How can I make my nails stronger?

Question

My nails grow pretty long, but then they all break off within a day or two after they get to a certain length. I always keep a top coat polish on them. How can I make them stronger and thicker, while still having to do household chores like washing dishes...?

Answer 1

The basis of hair and nail structure depends on "silica", a lack of which makes hair weak and dull, and nails brittle and thin. Recommend you go to a pharmacist or health food outlet, seek out silica supllement or speak with a staff member re the product.
Poor diet leads to vitamin deficiency, including a lack of "silica", so make sure you eat plenty of greens.

Answer 2

Look for the nail strengther called Qtica- it will be found in a salon. It has a strengthener to use as a base coat and an extending top coat that could be used if you do wear a colored polish. Make sure to put a new coat of strengthener on about every other day and then after a week remove and repeat the same steps. Keep the length at a decent length and don't file the side wall of your nail to make the nail tip too round or oval shape. The more filing you do on the sides, your only taking away alot of the nail and it will cause them to crack or tear on the side. Another great item to use is Creative nails Solar oil- apply a little around the cuticle area as well as a little under your nail's free edge. The oil will keep your cuticles soft and hydrated per se and that will help tremendously with the dry and brittle nails. If you can afford it try to get a manicure maybe once a month at a salon if you don't want to spend the money for a full blown manicure call the salon and ask them about a mini-manicure or polish change. At my salon we will do a very basic manicure where we shape the nails, push the cuticles, oil the cuticles and buff the nail and then polish the nails for about $10 instead of $20 for the whole deal that includes massage and a couple of other extra/pampering steps. We also do Brisa gel nails- which is a very very thin coat of hypoallergenic gel that sets up under a UV light. They are not as strong as acrylic nails, they look much more natural, a lot less filing if much filing at all- and they never, ever ever use an electric file (drill) on the nails which can cause a lot of damage in the hands of an inexperienced nail tech.

One last thing- is if you do go to a salon for a manicure, a good nail tech will give you alot of pointers and suggestions of things to do and not do to natural nails. good luck growing your nails out! ;o)

Answer 3

Obviously you must eat a well-balanced diet. Beyond that I have this advice:

#1 piece of advice: Wear rubber gloves every time you wash dishes or do work that requires that your hands be in water and soap or cleaner of any kind.

Don't use your nails in place of tools such as screw drivers, pry bars, etc.

Don't buff your nails too much (or at all). Too much buffing can make them thin.

Don't file the corners and don't file in a back-and-forth motion. Instead, shape the nail by filing in ONE DIRECTION only and make the shape more of a square shape at the tip, not a perfect oval. Nails are stronger when they're a square shape.

Don't let them get too long - that's just asking for an "accident".

If you get a nick in a nail, file it smooth immediately because it's the beginning of a break or tear in the nail.

But, unless you sit around and do nothing with your hands, accidents will happen!!

Answer 4

Take Biotin. It strengthens the hair and nails and also makes them grow ridiculously fast. I found out about this product from an article about a girl that was being a guniea (sp?) pig for her friend who was entering a hair show. The girl in the article had hair that wasn't quite long enough to be entered into the contest so her friend, the one entering, gave her a bottle of Biotin to take and by the time they entered again, for the final round or whatever, it was long enough. This was in a matter of weeks by the way. So, since I've read that, I have not stopped taking it. Gelatin is also good for your nails but I refuse to eat horse hooves, so if you don't mind that, try that in addition to the gelatin. It can't hurt. I have the same problem though, my nails grow and then get brittle and break. I drink a lot of milk (in fact when I was pregnant I was drinking so much that my doctor told me to slow down because even though I was drinking only non fat {the only kind I like} I was gaining a lot of weight. So, take the Biotin, combine it with the gelatin if you can handle it, and when you wash dishes or do housework of any kind, wear gloves. They really protect your hands and nails. Good luck!!

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How can I make my nails stronger?
My nails grow pretty long, but then they all break off within a day or two after they get to a certain length. I always keep a top coat polish on them. How can I make them stronger and thicker, while still having to do household chores like washing dishes...?

Answer 6

Gosh! you have alot of answers. But, I hope this helps. I REALLY LOVE THIS STUFF. I went to Sally's (A beauty supply store that supplies professionals and the general public) and looked at the nail strengtheners a while back, because I too have long nails, but they break and tear often. There is a nail strengthener there called "Beauty Secrets Nail Hardener and Strengthener" that is clear, like a top coat, but is NOT just a top Coat. The prices are great. Top Coats do not have the right ingredients to nourish your fingernails. And this stuff helped my nails become like really solid, and they hardly ever break. The 'Tough as Nails' stuff from a local drugstore or grocery store is no where near as good as this.

Below is the link to Sally's and shows you the product. Do a store locator to see if one is near you! Hope this helps!!

Answer 7

1) If you have to do household chores, you should keep your nails as short as possible. It is not practical to keep them long because eventually they will easily break off when in contact with some household chemicals (such as detergents, dishwashing liquids, furniture polish, etc).

2) Try to give your nails a rest at least for a week by not applying nailpolish. nails also need to breathe you know.

3) Take calcium supplements.. and drink lots of water..

Answer 8

Don't abuse your nails. To prevent nail damage, don't use your fingernails as tools to pick, poke or pry things.
Don't bite your nails or pick at your cuticles. These habits can damage the nail bed. Even a minor cut alongside your nail can allow bacteria or fungi to enter and cause an infection (paronychia). Because your nails grow slowly, an injured nail retains signs of an injury for several months.
Protect your nails. Wear cotton-lined rubber gloves when using soap and water for prolonged periods or when using harsh chemicals.
Perform routine nail maintenance. Trim fingernails and clean under the nails regularly. Use a sharp manicure scissors or clippers and an emery board to smooth nail edges. Never pull off hangnails — doing so almost always results in ripping living tissue. Instead clip hangnails off, leaving a slight angle outward.
Moisturize your nails frequently. Nails need moisture just like your skin does. Rub lotion into your nails when moisturizing your hands. Be sure to apply a moisturizer each time you wash your hands.


Weak or brittle fingernails can be a challenge to toughen up. The following tips can help you protect them, making your nails less likely to split or break.

Keep your nails short, square shaped and slightly rounded on top. Trim brittle nails after a bath or a 15-minute hand-soak in bath oil. Then apply a moisturizer.
Moisturize your nails and cuticles at bedtime and cover them with cotton gloves.
Apply a nail hardener, but avoid products containing toluene sulfonamide or formaldehyde. These chemicals can cause redness or irritate the skin.
Don't use nail polish remover more than twice a month. Instead, touch up the polish. When you do need a remover, avoid those that use acetone, which dries nails.
Repair splits or tears with nail glue or clear polish.

Answer 9

First off, eating a balanced diet always helps the nails grow strong.
Keeping a top coat on them is fine. If you really want them to be protected maybe wear gloves while cleaning & doing houshold work. Never do the dishes especially in extremely hot water without gloves on. The hot water can weaken th nails. Also, don't file your nails too often the small fragments that shred during filing can actually be the cause of breakage.

Answer 10

To make your nails stronger naturally, you will have to place your nails/finger tips/ into the natural lemon juice/fresh/ daily for 3-10 minutes, then use any polish after 5-10 minutes, results visible in 2 weeks.Good luck

Answer 11

Sally Hensens hard and thick nail coat can be purchased at Wal-Mart. It is a clear coat that goes over any nail polish and I can tell you it makes your nails hard as rocks. Although, I know another way that can make your nails hard is by putting a drop or two of " flumoudehide chemical" in your nail polish .That chemical is used as embalming fluid in your body when u pass away. I know that sounds pretty morbid,but I know a beautician for a funeral home and thats what she's done for years.Her nails are so healthy and stronge. Another thing is to take prenatal vitamins what beautiful healthy stronge nails u get from that, too.