{"id":8718,"date":"2014-11-18T17:02:42","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T00:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nailcarehq.com\/?p=8718"},"modified":"2025-02-11T08:50:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T15:50:22","slug":"stop-breaking-nails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/stop-breaking-nails\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stop Breaking Nails"},"content":{"rendered":"
STOP BREAKING NAILS<\/span><\/h6>\n

\"stop<\/p>\n

How to Stop Breaking Nails<\/h1>\n

I’m often asked,”How do you keep your nails so long?”<\/p>\n

I have many strategies and techniques to strengthen my natural nails, which I will share\u00a0in this article.<\/p>\n

Let me start off by saying that my nails are incredibly thin<\/strong>. I was not blessed<\/strong> with thick nails.<\/p>\n

Sadly, this is not<\/strong> something that can be changed since the thickness of your nail plate is determined by the size of your nail matrix. <\/a>\u00a0The nail matrix is where new nail\u00a0cells are created\u00a0right behind the cuticle line.<\/p>\n

Tortoise or Hare?<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0most important thing I do is\u2014Slow\u00a0Down<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no part of our body that is used more frequently during our life than\u00a0our hands. We do everything with our hands.<\/p>\n

Most of us wouldn’t make it through the day if we couldn’t pry, pick, or scratch<\/strong> with our nails. They\u00a0take a lot of abuse, especially if we use them as tools.<\/p>\n

Nails\u00a0will only tolerate a certain amount of bending\u00a0before\u00a0they tear or snap.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0woman with long, natural nails moves through life very consciously<\/strong>. She pays attention to where her hands are moving\u00a0at all times. I know it might sound like a lot of work, but it really isn’t.<\/p>\n

I have found that being in a rush<\/strong> can be the most damaging times to my nails.<\/p>\n

\"Credit:<\/a>

Credit: Beavotron.deviantart.com<\/p><\/div>\n

If I’m in a hurry and I am rushing to get everybody into the car, throwing jackets and bags, and slamming doors, I’m not paying attention to what my hands are doing.<\/p>\n

And that’s when\u00a0accidents happen. <\/strong><\/p>\n

One misplaced finger on the car door handle will result in a broken nail.<\/strong> All because I wasn’t paying attention.<\/p>\n

Another example; a busy, preoccupied woman will talk to a friend and blindly dig through her\u00a0purse trying to find\u00a0something. She’s not paying attention, and that’s how a nail\u00a0tears or breaks.<\/p>\n

When I’m looking for something in my purse, \u00a0I look inside, I carefully move things around until I find what I want.<\/p>\n

Every move is conscious. Every move\u00a0is deliberate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Will the Guilty Task Please Stand Up?<\/h2>\n

If your nails are breaking a lot, try paying attention<\/strong> to how you use your hands all day long.<\/p>\n

You might be surprised.<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you actually using your nails to remove<\/strong> the frustrating, security plastic wrapping around the salad dressing bottle, or mascara tube?<\/p>\n

Are you opening<\/strong> soda pop can lids with your nails?<\/p>\n

Do you peel<\/strong> stubborn sales stickers off of packages?<\/p>\n

If you do any of these things, it’s time to become friends with<\/strong> paring knives, scissors, handles of forks or spoons, and some brand of sticker adhesive dissolving product. (Goo Gone\u2122, Goof Off\u2122, Un-Do\u2122, etc.)<\/p>\n

And if you are in the DIY frame of mind using 2 ingredients from your kitchen, I found a great tutorial at DIYNatural.com<\/a><\/p>\n

What You Can Do<\/h2>\n

1. Know Your Proper Nail Length<\/h3>\n

If you are a mother of small children, or have a job that requires a lot of tough use with your hands, make peace<\/strong> with a shorter length that looks nice.<\/p>\n

Now that my children are older and I spend most of my working time on the computer, I can maintain a longer length.<\/p>\n

5\/2017 Update: Now I own horses. My nails are significantly shorter now since long nails and horses don’t mix.<\/p>\n

Keep your nails the same length<\/strong>. Short\u00a0nails can be beautiful when maintained and polished well.<\/p>\n

2. Reduce Water Absorption<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

Water<\/strong> is the most dangerous chemical<\/strong> affecting your nails.<\/p>\n

I’m not kidding.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On average, we have about 50 layers of keratin that makes up our nail plate.<\/p>\n

Our nails also have the capacity to absorb three times<\/strong> their weight in water.<\/p>\n

Where does that water go? In between every single layer and it pushes them apart.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our nails do have the capacity to dry out, but it doesn’t take too many exposures to water\u00a0for those layers to start peeling<\/strong> away from each other.<\/p>\n

Polish is an integral part of blocking water absorption.<\/p>\n

Now, for those of you who think water isn’t a chemical, you might be interested in my Chemicals – Are they Life or Death\u00a0article.<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Increase Nail Strength\u00a0and Flexibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oil is the glue<\/strong> that holds our nail layers together. We wash our hands on average 20 times per day! This strips the oils from our nails and skin.<\/p>\n

Regular use of a jojoba wax ester based nail\u00a0oil<\/a>\u00a0will increase natural nail strength, while improving flexibility.<\/p>\n

Strong nails bend<\/strong> when exposed\u00a0to external forces.<\/p>\n

If you use nail strengtheners or hardeners<\/a> on already dry, brittle\u00a0nails, your nails\u00a0are going to be too hard<\/strong> and snap with any external pressure.<\/p>\n

4. Keep Nails Polished<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Polish is a resin that bonds to and protects your nails.<\/p>\n

Even if you’re someone who doesn’t like to wear colored polish, it’s important to wear at least one layer of base coat<\/strong> to reduce water absorption.<\/p>\n

Use my\u00a0Fab Five Polish Wrap<\/a> technique\u00a0and\u00a0never shower with naked nails. <\/a><\/p>\n

For my Ultimate Nail Care Routine, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Wear Gloves<\/h3>\n
\"stop<\/a>

Credit: LaylaGrace.com<\/p><\/div>\n

“But I hate gloves! I won’t wear them.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I hear this\u00a0all the time. Especially right after I’m asked how\u00a0to\u00a0grow\u00a0longer nails or get them to stop peeling.<\/p>\n

I guarantee you, there isn’t one woman on the planet who loves to wear kitchen gloves, myself included.<\/p>\n

Yep, they’re annoying. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You have to remember to put them on and you don’t get the same grip as with your fingers.\u00a0You sweat in them causing them to be a pain to remove.<\/p>\n

Gloves protect<\/strong> your skin and nails from the drying effects of water and soap. Gloves also help protect your nails from breaking.<\/p>\n

I even use them when doing the laundry. I’ve broken too many nails transferring heavy, wet towels to the dryer.<\/p>\n

Every decision we make has a natural consequence.<\/p>\n

It simply won’t work to desire\u00a0beautiful\u00a0nails and refuse to wear gloves.<\/em><\/p>\n

Slow and Steady Wins the Race<\/h2>\n

The few seconds you gain by rushing around only shortens your temper,<\/strong> increases your blood pressure<\/strong>, and leads to annoying chips and painful breaks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Long, beautiful natural nails don’t just happen.<\/p>\n

Gorgeous nails<\/strong>\u00a0require time, care, maintenance, and just a few extra, deliberate seconds through the day.<\/p>\n

I know you can do it! … now … go buy some gloves … slowly.<\/p>\n

If you liked this article . . . please share!<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STOP BREAKING NAILS How to Stop Breaking Nails I’m often asked,”How do you keep your nails so long?” I have many strategies and techniques to strengthen my natural nails, which I will share\u00a0in this article. Let me start off by saying that my nails are incredibly thin. I was not blessed with thick nails. Sadly, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[349,23,18,3,4],"tags":[193,16,351,288,10,350],"class_list":["post-8718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-nails-nail-problems","category-brittle-nails-nail-problems","category-nail-care-2","category-nail-problems","category-peeling","tag-ask-ana-2","tag-brittle-nails","tag-broken-nails","tag-fab-five-wrap","tag-peeling-nails","tag-stop-breaking-nails"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}