How To Treat And Prevent Peeling Nails

Before nails started to serve a mainly cosmetic purpose, in the days of prehistoric times, human nails were used for defending, digging, protecting the fingertips, and enhancing the ability to grasp and pick up objects. Keratin, the protein found abundantly in the hair, is the same thing nails are made of. While the layers of the nails are supposed to normally stay intact, some individuals may experience peeling with the tough nail layers. Peeling nails causes them to weaken, look thin, and eventually split and break. Onychoschizia is the medical term used to characterize splitting or peeling fingernails. External nail trauma can cause this to happen or it could be the result of a systemic condition indicative of a pathologic process happening in the body. A fingernail takes six months on average to grow its entire length, so it is possible nail abnormalities are caused by trauma that happened several months earlier.

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Avoid Acrylic Or Gel Nails

No matter what the cause is of the fingernail peeling, the application and removal of acrylic or gel nails can have harsh effects on the natural nail. When these types of synthetic nails need to be removed they are often soaked in a hot water or an acetone solution for a prolonged period of time. These type of nail soaks tend to quickly and easily dry out the nails, causing peeling. Additionally, these artificial nails are constantly pressing and putting unnecessary pressure on the nail, which can result in peeling. Having acrylic or gel nails tends to encourage individuals to use their nails as a tool more often, which also causes trauma to the natural nail. If fake nails are not removed by soaking, it usually means an individual has picked them off themselves or a nail technician has pried them off the natural nail. Both processes tend to lift and tear away portions of several layers of the natural nail, causing trauma that results in continued peeling. An individual needs to avoid acrylic or gel nails altogether to prevent any potential harm from them causing peeling nails.

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