Peeling Nails: Causes You Need to Know

Healthy nails are a natural aesthetic and a sign of overall health. When nails start peeling, it's essential to pay attention. Discover the causes of nail peeling and how to address this issue in our article.

Women often learn to maintain a flawless appearance from a young age. Caring for hands, skin, and hair is a science that is continuously learned and perfected. Any changes in the body are noticed quickly, and peeling nails are a serious reason to analyze your health.

How Nail Peeling Manifests

Nail plates are made up of keratin protein, water, and minerals like zinc, selenium, cholesterol, calcium, phosphorus, and sulfur. An imbalance in these components can lead to structural issues in the nails, causing them to split into separate layers. Poor cellular nutrition can also lead to changes in nail shape, thickness, and color, and can create grooves and gaps.

Nail peeling can manifest in several ways:

• Onychoschizia: transverse splitting.
• Onychorrhexis: longitudinal splitting.
• Onychomadesis: splitting from the side opposite the free edge.
• Onycholysis: partial or complete detachment from the nail bed.

"My Nails Are Peeling – What Should I Do?"

This isn't just a question but a call to action. First, determine the cause of your peeling nails, which can be:

• External
• Internal
• Psychological

External Causes

The most common external causes affecting nail health include:

• Frequent contact with household chemicals, such as dishwashing and cleaning without gloves.
• Using nail polish containing formaldehydes and other harsh chemicals that damage nail plates, causing brittleness and peeling.
• Using acetone-based nail polish removers.
• Trauma or injury.
• Working with soil without gloves, leading to dryness, brittleness, and peeling.

Internal Causes

Internal causes can be more challenging to identify but are essential to address for restoring healthy nails:

• Strict Diets: Limiting your diet for weight loss can affect your nails, hair, and skin. Ensure a balance of vitamins, nutrients, and minerals.
• Internal Diseases: Peeling nails can be a sign of underlying health issues, so a medical check-up is advisable.
• Hormonal Imbalances: Occurring during pregnancy, adolescence, lactation, and menopause.
• Substance Abuse: Nicotine, alcohol, and drugs harm the entire body, including nails.
• Skin Conditions: Diseases like psoriasis, fungal infections, and lichen can damage nail plates on hands and feet.

Psychological Factors

Stress significantly impacts overall health, including nail health. Excessive stress can lead to hair loss, dull skin, rashes, and peeling or brittle nails. Managing stress is crucial for maintaining nail health.

Additionally, psychological conditions like onychotillomania (compulsive nail picking) and onychophagia (nail-biting) can cause severe nail damage.

Types of Nail Diseases

It's important to understand that diagnosing and treating nail diseases should be left to professionals.

• Onychodystrophy: A condition where nails lack nutrients, losing their natural shine, elasticity, and density, growing slowly, and splitting into thin scales.
• Koilonychia: Nails remain thick but develop a central depression.
• Hapalonychia: Nails become soft, with the free edges easily breaking and peeling.
• Trachyonychia: Nails become rough, dull, and severely peeled.
• Scleronychia: Nails thicken, detach from the nail bed, turn an unattractive yellow-brown, and grow slower.

Vitamins for Healthy Nails

Vitamins essential for nail health include:

• B Vitamins (B3, B6, B7): A lack of B3 (niacin) slows nail growth; a deficiency in B6 leads to brittle, dry, and rough nails; insufficient B7 (biotin) directly causes peeling.
• Vitamin C: Crucial for collagen synthesis in nail structures.
• Vitamin E: An antioxidant needed for flexible, evenly colored, and naturally shiny nails.
• Vitamin D: Necessary for growth, strength, and density.
• Vitamin A: Stimulates nail growth.

Minerals for Nail Health

Minerals play a vital role in maintaining nail health:

• Calcium: For strong and healthy nails.
• Silicon: Responsible for strength, hardness, and elasticity.
• Iron: Ensures even texture and density, and neat shape.
• Zinc: Strengthens nails, prevents white spots, and promotes new nail material formation.
• Glycine, Alanine, Cysteine: Essential for maintaining healthy and strong nails.

Prevention and Care

• Balanced Diet: Ensure a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, including fish, eggs, cottage cheese, meat, milk, broccoli, spinach, legumes, whole wheat, hard cheese, seafood, and nuts.
• Professional Manicure and Pedicure: Choose trusted professionals.
• Healthy Lifestyle: Adequate sleep, fresh air, and quality rest.
• Nail Care Products: Use high-quality nail polishes and gel polishes, and give your nails a break of at least two weeks between manicures.
• Protection: Always wear gloves when doing housework.
• Hand Cream: Regular use is essential.