I was a nail tech for 20+ years in my 20’s and 30’s. I only did natural nails. One of the “treatments” I offered was a hot oil soak followed with a “hot” wax dip. I had a lot of customers with Arthritis because this felt so good and helped improve the nail plate. I only trimmed the hangnails and gentle push back the cuticles . I had to constantly tell my clients to trust the process. But they got results. I also found and still do now that I have psoriatic arthritis, that using a lotion with high amounts of Urea helps. I only were clear /sheer colored nail polish now on occasions. I do find a nail growth polish helps to keep my nails stronger too.
Yeah, I legit have so many nail strengtheners, harderners, treatments, etc. that are basically wasted money just sitting with all my other nail polish lol. I'll sometimes use the clear ones as a base coat or the pink/tinted ones to paint my nails, just so I don't feel like they were a complete waste. But the OPI Repair Mode is the only one I've ever used where I've actually seen any difference at all. I wouldn't say it's a miracle worker; I am pretty hard on my nails and I forget to apply oil and I am constantly forgetting to not use them as tools. Nothing will fix that lol. But I have seen a slight improvement in nail length (at one point, none of them were growing past the top of my finger for over a year and looking down right now, 5 out of 10 are and 4 of the remaining are right up there -- only 1 is visibly damaged) and a bigger improvement in peeling, which mostly only happens on my thumbs now instead of all my fingers.
Yes, check out her channel. She talks about the difference between the cuticle and the proximal nail fold and why it’s important to not mess with that.
Collagen has absolutely helped my brittle nails. I started it on June 1, 1/2 serving daily and my nails are doing so well! I started with a multivitamin with biotin and that helped for awhile, but then stopped. Tried collagen powder out of desperation and so far, so good. Almost 2 months in. I hope it continues!
Collagen supplementation, multivitamins and jojoba oil have strengthened my nails big time. I also stopped cutting the living skin around them, just regularly push it gently back.
Hi Dr Ellis ! Can you please do a video on what should NOT be used by tweens/teens on their skin? My 13 year old niece has been heavily influence by social media to want to use skincare - but I believe this is not necessary at her age and can actually be damaging! I would love to know your perspective as a cosmetic dermatologist! Thank you !❤
Trying the nail treatment called Dermanail was a game changer for me. It’s sold on Amazon, you won’t find it on Walmart or the other stores. My dermatologist recommended it and within one month, I saw improvement on my nails.
builder gel! I garden do DIY and cook a lot. My hands come under a lot of stress. Hands in water many times an hour. My nails are thin and with age they have got dryer. Nothing I tried stopped them breaking and flaking. Once in a while I had a month when I was not doing all the damaging things and they were fine. Hardeners make them worst. Oil soaks are nice but make little difference. My solution is builder gel. I got myself a home set and just use a sheer pink hard gel. This protects the natural nail and the gel is way harder than my natural nails and now I can do all the things and they never break.
Water can be damaging to your nails if you are constantly exposed to it. Kitchen gloves are good to use when doing dishes and cleaning use bleach and other things. I started wearing gloves whenever I do dishes and my nails don't break as much.
Best thing I have ever found is rubbing a bit of castor oil on all my nails. My nails and cuticles have never looked better! No more peeling or splitting. 😊
I love how this video is so realistic, that she knows we will use gel manicures, remove cuticles nevertheless just tells us what to do to protect our nails
For me collagen powder worked. I used to have very thin brittle nails, but after taking collagen powder for a couple of months my nails are very now very strong
Thank you! I have always had lovely, long nails until peri menopause began. Its been a real battle for the past 15 years. But I recently noted ridges and with the flattening of the nails, that also comes with age, I now have chipping in those spots. I have also become allergic to gel polish. HEMA free worked for a while, but last time I removed it, I noted lifting on one of my nails! I will definitely be trying the oil bath!
I have ridged brittle nails. I stopped using all nail polishes, filed the nails to a short length, and applied jojoba oil all through out the day every day. I could not believe how long and healthy my nails turned! I just had a dropper and placed a drop on my fingers and it is enough for one hand, especially after water immersion. If you don't have the time to soak in oil and are on the run this is a great way. I was able to go polish free and my nails put on a lot of length. Of course the ridges were still present so I used NailTopia (nothing lasts like this "healthy" polish) from Ultra and when polish is removed I oil the nails all day, it soaks in, and then polish once nails have had all day for an oil treatment.
@@palomino5223 🤪 Well that’s OK you can think what you want! The source wasn’t TickTock the source was a medical Doctor Who is sharing his information. Anyway, His vitamin supplement suggestion completely took the ridges away in my nails. And it was actually iron. But not too much, every day was too much and cause pain in knuckles so I stopped and it went away. Now I take iron once a week. No ridges.
I work in drinking water and waste water 41.5 hours a week. Dishes at home. Washing my hands over and over again. Sometimes there is no escape from water. I keep my nails short. Only notice any problems if they grow out too long. Don't always have time to clip them every 2 weeks.
I have very strong nails - I guess genetic but also I take good care of them. Old school, just use regular polish sometimes - paint my nails myself - no filing of nails beds nor proximal fold removed. Alternate between wearing and non wearing polish works well for me. The main thing, I use oils and moisturisers as often as I can, ideally after every hand wash. Highly recommend watching The salon life channel to learn everything about gentle nail care.
My nails were growing flat or spoon shaped & my doctor checked my ferritin; which was low, I’ve been taking iron & had it rechecked, the flatness grew out & my levels are normal
Thanks for making this video, Dr. Ellis! Could you make a video about gel manicures specifically? I'm concerned about using the UV lamp on my hands and fingers but like the look of a gel manicure
I think collagen contributed to getting my nails into healthy state (used it in a serum form along other ingredients in it). I used also Mavala Scientifiq K+ and a nail oil that contained myrrh. I also slug with Vaseline before bedtime :) And definitely, stopping getting gel manicures with uv lamp + electric file - learned how to do a gentle manicure at home and using good conditioners like Manucurist and Essie.
You can also use cuticle oil on the underside of your nail if you have product on. Filing off gel or acrylic manis is okay IF THEY DON'T GO ALL THE WAY TO THE *NATURAL NAIL.* Goood techs always leave a thin clear layer. That way, each section only gets manipulated once.. Unlike Acetone Removal, which will *destroy your natural nails.* Plus then they're wet, and any following nail prep removes layers *every time.* Dip *requires this,* unlike gel and acrylic, unless of course you put it over structured mani like acrylic or gel & file off only the color at each visit. That said, though acetone removal comes with risk, *the outcome is highly dependent on your tech* & their skillset. I recommend going to a tech you know, or an independent tech if you don't have one yet. So much damage is caused by going to an unfamiliar tech that can get you in asap. If you have a tech you're familiar with, try scheduling ahead & call them for emergencies. . Take their advice & if they cant get you in, I suggest asking *your tech* for a recommendation. 😊 I hope some of that information was helpful to someone's self care ✨️💛✨️
Great ideas. I’m going to try warm coconut oil soaks. Can this also help condition of toe nails ? Lately I’ve had a Derm prescribe an ant fungal pill for nail health on broken toe nails. Thx ❤❤
Please do a video on cuticle care. I have the absolute worst cuticle. I feel as if I can’t go to the salon to get my nails done because my cuticles are always inflamed and look tore up.
Use Kerasal on the skin around your nails every night and you’ll be amazed at the improvement. Cutting the skin around the nail is detrimental, you’re not improving the problem by removing the dry skin.
Hello @Dr. Sam Ellis, thank you so much for the entertaining and educational content. Your advice has been so helpful! I would love to hear about your favourite body care products, especially k-beauty products.
Buffing or no buffing for natural nails? I have hypothyroidism and like how buffing removes the appearance of ridges and makes the nails a little shiny. Also, any thoughts on Kur products?
I swim three times a week for 45 minutes, for years and have seen my nails weaken. I’m 67 and do keep them short, however they are thin and do split often. Any suggestions? Your take on OPI nail envy? Thank you.
Thank you for all the information. I am soaking up so many of the videos and getting a lot of information!! I would like to try out the Prequel hand lotion. Is it a cruelty free product? Thanks again.😊
My nails are thin but the problem I also have is they are not rounded but more flat & tend to curl under when they grow. My Moms nails were the same. Sometimes they will straighten out & I have no clue what I ate, etc. for that to happen.
My hormones struggled to normalise after a year of removing the implanting rod so I was places on a 4 month course of the pill to bring my hormones back to normal. I've alway had weak brittle nails that flaked away to the point I never had to cut them. Since being on the pill to fox my hormones for the first time my nails are strong and growing not flaking away from being brittle.
Our nails are jewels not tools ✨ The BEST products I have found so far is anything by CND; their solar oil, their rescue rxx, their cuticle exfoliating cream. Also hard as hoof nail strengthening cream is chefs kiss. A happy healthy diet, exercise, and proper hydration can go miles for nail health. Weekly manicures, if you have peeling nails, file, don’t cut.
I have always had brittle nails and was told that using polish would make them worse, so thank you for clearing that up because I love wearing nail polish. One additional problem I have is my nails pulling away from my nail beds. At its worst sometimes it looks like they are only half attached to my finger! Is this part of brittle nails too?
@@lindalove9556 I'm guessing you are using Gel or Acrylic? If so, please remove it immediately! You are likely having an allergic reaction to the toxins in the polish. This happened to me and although I had never heard of this, it is not uncommon. Pamper your nails as much as you can and give them time to heal. Once they are 100%, you could try using HEMA free polishes. Supposedly, after some time, you may permanently recover from this, but I recently did a test nail with regular gel, after 2 years, and I am still allergic 🙁
@@q5130 I appreciate your input. I have never used gel or acrylic. I thought that would be even worse than what I was told not to use in the first place. I still think that is helpful information that you shared. Thank you.
@@lindalove9556 I would then suggest you see your physician, as it could be something more serious. This is from the mayo clinic: "Sometimes detached nails are due to an injury or an infection. In other cases, nail separation is a reaction to a medicine or to a consumer product, such as nail hardeners or adhesives. Thyroid disease and psoriasis - a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches - also can lead to nail separation."
All 10 of my nails have some degree of separation… nothing serious or systemic . I believe it is a reaction to something they were exposed to. I keto them short, as dry as possible and as they grow they seem to be reattached to my nail bed. They look bad bare so I polish them but remove the polish 2x a week to check their progress and do a warm oil soak . Definitely not fun.
Is it okay to use cold-pressed unrefined rice bran oil or grapeseed oil instead of jojoba oil? Since they're much cheaper here as someone who's trying to save on expenses.
Derms who've covered nail lamps have suggested applying sunscreen to backs of hands and/or using upf gloves. It also doesn't matter if it's UV or LED lamps because LED lamps still emit UV.
Thank for this informative video! Can you discuss onycholysis in another deep dive video? I’m surprised you referred to the skin at the base of the nail plate as ‘cuticle’ . Isn’t the cuticle dead skin on the nail plate? Around the sides of the nail is the lateral nail fold and the proximal nail fold is at the base of the nail plate which are all living skin. I was taught not to cut the living skin- it doesn’t solve the problem ( using a cream with urea helps as well as oil) - plus as you stated can lead to infections…Thank you for this.
I don’t feel my nail brittleness fits into any of these categories. They grow but paper thin and I don’t know why. I wear gloves when exposing my hands to water (except when I’m in the shower) for over a year now and STILL no help. I’ve done a prescription nail solution (forgot the name but didn’t help), nutrofol, and biotin and nothing. Idk what to do. Also have discussed this with my dermatologist (who’s also my friend) and he doesn’t know what else to tell me lol so I’m kinda stuck
@@darbibrumbaugh9956 You might also have soft nails. Your nail bends, but polish does not, causing it to quickly fail. I only wore clear strengthening polish when I was working and I put a coat on every single day. Then took it all off on the weekend and started over. But using oils, or petroleum jelly, etc. will solve both soft and brittle nail problems.
