Natural Nail ??

[Rhonda]

I have a client who has natural nails that peel at the ends. However, once they get at least 1/8 inch of free edge, the peeling stops. I find this odd. Any ideas why this is going on and how I can get the peeling to stop happening in the first place.

She had been using Nail Envy (quit in December). Her nails do not seem brittle or soft, they just peel at a short length.

 

[naturalnails]

Hi Rhonda,

I dont know if this will answer your question but I will try and help.

Peeling is generally as a result of the nails being constantly drying out and also being in water - constant yo-yo effect of wet and dry - hope that makes sense.

Each company has different opinions on natural nail care so mine is only one opinion based on the training I have had.

I use Jessica treatments which treat the nails according to their condition - dry, brittle, damaged, peeling etc.

A lot of the "nail hardener/strengtheners" are really only to be used until the nails get to the hardness you want then cease using as the nails will become brittle. These products work by taking moisture out of the nails thus hardening them up - too much moisture loss will result in brittleness.

I understand Nail Envy to be a good product - not used it myself - but it should be supplemented with a good cuticle oil - Solar Oil, Phenomen Oil, Avoplex etc.

I was also taught to file the nail in one direction and then bevel the free edge to close down the layers. When varnishing cap the free edge with all layers - this will hopefully reduce any posibility of the varnish peeling from the free edge and peeling layers of nail.

I also feel it is important to keep a covering on the nail at all times - even just a clear varnish as it helps to reduce moisture loss.

Good luck and I hope this helps somewhat.

 

[The Geek]

Peeling nail plates is primarily down to moisture loss.

Think about your hair. When it becomes very dry, it becomes semi brittle and snaps. Where it snaps, it also begins to 'peel' back.

This can also be made worse by excessively using nail strengtheners. Nail strengthenrs will increase the cross link count in the upper layers of the plate and make them more brittle and more likely to snap and peel.

As Fiona mentioned, keep the plates coated... try not to remove enamel often (solvents dry out the keratin and promote peeling) and keep saturating with SolarOil.

Hope this helps