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Home Remedies for Tearing and Brittle Nails

When a fingernail becomes brittle and cracks or tears, it can be extremely painful. There are all sorts of elixirs on the market today boasting to cure your nails of whatever ails them. Before you run out and buy a bunch of smelly chemicals for your nails, try a few simple home remedies.

  1. Avoid Water

    • Dry your nails thoroughly and quickly after they become saturated. Wipe your nails with an absorbent cloth. Fingernails can absorb 1/4 of their own weight in water, and they do so quickly. A waterlogged fingernail is much more likely to tear. Avoid lengthy baths and swimming pool sessions while your nails are brittle. Wear rubber gloves while you do dishes to prevent the nails from getting soaked.

    Eat Cauliflower

    • Eat foods that contain the nutrient biotin. Biotin stops nails from cracking and splitting, and actually helps them grown and become thicker. Biotin is found in cauliflower, lentils, and peanuts. You can also buy biotin in pill form, and add it to your meals as a dietary supplement.

    Vegetable Oil

    • Soak your nails in vegetable or safflower oil. These natural oils help strengthen the nails, and they do not contain alcohol like commercial nail polishes do, which actually dries nails and makes them more brittle. An easy way to use vegetable oil is pour some into an old (clear) nail polish container, and use the brush to apply it. Be sure to brush some oil on the underside of the nail as well.

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