How to make your weak, brittle nails grow stronger — and the manicure mistakes doing damage

Leave your weak nails in 2024.

Dr. Mary Stevenson, a dermatologic surgeon at NYU Langone, says a lot of factors can lead to brittle, easy-to-chip nails — but if yours are constantly breaking and refuse to grow, there’s hope.

Despite what people believe, biting your nails won’t damage them in the long run. Rido – stock.adobe.com

First things first: No, your childhood biting habit isn’t the reason your nails won’t maintain length today, no matter what your mother says.

“Onychophagia — or nail biting — generally does not cause permanent nail damage but shortens and thins them at the tips,” Dr. Stevenson told The Post. “Our nails grow from the matrix, which is just under our cuticle and the white half moon shape at the proximal end of our nails — called the lunula — which is a visible portion of the end part of our matrix which is where the nail grows out from.”

But there are some behaviors that can make them weaker. One is not getting enough protein in your diet, which will lead to less keratin, the protein that makes up our nails. Nutritional deficiencies in vitamin B and iron can hurt too.

Others include handwashing, using abrasive cleaning materials like dish soap and detergents, and having trauma to the nail bed.

Your manicure can also be doing damage, especially if you get gels or use a lot of acetone.

“We need our cuticles. Pushing these back and removing them separate the seal they make with our nail to keep things like bacteria and fungi out,” the doc said.

“Letting your nails ‘breath’ or have time free from manicures is not essential to healthy nails, though too much acetone or abrasive manicures that can be removed with thinning the nails and acetone soaks, or improper manicures can weaken our nail.”

Dr. Mary Stevenson suggests taking prenatal vitamins and taking steps to protect your nails from damage. NYU Langone

So what can you do to fix them?

“Gentle care of your nails, lack of excessive manicures with acetone removal, using gloves when washing dishes, avoidance of abrasive products and increasing your intake of biotic whether through a supplement or your diet can all help nail health,” Dr. Stevenson said.

“Biotin and iron help maintain nail health — these are often found in prenatal vitamins, which I suggest to my patients with weak nails.”

And don’t expect to see results in just a few weeks. Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit time for those lifestyle and diet changes to show up in your nails.

“It generally takes about 6 months for an entire nail to regrow, so being kind to your hands for quite some time is essential to improving their health,” the doc added.

In the meantime, practice good nail hygiene and nourish your cuticles by rubbing oil or hand lotion into them.