How to maintain healthy fingernails
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Many women love the look of long, elegant salon nails. The colors, shapes, styles, designs and ornaments are endless. Plus, a salon appointment offers pampering every few weeks.
What woman doesn’t want to feel a little spoiled? Manicures look great. However, it can lead to health risks without a few precautions.
“Basically, a lot of the salon nails and cosmetics can be a bit harsh,” said physician Joyce Farah, at Farah Dermatology in Syracuse. “What we recommend is when people want to use polish, the best kind is the traditional kind, enamel and lacquer. They harden and dry on their own and are easy to remove with nail polish remover. They’re less harsh than ones that require soaking in acetone or sanding.
“Gel is long lasting. But regardless, we recommend taking periodic breaks — a few days off — even with regular polish.”
In addition, gel polish requires curing under a UV lamp to harden. UV causes premature skin aging, so Farah recommends applying sunscreen to the hands about 20-30 minutes before hand or wearing gloves without fingertips to protect the hands from the UV light.
“The technicians have to buff the nail and rough it up so the gel will take to the nail better,” Farah said. “That can weaken the nail. It can make the nail brittle. The gel has to be soaked in acetone, a known carcinogen. It’s OK to do gel polishes for special occasions. I wouldn’t recommend them on a regular basis. Make sure the technicians don’t buff up the nail too much.”
Just like the rest of your skin, the nail cuticles need moisturizing. Farah recommends hydrating cuticles with lotion and avoiding cutting or trimming cuticles, as that increases risk for infection.
Using a coarse nail file can weaken the nail plate, making it more prone to breaking.
“Filing the nail in a back-and-forth ‘sawing’ motion can cause the nail to fray and split,” said Jessie Murray, family nurse practitioner at Oswego Health’s Primary Care at Lakeview.
Instead, file in one direction with a fine emery board, not a coarse metal file.
Protecting nail health also includes wearing gloves.
“Direct contact with strong cleaning products and frequent exposure to water can strip moisture from the nail, making it more brittle,” Murray said. “To protect your nails, moisturize them regularly with hand cream and cuticle oil. Wear gloves for household chores, such as washing dishes and when handling harsh chemicals for cleaning.”
Healthy nails start with a healthful diet. Nutrient deficiencies can cause nail problems as well as issues elsewhere in the body. Physician Wendy Scinta, medical director at Medical Weight Loss of New York, recommends including in the diet B vitamins for healthy nails.
“When it comes to healthy nails, B7 — biotin — and B12, iron, zinc, are all important,” she said. “To a lesser extent, vitamins A, C and E. Protein and fish oil helps as well. At our office, we have lipotropic injections. They have B vitamins 1-7 and 12 and a fat burner. One thing that you will notice is not only it helps with weight loss but the B vitamins help with skin, hair and nails.”
Persistent nail issues without any explanation could indicate a serious health problem, so contact a healthcare provider. Murray said that brittle nails may indicate an underlying condition, like “iron deficiency, psoriasis, eczema, thyroid disorder or fungal infection that requires medical treatment to resolve,” she said.