milk now than I was before. One of the changes I made was that I stopped adding fake creamer to my coffee, I use milk now because it's more natural and has less fat than cream.

And I have haven't had artificial nails in at least 5 years.. maybe more.

I was thinking maybe you had cut milk out because of the fat, but that's clearly not the case. :shrug:

That sounds really yucky. :pout: I hope you figure it out soon. :hug:

Maybe it's a symptom of a medical problem/condition. It might be a good idea to have your doctor check it out.

Hope you can figure something out! :hug:
:heart::heart::heart:

Maybe you should see a good nutritionist or naturopath, because maybe due to some changes the calcium stopped absorbing in your body and it won't help taking vitamins, because they will go down the drain. For example, the iron pills i get prescribed from my doctor are made that way that they reduce vitamin E in the system and nobody tells you that, so while trying to fix one problem, i actually created another. So now i eat things containing vitamin E a few hours before or after the iron pills. That could be your case or something similar.
As for the nails - mine are flaking all the time, so i started using nail polish, but really good one. I use Orly bonder, then Orly polish. I tried Sally Hansen - expensive and doesn't work. Now i wear polish all the time, without it i couldn't have my lovely nails.

Hope it'll work out for you :muah:

It sounds like you may have some kind of deficiency in your diet that would cause it...although with eating healthier and taking vitamins I'm not sure how that would happen. Are you getting enough Omega-3 fatty acids...I've read that you can get brittle nails from not having enough. Do you eat salmon or almonds? That might help.

If it were a medical condition, there would be other symptoms first. That was the first thing I checked into. And I've been to the doctor recently for a full screening and check up and have no issues.

I can't imagine that it's caused by a deficiency though. I'm seriously eating so much better than I used to. Lots of fresh foods, and whatever is processed is minimally processed. I have sushi for lunch at least 2 times a week and hubby and I have sushi for dinner every Wednesday night, so I'm pretty sure I'm getting plenty of Omega-3's.

I know it sounds like it's a mystery thing, but I swear everything is true. I can't figure it out and I thought maybe someone else had some ideas. It's driving me nuts. Its like my nails just decided to go on vacation.

Could it be hormones? I'm going to be 35 in December.
Drier humidity? It's been really dry in Florida this year.
I just don't know.......

You know, when you begin eating healthier, your body purges itself of all of the toxins that have accumulated over the years. This may be one of the ways your body is handling this.

Have you tried using coconut oil (from a health food store) on your hands? I would get some Tropical Traditions and rub a small amount into your nails a couple of times a day...especially at night before you go to bed. It might help, and it certainly won't hurt.

Stick with the healthy eating. It could be something as simple as an allergy to something in the environment.

If it were a medical condition, there would be other symptoms first. That was the first thing I checked into. And I've been to the doctor recently for a full screening and check up and have no issues.

I can't imagine that it's caused by a deficiency though. I'm seriously eating so much better than I used to. Lots of fresh foods, and whatever is processed is minimally processed. I have sushi for lunch at least 2 times a week and hubby and I have sushi for dinner every Wednesday night, so I'm pretty sure I'm getting plenty of Omega-3's.

I know it sounds like it's a mystery thing, but I swear everything is true. I can't figure it out and I thought maybe someone else had some ideas. It's driving me nuts. Its like my nails just decided to go on vacation.

Could it be hormones? I'm going to be 35 in December.
Drier humidity? It's been really dry in Florida this year.
I just don't know.......
Hey, "Silver"...

I am having the same problem! My nails peel or flake off, and I file them...within a day or so it happens again and I file them again. They are so short they look like I bite them, and I never do!

An acquainance of mine at church (who works with nails professionally) told me of a professional product called "Posh" (I think that's right). She said she had to go for supplies and would get me a bottle for which I can pay her.

So far, she hasn't brought it, and when I mentioned it again, she said she hadn't gotten to the store yet but had to go, and would get it for me. It's at a professional beauty supply store, so I guess I can't get it myself. She said it's about $15/bottle and that she would save me some money. I don't know her well enough to "rag" on her, so I'm trying to be patient. Hopefully I'll still have some remnant of nails to put it on by the time I get it!

Barb

My nails have done this as long as I can remember. :shrug: Maybe it just happens?

I had this problem not so long ago on one finger. From the research I did, it can be caused by hundreds of things, from a fungus under the nail to arsenic poisoning! :teehee: In my case I just kept it really short for a few weeks and now it's fine.

For you it's on all your nails? I guess it could be caused by something lacking in your diet. I saw that the B vitamins can be involved. I had B12 deficiency when I convinced myself I needed to eat more vegetables and less meat. To this day I still don't understand what happened. I was eating very well, just a bit less meat :??. I was eating dairy products, eggs, fish, so in principle, it shouldn't have been a problem. My doctor thought I was vegan.:shrug: Once I discovered I had this deficiency, my doctor made me take B12 supplements for a while to see if my body was absorbing it. Another blood test showed that I indeed did, so it was probably just because of the quantity of meat/dairy products I was eating. :shrug: I'm still completely puzzled by this.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a B12 problem, but sometimes we think we do the right thing and we don't. This being said, some people have their nails flaking all the time, so don't worry too much! But maybe it would be a good idea to have a blood test, just for your own peace of mind.

OMG Nathalie! You might be right! Come to think of it, I seem to be having more pimples than ever and my scalp has been acting weird too. I didn't connect them before, but maybe it is a side effect of changing my eating habits? If so, I sure hope it all balances out soon!

Over the past 2 years I've quit smoking, quit drinking diet sodas, stopped eating fast food, processed foods and most snack foods. I kicked some bad habits I've had for YEARS, so my body was quite accustomed to them. I guess now it's freaking out asking where the hell are my cheetos and diet coke! LOL

Weird side effects though! :oo:

Get the following book...The Maker's Diet. You can find it anywhere. I think it would be right up your alley, especially with what you're dealing with right now. Jordan Rubin does a FABULOUS job explaining how our bodies react to the good and bad stuff we put in. It's a book you'll have a hard time putting down.

Oh, and the zits don't surprise me. Our skin is the biggest organ we have. When we start taking care of ourselves, it's not unusual to have boils and other weird skin eruptions. That's also why we get all snotty (literally, not figuratively) when we're sick. Our sinuses are there to get rid of gunk. Think about your eyes watering...God's way of naturally cleaning them out.

Oh, and BTW, I think it's AMAZING that you've made so many changes. It sounds like they will be life-long changes too since you're taking your time and incorporating them slowly. You go girl!! :cheering:

I'm not sure why you're nails are peeling, but I've always had soft peeling nails. I'm not much into taking care of my nails but my sister, who has the same kind of nails as I do, all of a sudden had these beautiful strong nails. So I asked her and she said she was using Nail Tek. She got in in a beauty supply store. So I went into a beauty supply store one day and looked for Nail Tek and found some for soft, peeling nails. I used it and it totally worked. The stuff was amazing. But, since I'm not much for keeping up with my nails and rather enjoy picking at them, I stopped using it. It's been several years since I bought that stuff. I looked online just now and found this. http://www.beautyofasite.com/product-1544.html I think this is the same stuff, although I don't remember it being that expensive. I think when I bought it it was around 7 dollars for a bottle. So maybe that's not the exact stuff I bought. But it was made by Nail Tek and it said for soft peeling nails on it. If you can find it in a beauty supply store it might be worth trying to fix your nails in the meantime.

Get the Mane 'n Tail hand lotion, you can buy it online or at any feed store. It works wonders on weak nails.

This is what it looks like:
http://www.americarx.com/ProductImages/haircare/686725.gif
Here is the Froogle search results (http://www.google.com/products?q=%22mane+n+tail%22+%2Blotion&btnG=Search&show=dd)

I know I've read before that flaking nails are a sign of some vitamin deficency. Hmm, was it vitamin B? :?? I'll check.

Ok, here's what the Natural Remedy Encyclopedia says about nail symptoms and their connection with deficiencies.

"...
Dry, brittle nails: protein, vitamin A, calcium, iron.

Fragile and showing horizontal or vertical ridges: B vitamins

Splitting nails: lack of hydrochloric acid and amino acid deficiency.
..."

now, when they say "amino acid" a red fruit comes to my mind. I'm not sure if its tomato or watermelon, but I think one of those two is rich in amino acids.

...or i could be totally off. :shrug::oops:

ETA: i looked it up and it seems that they both have amino acids.

This happens to me all the time. I eat fairly healthy and reguarly exercise. My nails aren't that long but they peel anyway. I've never had "fake nails" and I don't put polish on them all that often, maybe once or twice every few months. I always thought it was normal.:shrug: I guess I'm not getting enough amino acids?

Thanks for all the great advice and info everyone. I will certainly check out that book Nathalie... it sounds way interesting!!

Try Vitamin E Oil. It comes in a small bottle and is found in the nail section. I get it at Riteaid or at Walmart. Nailactin made by Mavala is also wonderful, but much pricier than the Vitamin E. when I've run out of the E oil, I've punctured a vitamin E capsule and used that. But I have NO suggestions as to the cause.

I used to have this problem too! :hair: Although you're taking vitamins, I think it still could possibly be a vitamin deficiency. You mention that you're eating less fat, but remember that they are "good" fats and "bad" fats, and your skin and nails need fats for their health. You might just need some healthy fat. I haven't been wearing nail polish but have been taking vitamins (multivitamin, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, B complex, and calcium), and I've noticed my nails are very strong and have been growing pretty quickly. I would try to add some healthy fat to your diet if you think you've been eating too low fat, and maybe try some vitamin E.

hee hee... everything alive is made of amino acids. Proteins are basically a long string/strings of aas, if an aa is a bead then a protein is like a tangled necklace of many beads. DNA is basically a code or recipe to make proteins, all fruit, veges etc. have it, flesh like meat etc., dairy a bit more. There are several of them that need to be eated, your body can't make them, but if you have a normal diet you will be getting them (e.g. if you haven't cut meat out entirely).
Re cure... I have soft/thin nails and have tried some different products on them before, the one that I noticed right away made my flexible nails rock-hard is Sally Hansens Diamond Strength Instant Nail Hardener, it comes in a grey/silver bottle. Also, using a nail brush to scrub vigorously every day just for a couple of minutes before I get out of the shower made a huge difference in how long I was able to grow my nails before they broke. But soft nails might need a different cure from peeling ones... I can't recommend this Sally Hansen Diamond stuff strongly enough though. Seriously rock-hard.

Sarah

My nails have always been like this. Even while on prenatal vitamins.
I really think it is normal at least for me, that is just the way they are. The only think that helps my nails is Nailtiques #2. It is expensive, but worked for me. I tried the other generic versions and they did not work.

Candice

Well I'll keep you updated and let you know if I see any improvement over the next month! :)

Are you getting enough Omega-3 fatty acids...I've read that you can get brittle nails from not having enough. Do you eat salmon or almonds? That might help.

I second that. I had brittle nails for a long time, until I started eating lots more protein and eggs. Now they are strong and grow quickly.

It's been about 2 weeks now since I started really working on nourishing my nails and I am seeing improvement. I've been using hand & nail lotion daily, nail oils, taking vitamins and keeping my nails polished with a "curing" polish. So whatever it is, it's helping.

But, ironically, and I don't know why... I went and had acrylic nails done. I guess i was just tired of them looking bad and waiting for them to grow. I know.. it was stupid. But they do look great now! LOL

But, ironically, and I don't know why... I went and had acrylic nails done. I guess i was just tired of them looking bad and waiting for them to grow. I know.. it was stupid. But they do look great now! LOL

I've had acrylics done more than once, and if you don't keep up with them and decide to get rid of them, your nails will end up looking worse than before. The worse part grows out, but then you'll still be left with the situation you had previously.

Anyways, it sounds like a protein thing to me. I've discovered that people in general don't get enough protein. It's fine if you cut out carbs or fat or whatever, but the key is to up your protein, and your complete proteins at that (egg whites, rice and beans, etc).

I love how the first thread I post in is NOT knitting-related. Im such a weirdo. :rollseyes:

Silver,

You are too funny!!! I haven't had acrylics for about four years now, but I'm so tempted sometimes!!!

Thanks for the update!

Oh you naughty girl!!! going out and getting acrylics! well, enjoy them while they last, I hope you won't keep it up long or you'll really have some uglies to look at. Like INgrid, when I stopped polishing my nails (including professional manicures) after 6 months I suddenly had healthy long nails. That polish and remover is really nasty stuff.

But right now, I have a splitting nail that started a months or so ago and I'm pretty sure it's from dryness.
Another good nail cream is that Dr. Harushka. It's great stuff, all his stuff is. I'm going to try some of the creams though that were recommended here.

Thanks guys!!!

Anyways, it sounds like a protein thing to me. I've discovered that people in general don't get enough protein. It's fine if you cut out carbs or fat or whatever, but the key is to up your protein, and your complete proteins at that (egg whites, rice and beans, etc).
Oh it's definitely not a protein deficiency. I'm a regular carnivore. I eat meat with just about every meal. I even add chicken to my salads. :shrug:

You are too funny!!! I haven't had acrylics for about four years now, but I'm so tempted sometimes!!!
Thanks for the update!
I know acrylics aren't good for your nails, but it was a moment of weakness and irrational thought. I too haven't had acrylics done in a long time. But I had gone to the salon to get my hair cut and next door is the nail salon. I see the salon all the time because it's in the same shopping plaza as my grocery store. So I went in. And they were doing "Pink and White" acrylics. So I cracked. And they are GORGEOUS. :heart: PS pink & whites are just like original acrylic nails over nail tips, but the acrylic powder is pink (used on the nail bed) and white (used on the tips), so the result is a permanent, non chipping, non fading, non yellowing french manicure. See why I was vexed? :zombie:

Oh you naughty girl!!! going out and getting acrylics! well, enjoy them while they last, I hope you won't keep it up long or you'll really have some uglies to look at...
I know! I was bad! Did I ever tell you I was hard headed and stubborn? :?eyebrow:

If I promise not to keep them for too long, will you forgive me? :lol:

Oh, so you didn't hold back, did you??? I always wanted a "true" set of pink and whites, but I never did it because of the extra $$. :inlove:

You've got to post a picture now!!!

Oh, and you would be in a LOT of trouble if your favorite yarn store was next to the hair salon, wouldn't you??? :teehee:

I only read the first page of this post.

My nails peel, which I guess is like flaking. I am 15 and. I dunno. It's happened for a year or two. I never really thought there was much wrong with it till now. xD

I'm a vegetarian and have been for about 3 years, so...maybe I am missing something?

I dunno. Sorry I can't really help but..am asking for help too? xD

P.S. I've never had artificial nails. I bite mine. <.<

Wellll...

I've ever had nice nails except when I had fiberglass tips (supposedly not as hard on the nails). I took them off about 5 years ago. My nails have never grown; I've tries Prostrong, T.I.P.S., Sally Hansen, Peau Peache, etc., etc, You name it, I've used it to no avail. If anyone has asure cure, I'd love to hear about it.

Oh, so you didn't hold back, did you??? I always wanted a "true" set of pink and whites, but I never did it because of the extra $$. :inlove:

You've got to post a picture now!!!

Oh, and you would be in a LOT of trouble if your favorite yarn store was next to the hair salon, wouldn't you??? :teehee:
You know it! Fortunately my LYS is a good 30 minute drive from here. But the quilt shop is pretty close. lol

Here's a pic! :)

:drool:

:inlove: :heart: :inlove: :heart: