Badly flaking nails

I’ve been taking Vitamin D for the last 4 years and my dry, ridged, flaky nails are no more. I highly recommend.

JackyB

I have tried creams, oils, powders, buffing, soaking in almond oil, vitamins B and D tablets and always wear gloves when washing up or cleaning with a bucket of water.

My nails are nice for the last three days or so of August and start to break off on 1 September. By Christmas they are in shreds. At Easter they are not much better and now, some time after Whitsun they are beginning to neaten up and grow again.

I was talking to my hairdresser last week about this and she said her nails had never been good but she recommended a nail oil which seems to work better than most.

The trick is to apply it every time you wash your hands, so at least 6 times a day, and to massage it in thoroughly. I have now got some of this and will try and get into the habit of massaging. It's my last hope. I've been fighting this battle since I was at least 16 and I'm 70 this year!

I also recently had my bloods checked and Vitamin D was deficient although I was taking vitamin D supplements. I have doubled the dose so maybe that will help.

The tablets I was taking were 1000 i.E. (not sure if that is a German abbreviation) but I have seen that you can get up to 25000 over the counter!

Thank you JackyB, I’ll ask the chemist about that. I’m lucky in that they haven’t always been like this. It’s a relatively minor thing I know, but not nice and especially if you’ve put up with it always. Good luck.

That’s a thought Davida1968. I drink whole milk so would be surprised, but it’s possibility. Anther one for the list to check out. Thank you.

I have tried creams, oils, powders, buffing, soaking in almond oil, vitamins B and D tablets and always wear gloves when washing up or cleaning with a bucket of water.

My nails are nice for the last three days or so of August and start to break off on 1 September. By Christmas they are in shreds. At Easter they are not much better and now, some time after Whitsun they are beginning to neaten up and grow again.

I was talking to my hairdresser last week about this and she said her nails had never been good but she recommended a nail oil which seems to work better than most.

The trick is to apply it every time you wash your hands, so at least 6 times a day, and to massage it in thoroughly. I have now got some of this and will try and get into the habit of massaging. It's my last hope. I've been fighting this battle since I was at least 16 and I'm 70 this year!

I also recently had my bloods checked and Vitamin D was deficient although I was taking vitamin D supplements. I have doubled the dose so maybe that will help.

The tablets I was taking were 1000 i.E. (not sure if that is a German abbreviation) but I have seen that you can get up to 25000 over the counter!

I wonder whether you might have a calcium deficiency? Cows milk in the diet can be helpful, or you can buy calcium tablets. Worth researching?

aggie

My nails were terrible , breaking splitting from the tip towards the half moon !
I started taking vitamin d3 from the chemist when Covid started , a side effect is my nails are great ! No splitting or peeling , in fact they grow so fast I’m fed up cutting them !

Will Google about vitamin D3, I’ve never heard of that but I’ll see if I can try that. I’m glad it’s worked for you aggie.

Steelygran

I'd show them to a chemist, just to make sure everything is ok. They should tell you if it's something to see your GP about.
Once you've made sure the problem isn't something medical, perhaps you could try some natural, perfume-free hand and nail cream. Get a really good one, maybe from a health shop and massage it into your hands and nails regularly. I'd concentrate on doing that before putting nail varnish on them.

Thanks Steelygran. I have paid a fortune for the good hand creams, including an unknown one at a chemist who made his own. Skin’s lovely but hasn’t helped the nails.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I’d never thought of some of these and will start a list for shopping. I can’t take magnesium or any off the shelf supplements as most don’t agree with various meds I’m on. But I do take daily vitamin D and C. I’ll check again about the magnesium, I read it can help with sleep, that would be a nice bonus.

Spinnaker

Instead of using OPI nail hardener try OPI Repair Mode. Applied every day for one week then a couple of times a week. My nails have been weak and flaky all my life and this was my last shot at trying to improve them - and it worked !! My daughter is now using it with the same great results. I am so proud of my nails now and that's just six weeks in.

That sounds really promising! Thank you for the info.

I wish you good fortune with all that you try. I’ve had this ongoing for years, biggest puzzle being why not my toenails too?
The only other supplement I’d suggest is collagen.
I too give in now and again and paint on Rimmel nail nurse followed by a coat of something plain and clear.
I thought when I retired from work and my hands weren’t constantly being washed it would improve sadly not. They’ve certainly had time to grow out.

I find that a daily Vitamin D tablet through the winter has helped a lot. Sun (perhaps) in the summer does the job instead.

Since taking vitamin d and calcium supplements my nails are strong and grow fast,they used to be flaking and splitting.

Wish they sold jelly cubes here. Another thing you can’t get in Australia, I suppose they would melt or something. We have to use powder ,not the same. At all.

fancythat

I make sure I eat at least 2 eggs a week, to keep my nails in a healthy condition.

I eat one or two eggs a day fancythat.

My nails used to split and flake all the time when I used nail varnish, but as soon as I stopped they improved and became strong. Now they grow quickly and I have to keep cutting them. I put nothing on them at all, just take supplements, cod liver oil, glucosamine, multivitamins, bilberry and Retinex for eye health.

I have had this problem and have also been using OPI’s Repair Mode treatment twice a day. It seems to be improving the condition of my nails after three weeks of use.

Instead of using OPI nail hardener try OPI Repair Mode. Applied every day for one week then a couple of times a week. My nails have been weak and flaky all my life and this was my last shot at trying to improve them - and it worked !! My daughter is now using it with the same great results. I am so proud of my nails now and that's just six weeks in.

My nails have been like this for years even though they used to be incredibly strong. They started to have ridges which split at the top of the nail. But they now seem to be much better. I have been taking VitD, magnesium and zinc. Also taking pre and probiotics. I do use Mavala but that didn’t help much previously.

I started to take a daily well woman 70+ multi vitamin tablet.
My nails have never been better. They were ridged and bumpy but since taking the vitamin pill had improved them no end.

CND solar oil really seems to help when my nails get like that.

One thing about the OPI nail hardener if you've been using that. The original contained formaldehyde, which is very drying for the nails. I used it for ages and my nails were great but eventually they did get very dry and brittle - so I used it more because they were dry and brittle There is a formaldehyde free one available now.

My nails were terrible , breaking splitting from the tip towards the half moon !
I started taking vitamin d3 from the chemist when Covid started , a side effect is my nails are great ! No splitting or peeling , in fact they grow so fast I’m fed up cutting them !

I'd show them to a chemist, just to make sure everything is ok. They should tell you if it's something to see your GP about.
Once you've made sure the problem isn't something medical, perhaps you could try some natural, perfume-free hand and nail cream. Get a really good one, maybe from a health shop and massage it into your hands and nails regularly. I'd concentrate on doing that before putting nail varnish on them.

I make sure I eat at least 2 eggs a week, to keep my nails in a healthy condition.

I do put oil on a couple of times a week.