{"id":93076,"date":"2017-05-24T15:42:46","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T22:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nailcarehq.com\/?p=93076"},"modified":"2022-07-21T11:22:03","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T18:22:03","slug":"peeling-nails-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/peeling-nails-ad\/","title":{"rendered":"ASK DOUG: Peeling Nails &#8211; Is Polish Causing It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6 style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">PEELING NAILS<\/span><\/h6>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u00a0by <a title=\"Schoon Scientific website\" href=\"http:\/\/schoonscientific.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Doug Schoon<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BK-_Is-Polish-Causing-My-Nails-to-Peel_-_-Website-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-93673 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BK-_Is-Polish-Causing-My-Nails-to-Peel_-_-Website-1-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Is polish causing my nails to peel? \" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>Peeling Nails<\/h2>\n<p>Trying to figure out why your nails are peeling, and how to stop it, can be very frustrating.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, you will learn&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How peeling off polish can damage the nail plate<\/li>\n<li>The proper way to remove nail enhancements<\/li>\n<li>Thirteen (13) solutions to help prevent peeling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This article about peeling nails is an excerpt from my 74th episode (available June 2017) of <em>Face to Face with Doug Schoon<\/em> video series.<\/p>\n<h2>ASK DOUG<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>My nails are very strong and healthy, and they can grow very long, but as soon as I use nail polish they become brittle and start peeling. They continue to do so until all &#8220;old nail&#8221; has grown out and the whole nail is replaced.<\/p>\n<p>I have tried 5-free, 7-free and water based polish, and I have also tried different removers. But no matter what, my nails get ruined every time I use polish. Do you have any suggestions of what I should do? ~Eva<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>ANSWER<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Eva, here are my top suggestions for addressing nail plate surface peeling.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\">Peeling Off Polish<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Never peel nail polish<\/strong> from your nail plate.\u00a0<span class=\"s1\">This will <strong>weaken<\/strong> the surface layers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">These weakened surface layers will <strong>eventually peel away<\/strong> when they reach the free edge.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">It may be <strong>months later<\/strong>, so you might have\u00a0forgotten what you\u00a0did. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-93079\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/peeling-nails-cuticle-nailcarehq.001-300x283.jpeg\" alt=\"peeling nails cuticle nailcarehq.001\" width=\"300\" height=\"283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/peeling-nails-cuticle-nailcarehq.001-300x283.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/peeling-nails-cuticle-nailcarehq.001-500x472.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/peeling-nails-cuticle-nailcarehq.001.jpeg 684w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>For example; if you peel nail polish from your nails in May, expect the cell layers on the top-side of the free edge will peel in until September when those damaged nail cells finally grow off the free edge. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Doing this repeatedly can lead to a state of constant surface peeling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Some nail coatings adhere to the nail plate better<\/strong> the longer you wear them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Ana&#8217;s photo to the right\u00a0is a perfect example. She peeled her well bonded\u00a0polish off while watching a movie. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">It took <strong>4 months for the damage to grow out.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Long wearing<\/strong> nail polish has <strong>greater adhesion<\/strong>, so these are more likely to harm the surface when forcibly\u00a0peeled off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\">Proper Removal<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1729\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Remove-Gel-Nails-Scrape-with-wood-tool_790-300x262.jpg\" alt=\"peeling nails Remove-Gel-Nails-Scrape-with-wood-tool_790\" width=\"300\" height=\"262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Remove-Gel-Nails-Scrape-with-wood-tool_790-300x262.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Remove-Gel-Nails-Scrape-with-wood-tool_790.jpg 345w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>Gently remove all nail coatings,<\/strong> without the use of any force, e.g. no peeling, scraping, biting, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The is <strong>no such thing as gentle peeling or scraping<\/strong>, so don\u2019t fool yourself into thinking you \u201clightly scrape\u201d or \u201cpeel carefully\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This is extremely important when <strong>removing soak-off gel<\/strong> polish. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It <strong>can take up to 30\u00a0minutes<\/strong> to completely dissolve the coating!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I have more <strong>electron microscope examples<\/strong> in my article about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/remove-gel-nails-without-damage\/\">removing gel polish properly.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Water Damage<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Keep your hands out of water.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Each time you saturate the nail plate, surface layers <strong>swell apart and separate<\/strong>.<\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Repeated soaking and drying cycles can <strong>weaken the bond<\/strong> between the upper layer and lower layers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Washing Hands\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Don\u2019t wash your hands too often.<\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"s1\">Yes, you can wash your hands too much!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">More than ten (10) times a day can be hard on nails and skin.\u00a0Many wash their hands 20 times a day or more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">That&#8217;s just too much.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Soaps, cleansers and detergents<\/strong> can eventually strip away substances that help hold the surface cells to the underlying cells and this can <strong>lead to peeling.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The same can occur when nails are exposed to <strong>cleaning solvents.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Free Polish?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">It doesn\u2019t matter if the polish is 5-free or 99-free, <strong>that\u2019s just \u201cmarketing\u201d<\/strong> and doesn\u2019t say how good or how safe a nail polish is. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Don\u2019t think this is the problem or the solution to peeling nail plates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Quality Counts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Buy <strong>high quality products<\/strong>.\u00a0 Less expensive nail polish are less expensive for a reason. They\u00a0often use inferior ingredients or are poorly formulated.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Nail Length\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Keep nails shorter.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The <strong>longer the nail plate<\/strong>, the more flexible the free edge, the <strong>more likely the polish will peel<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is especially true for those with thin, flexible nail plates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Wrap\u00a0Edges\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\">Wrap\u00a0the free edge by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/fab-5-polish-wrap-polish-chipping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrapping the base and topcoat around the free edge<\/a> to the underside and give it some <strong>extra protection<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">But, <strong>avoid skin contact<\/strong> as much\u00a0as possible. Repeated contact to the tissue can <strong>cause skin irritation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Gloves<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Treat your nails like jewels.<\/strong> Don\u2019t use them as tools.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/stop-breaking-nails\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wear gloves<\/a> when digging or working with your hands. This is especially important when working with cleaning supplies.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Sun Exposure<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Protect nails from the sun.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The nail plate has a high natural SPF, so the nail bed is protected from UV exposure, but that means the <strong>upper layers absorb the UV.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Long periods of excessive sunlight can <strong>weaken surface layers<\/strong> and cause them to <strong>come apart.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Buffing Destroys<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Don\u2019t over file or buff the nail plate.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Too much filing or buffing <strong>thins the nail<\/strong> and it is much <strong>harder for polish to adhere<\/strong> to thin nails, than thicker nails.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Don\u2019t try to fill away so-called \u201cridges\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">The nail plate can\u2019t grow ridges. The <strong>thinner, weaker<\/strong> part of the nail plate <strong>is the\u00a0grooves.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Therefore, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/ridges-in-nails-to-buff-or-not-to-buff\/\">filing the plate smooth reduces and thins<\/a> the entire nail plate to the match the thinness of the deepest groove.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">That\u2019s trouble waiting to happen\u2014so <strong>don\u2019t do it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Use Nail Oil<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Nail oils can help <strong>reduce surface brittleness<\/strong> and help <strong>toughen the bonds<\/strong> between the surface and lower layers of nail cells, but make sure to remove surface oils before apply any nail coating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Nail oils also <strong>absorb into the plate<\/strong> to make it more <strong>resistant<\/strong> to excessive <strong>water absorption.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Polish Removers<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Solvents<\/strong> can remove surface oils and may <strong>also leach out substances<\/strong> that help to cement nail cell layers together. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Occasional (once a week)<\/strong> use of solvent-containing polish removers won\u2019t have much effect on normal nails. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">But they may have a noticeable effect on plates that have weakened adhesion due to other factors described above.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Allergies?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Peeling nail plates are <strong>never a sign<\/strong> of allergic reactions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The nail plate is <strong>not living<\/strong> and does <strong>NOT have an immune system<\/strong>, so allergic reactions are <strong>not possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Exceptions?<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1680\" style=\"width: 206px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Doug-Schoon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1680\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1680\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Doug-Schoon-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"Doug-Schoon author Nail structure and product chemistry\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1680\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doug Schoon, Author of Nail Structure and Product Chemistry<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Eva, there are always weird things that happen that don&#8217;t fall within the norm, which means they don&#8217;t apply to most people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It may be possible that your nail layers are barely held together and solvents (acetone) are\u00a0disrupting the weak bonds that exist.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure that you are <strong>following all my suggestions above<\/strong> and you will have beautiful, healthy nails that make you\u00a0proud.<\/p>\n<h2>Learn More<\/h2>\n<p>For more nail care education, you can subscribe to my video series at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/facetofacewithdougschoon.com\/membership-account\/membership-checkout?level=3\">www.FacetoFaceWithDougSchoon.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To receive <strong>25% off<\/strong> the subscription rate, enter &#8220;<strong>nailcarehq<\/strong>&#8221; in the discount code box at the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n<h2>If you liked this article . . . please share!<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PEELING NAILS \u00a0by Doug Schoon Peeling Nails Trying to figure out why your nails are peeling, and how to stop it, can be very frustrating. In this article, you will learn&#8230; How peeling off polish can damage the nail plate The proper way to remove nail enhancements Thirteen (13) solutions to help prevent peeling This [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93673,"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":[349,23,85,4,491,481],"tags":[391,9,191],"class_list":["post-93076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-nails-nail-problems","category-brittle-nails-nail-problems","category-doug-schoon","category-peeling","category-peeling-nails","category-peeling-3","tag-doug-schoon","tag-nail-care","tag-nails"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93076","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=93076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}