Why do my fingernails...

Because you have a diet rich in calcium and biotin and you spend a lot of time outdoors so have a stockpile of vitamin D, perhaps?

Ah is that the reason... mine are similar and very strong.

Always, or is it more a series of spurts?

Mine, too, grow quickly and are extremely strong, but I don't think I have a particularly good diet so it can't be that in my case!

Oh Bags tell me your secret please. My finger nails are really weak and brittle and split as soon as they get any length on them. I was never meant to have long nails as always in the garden or cleaning something for someone but I would like them to be a bit nicer than they are.

I'm with Gilly I love the sun so must get plenty of Vit D and I take a calcium supplement because of damage to my parathyroids so that can't be the reason. If anyone has the secret pass it on please.

Bags Do you know why my nails have deep ridges - a bit like a mini old-fashioned wash-board!

horizontal ridges are caused by stress (i.e. ones across the nail rather than ones that point in the same direction as the fingers.)

Anaemia, or at least not enough iron-rich food in your diet soop?

Long nails are inevitably weaker than shorter ones so keep them neatly trimmed. Biotin (vitamin B7) helps to strengthen nails. You can take a supplement or find it naturally in brewer's yeast, egg yolk, offal and soy products. Coat brittle nails with warm olive oil plus a couple of drops of lemon juice at bedtime and let soak overnight. Rub soft nails with a mixture of cider vinegar and a few drops of lemon juice once a day. Don't use nail polish remover that contains acetone.

Some good tips absent. My nails go through strong/brittle stages, so I shall try your tips out as and when.

My nails are very smooth and grow very quickly - I keep them short and I have to cut them every few days. I do get lots of sunlight (just got back from a two hour walks in the sunshine) and I have a very healthy diet.
My sister has to use false nails because her own are so brittle, but I am sure the cement she uses can't be good for them.

Every now and again I get a short black vertical line in my right hand thumb nail any ideas any one ?

Annika, what do you do with your right thumb that you don't do with your other digits?

Annobel nothing different I don't think, I am right handed so I would use the right thumb more than the left. Can't blame using a mobile phone or the mouse for my pc as I have had these black lines on and off for about 15 years !

I've had them too for about 50 years. None there at the moment. My medical sister says they are called splinter haemorrhages which can be a sign of heart trouble but in my case obviously not or I probably wouldn't be here by now. They are more likely to be caused by a minor trauma that you didn't even notice.

Was a nail biter for years so have had poor quality nails as a result but for the last 5-6 years stopped biting..do not know why /how! Now have professional manicures as they are so weak they split easily. I use an almond oil to strengthen.

It's the evil coming out

I had terrible nails from the age of 17 when I'd had a bad attack of Asian Flu. They became very ridged and pitted and had massive spaces underneath which looked unsightly to say the least. I wore nail varnish for years. I then heard about OPI Nail Envy and decided to have a go. Now I have no spaces and much less pitting. I don't know why it worked when all the stuff doctors had given me over the years didn't, but it did!

jeni - I always knew there would be a rational explanation.

anno

jeni

soop.

Do you by any chance have psoriasis, I think in some cases it can be attributed to it but be assured not in all cases.

POGS I've just about every ailment going...with the exception of psoriasis.

Blackened nails may be caused by an excess of selenium. On the other hand (as it were), not enough selenium can result in ridges. Good sources of selenium are offal, grains, cereals and brewer's yeast. Ridges may also be the result of interrupted growth of the nail during an illness.