How to Stop Nails from Splitting Horizontally?

With age, nails become brittle and rough in appearance without proper care. Smooth surface and consistent coloring is a sign of healthy nails. Like your other body parts, your nails also requires proper care to grow healthy.

As we grow, our nails become more brittle and the appearance of vertical and horizontal ridges becomes prominent. Although splitting of nails do not harm you a lot but almost all of us hate when nails break.

Nails can be broken down horizontally or vertically and both can be caused by many medical and non-medical causes.

You should use gloves, keep your hands moisturized, do not wash hands repeatedly, maintain clean hands and nail polish to stop nails from splitting horizontally.

Horizontal splitting leads to nail crack and splitting off from the side and vertical splitting means damage to the root.

There can be trauma, pressure, nutritional deficiency, lack of vitamins, minerals, proteins, nail cosmetics, lack of moisture or long exposure to water are some leading causes of nail splitting.

How to Stop Nails from Splitting Horizontally?

Nail is made up of keratin. Hard dead material. They have no moisture gland. When becoming dry, tends to split. Nail splitting can be either horizontal or vertical.

Horizontal splitting recognized by nail cracking from the side, becoming rough and brittle.

Nail splitting is a condition, not a disease. You can prevent it by some care and adopting healthy lifestyle .here below are some preventive measures to avoid nail splitting

Use of gloves while washing

Whenever you are going to work on the water like cleaning, doing laundry, washing dishes and other such activities in which there is a chance of great exposure to water, must use gloves.

Laundry agents and washing soaps also contain chemicals not good for nails. Rubber gloves are much better than polythene one. They protect your nails from splitting horizontally.

Use gloves while gardening

Are you planning gardening? Do you wear gloves? If not then must wear gloves before gardening. Gloves will protect your nails from mud, dust particles, and also from breakage.

Gloves also protect you from a thorn, sharp objects, blisters which may hurt your nails and your nails may start to bleed. For today’s question, How to Stop Nails from Splitting Horizontally? This is a must.

Dust particles when entering into nails makes them rough and brittle.

Maintain cleanliness of your nails

For beautiful hands, you must have beautiful nails. The secret of beauty lies in cleanliness. If you want the beauty of your hands and nails, make it sure to keep them clean. For nail cleaning, use a gentle soap and wash your hands.

Then with the help of the brush, scrub your nails from the top, under the area of nails and along the folds thoroughly to remove all the dust from your nail.

Use moisturizer

You must have to use a good moisturizer for your hands whenever you wash your hands or when you feel dryness.

Water may hydrate your hands but it snatches moisture content from your nail. Making it your habit to use a moisturizer on a daily basis will ultimately make your nails beautiful.

When you are applying moisturizer, rub your both hands properly so that your nails get moisturized properly.

Wear gloves if you are going to chore

While you are doing household chores, never ever forget to wear gloves. When you are going to clean your bathroom or scrubbing your kitchen, don’t forget to wear gloves. They will protect your nails from the murderous chemicals.

Polish your nail

Nail paint acts as a barrier for the loss of moisture from your nails. first You have to apply a thin base coat of clear polish on your nails, then apply two or three coat of chosen nail polish then apply a top coat.

The base coat provides adhesion to your nail plate and prevents nail paint from chipping. If you are using dark color nail polish, your base coat will prevent your nail from discoloration due to dark color nail polish.

So the base coat is important. Topcoat is important in the sense that it provides resistant to chipping and also provide gloss.

Never use nail hardener

Nowadays it is becoming very common to use nail hardeners for the splitting nails. Nail hardeners consist of acetone, sulfonamide, formaldehyde, toluene which instead of hardening of your nails, snatch their moisture and make them brittle.

Dermatologist never recommends such nail hardliners because even they come with the claim “formaldehyde free” must contain formaldehyde. They claim so because 1 -2 % formaldehyde is allowed by the Food And Drug Administration.

File nails in a proper way.

Always file your nails only in One Direction. If you use to file your nail back and forth, then it will cause splitting of your nails.

Shape your nails rounded

The shape of nails also matters in nail splitting. Round nails have less chance of breakage as compare to long, pointy nails.

Avoid cuticle remover

Most of us use cuticle removers that destroy cuticle keratin. Cuticle removers are in the form of liquids or creams and consists of alkali which cause irritant contact dermatitis if applied for a long time.

They can cause infection or inflammation which is also harmful to your nail. They make your nail plate soft and cause nail brittleness.

Use cuticle moisturizer

Your nails require some extra moisture as compare to your hands. If you are using any moisturizer for your hands and taking it enough for your nails and cuticles them you are doing wrong. Your nails and cuticles require heavy moisture.

You can use creams that contain citric acid which is a perfect m moisturizer. You can also use glycerine or petroleum jelly.

Avoid nail biting

Some of us have a bad habit of nail-biting. your nails are not always clean, so nail-biting is unhealthy and on the other hand, biting can cause infection, pain.

By biting your nail split off in a bad manner and may start to bleed. Yeah, I know it’s not easy to leave a habit .you can avoid nail biting by chewing something like carrot, chew gum, etc. If are habitual of nail-biting then apply nail inhibitors on your nails.

Proper nail care

Nothing is better for brittle nails than proper care. proper nail care .proper care can maintain your nail health. Cure of nail splitting with vitamin supplements like vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, retinoids, etc is not evident from any medical history. Weak nails can be cured by vitamin supplements but brittle nails can’t be.

What are the causes for the horizontal splitting of nails?

It mostly occurs by lack of proper care and can be cured by some routine actions. Although it’s not a tough job to recover nail splitting it takes some longer time. So have patience.

Vertical splitting recognized by breaking off nail from the root or from the edge. It mostly occurs due to some injury. And can be cured with treatment.

Nail cosmetic

Most of the nail paints and nail paint remover are the basic cause of nail splitting. They contain chemicals when applying for a long time cause brittleness of your nails.

Many of the nail paint removers are acetone based which snatch moisture and oil content from your nails. Some nail hardeners also consist of chemicals which are not friendly with your nails.

Repetitive hand wash

Repetitive washing and drying your nails tend to snatch moisture from your nails.nails become dry, brittle and start splitting. Extra exposure to water for a long time should be avoided. You may notice that those who work with water like hairdresser, nurses, cleaners are most likely to face nail brittleness.

Nutritional deficiency

Nail requires proper nutrients to grow healthier. Nutrients come from the diet. Poor diet habits lead to horizontal nail splitting. Lack of minerals, vitamins, folic acid, iron, and proteins tends to nail splitting.

Lack of moisture

Lack of moisture can also be the leading cause of nail splitting. Dry nails are more prone to splitting .dehydration may be the cause of dry nails .moisture from your nails disappear leaving harsh dry brittle nails.

Trauma

Repetitive trauma or putting pressure on nails, this can tend to split of nails horizontally.

Heath conditions

Some health conditions like diabetes, fungal infection, hypothyroidism and psoriasis may be the leading cause for the horizontal splitting of nails.

If your nail split horizontally than what to do?

Proper care and the above-mentioned tips can protect your nails from splitting but if your nail split then what to do? I have a complete step by step procedure for splitting nail.

Step 1:

first, remove nail paint from your nail with the help of a cotton ball. Soak a cotton ball in needful paint remover and gently rub on your nail. Remove the nail paint in the direction of nail splitting.

Step #2:

take a tea bag, remove the tea by cutting it’s top from scissor. Tea bag should be unused.

step #3:

cut the tea bag according to your nail split. It should be cut down so that it completely cover your nail.

Step #4:

apply a clear base coat on your nail .it must cover your split area. This clear coat will act as glue to hold a tea bag.

Step #5:

after applying a base coat, place the cut part of the tea bag on your nail. Gently press the tea bag on your nail to avoid any air bubble beneath the surface of the tea bag. Allow to dry and completely fix.

Step #6:

apply another coat of nail polish on your tea bag portion specifically. Allow it to dry for about 10 minutes.

Step # 7:

remove the extra tea bag from your nail with the help of scissors and by using nail profiler, smooth the ridges of your nail.

Step # 8:

apply your chosen nail paint on the split nail. It will look like a normal nail.