Is there a trick to having thick nails that don't break and peel?

genetics. If thin nails are the worst handicap to befall you in the genepool lottery, you’re a big winner.

My nails chip/peel less when alternate rubbing in A&D ointment and vitamin E oil. It’s a bit messy, but after about a week you should notice a difference. Especially after anything involving soap.

Keep your nails polished all of the time. At least three coats. Use regular polish. That means polishing at least once a week. Don’t use the quick dry, use the real stuff. Typically, two coats of color and either a base coat or top coat or both. Both obviously makes four coats. It takes an hour of your time letting each coat dry 5 minutes between coats and then the final dry is at least half an hour.

As they grow file the sides so they are a little curved, and then the won’t easily catch on things and break.

Biotin works for my wife for nails and hair.

Ack! I forgot the word “daily”. Alternate daily.

Eat more gelatin containing foods like Jello.

Polish makes my nails break and split.
Lots of things
Can
affect the stability of your nails, but none are guarantees.

Weather, temperature and humidity.

Diet. Not so much what you eat, but how well balanced it is to your personal health needs.

Age

When I was in the Navy I used my thumbnails to scrape stubborn paint chips, screwdriver, and other such atrocities. They were tough, but long, and nicely manicured.

Through the years my nails have gone through stages of strength, brittle, soft.
I have known women to go through hoops with nailcare, and still experience no change.

As someone whose nails have never been strong, I’m in the process of experimenting with something new for me.
I’ve tried the gelatin & the Hard as Nails. The latter seemed to make them even MORE brittle. I have a disability to where I cannot use my left arm & hand. So, it’s difficult at best to trim or file thew nails on my right hand. I have been proud that my nails have been growing longer; but, all of a sudden within one week, I’d have 3 or 4 nail break almost in the quick. I have recently become interested in the world of Essential Oils.My hair had started thinning & nothing I tried worked on that. I kept reading that using Rosemary & Frankincense EO’s would help thicken hair. So, out of desperation, I tried adding a few drops of Rosemary EO to my shampoo. Within less than a month my hair was thriving.

Then I read that Jojoba Oil was good for fingernails. So, I remembered that fingernail was the same makeup as hair. Figuring that I had nothing to lose, I made up my own concoction of a 3 drops of Frankincense, 3 drops Rosemary, & 3 drops of Lavender. The Lavender isn’t required & I just liked the aroma. I then added those to a 1 ounce bottle & filled it up with Jojoba Oil. I also found a nail painting pen on Amazon that holds 3 ml. I poured some of my concoction into the pen & I’ve been painting my nails every day with this. Once wet, it absorbs into the nail within a couple of minutes. Since I’ve started this, my nails are growing faster, feel stronger, & I’ve had no splitting or breakage so far. My nails are just about getting back to the length where they were breaking; so, I hope to know soon whether this has been my miracle cure. I do know that the Rosemary has greatly helped strengthen my hair & can only hope that the nails will work on the same principle!!! If you can’t afford the EOs you might try just using the Jojoba Oil because maybe your nails just need to be moisturized so they won’t be so brittle. I’m also using the Jojoba on my face. It absorbs into my skin relatively fast & doesn’t leave me feeling greasy.

I know that this is information overload; but you’ll need to decide for yourself whether you’re even interested in trying it. I tried to fill in a few of the blanks to save you some research time.

@Patty_Melt I don’t understand nail polish making nails more brittle. The layers of polish make nails thicker and harder. Except to say, if you don’t file the sides so they are more curved, then a harder nail can actually break rather than bend if hit hard. The curved side helps avoid that situation.

But, I’m not here to doubt your experience. It does seem that some people have much weaker nails than others, and I believe it’s a pain to deal with it. I have hair problems not nail problems.

What brand nail polish do you use? I never liked Sally Hansen. I recommend Revlon, L’Oréal or Essie if you buy from the drug store. Not the fast dry, that’s garbage, and only good for last minute, and ready to take it off in two days. You can help it but putting a clear cover coat to make the fast dry last a little longer.

@JLeslie I don’t understand it either; but my BFF bought me some expensive polish made specifically to strengthen nails & they began to almost shatter so I stopped using completely.& they reverted back to breaking as before. The Jojoba seems to be helping but I fear that once I think I’ve solved my problem I’ll have a nail break!!!

^^I’ve never used special nail polish for strengthening. I see you mentioned hard as nails, and I don’t like it at all, I would never recommend it.

When you polish your nails how long does the polish stay on? How many coats do you put on? Do you pick at your nails at all?

Over the years I did try Hard as Nails because it was advertised for strengthening nails. It failed miserably & I stopped using it.

Since my medical issue where my left arm was left paralyzed & I’ve had to start doing everything with my right hand. Something as simple as picking up a bag of dog food would snap my nail into the quick. My bff’s hubby was using a nail hardener that he just loved & they don’t buy anything cheap. She bought me a bottle because she knew I wouldn’t buy it myself. She even applied it for me & within a week I had sections of nail just breaking off. I threw that bottle away also. Since then, I’ve not been wearing any polish at all & I started looking for all natural ways to strengthen my nails. Once I get my nail to where they no longer snap off, I plan on going to a manicurist to see what they will recommend.

^^A manicurist will recommend gel manicures if you want longer nails. It’s only a few dollars more. I know a ton of people who keep their nails long that way. I get it done sometimes. Lasts three weeks, but my nails grow too much in three weeks, so down by the cuticle there is too much unpainted nail.

If you only have the use of one hand I can see how heavy bags might be more likely to tear your nails. Two hands helps adjust your grip on things like that to avoid stress on the nails.

I have beautiful long nails. I clean the underside 3 times a day or more with my thumbnails. Is fun.