Why do my nails break easily and peel in layers?

Brittle nails that peel in layers are usually caused by what your nails go through every day: hands that get wet and dry over and over, washing-up liquid and cleaning products, nail polish remover, gel or acrylic nails, using your nails as tools, and getting older. They are usually not a sign that your body is lacking something. What helps is cutting down on what dries and knocks your nails, moisturising them regularly, wearing gloves for housework, keeping them short and filing in one direction. If a nail changes colour or shape, or stays brittle despite good care, see a dermatologist.

Why do nails become brittle and peel in layers?

A nail is made of thin layers of keratin stacked on top of each other. When those layers stop holding together well, the tip splits into flakes or breaks more easily than usual. A 2022 medical review in Annals of Medicine says brittle nails affect up to 20% of people, and women about twice as often as men.

Hands that get wet and dry all day

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says too much water exposure can weaken your nails, causing them to split, peel or break. The same review lists frequent contact with water or chemicals as one of the main causes. People who wash up several times a day, hand-wash clothes, cook, look after small children or wash their hands often at work tend to see more peeling at the tips.

Washing-up liquid, cleaning products and hand sanitiser

The UK's NHS lists hands often being in water and cleaning products as common causes of nail problems. These products dry out both the nail and the skin around it. When you are washing your hands or using alcohol gel more than usual, your nails often dry out too.

Nail polish remover, gel and acrylic nails

The AAD says gel manicures can cause brittleness, peeling and cracking, and that removing gel polish requires acetone. Acrylic nails involve filing down the surface of your natural nail before they are applied, which leaves the nail underneath thin, brittle and parched. Most nail polish removers contain chemicals that dry the nail, so the more often you remove polish, the drier your nails get.

Using your nails as tools

The AAD warns that using your nails as tools, such as to open cans, peel off stickers or prise things open, can cause chipping, splitting or lifting. Typing all day with long nails is another form of repeated knocking. The review notes that repeated trauma to the nail and manicures disturb how well the nail's layers stick together.

Age and pregnancy

The NHS says nails may become thicker or break more easily as you get older, and may become harder, softer or more brittle during pregnancy. The review also counts normal ageing among the causes of brittle nails.

My nails are brittle and peel in layers. Is my body lacking something?

Usually not. The medical review lists normal ageing, trauma from everyday use, and repeated exposure to water or chemicals as common causes of brittle nails, and these are things most people meet every day.

You cannot tell the cause from the nail alone

Brittle nails can look alike whatever the cause: water, chemicals, manicures, or a health problem a doctor needs to check. Guessing will not tell you the real cause. If your nails stay brittle after you have cut down on water and chemicals, or you have other unusual symptoms, see a doctor, who can take your history and run checks if needed.

Should I change what I eat?

Keep eating a variety of foods as usual. If you have questions about your own diet, ask the doctor when you go for a check.

Nails grow slowly, and peeled layers do not rejoin

Layers that have split apart will not stick back together. Care is about protecting the new nail as it grows, then trimming off the peeled part as the nail lengthens. How soon you notice a difference depends on how fast your own nails grow.

How can I look after nails that are brittle and peeling?

The idea is to keep nails from drying out, reduce knocks, and trim and file them the right way.

Moisturise your nails and cuticles regularly

• The NHS advises applying hand cream to your nails and fingertips regularly.
• The AAD advises moisturising after every hand wash and after trimming, to keep nails flexible, especially in dry or air-conditioned rooms.
• Between manicures, the AAD suggests applying petroleum jelly to your nails and cuticles several times a day.
• Bedtime is when your hands stay out of water longest, so it is an easy time to make moisturising a habit.

Wear gloves for wet work and cleaning

The NHS advises wearing rubber gloves if your hands are often in water or you regularly use cleaning products. The review in Annals of Medicine recommends cotton gloves under vinyl gloves for wet work, and heavy cotton gloves for dry work such as gardening or carrying things.

Keep nails short and trim after a bath

• The AAD says the best time to trim is right after a bath or shower, when nails are soft, or after soaking your fingertips briefly in lukewarm water.
• Cut fingernails almost straight across, then use a file to round the corners slightly.
• The review advises people whose hands take a lot of knocks to keep their nails short to limit damage and peeling.
• If the tip is peeling, trim back past the peeling part rather than leaving split layers to catch on fabric and tear further down.

File in one direction, not back and forth

The AAD advises always filing in the same direction, because filing back and forth can weaken your nails. It also recommends filing regularly with an emery board so the edges have no snags that catch and tear.

What should I watch out for with gel nails, acrylics or frequent polish removal?

You can still have them, but space them out and remove them properly, because both the products and the acetone used to take them off dry and thin the nail.

If you have gel manicures

• The AAD suggests saving gel manicures for special occasions, and considering regular polish if you have recurring nail problems, since gel polish has to be removed with acetone.
• Do not pick or peel off lifting gel polish yourself. Have the manicurist remove it.
• When removing, soak only your fingertips in acetone, not your whole hands, or place acetone-soaked cotton on the nails and wrap each fingertip in foil. The AAD says removal takes about 15 minutes.
• Before your hands go under a UV lamp, apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, or wear dark gloves with the fingertips cut off.

If you have artificial nails

The AAD suggests soak-off gel nails rather than acrylics, because gel is more flexible and less likely to crack your natural nails. Ask for LED curing lamps, which give off less UV, and ask the technician to skip cuticle trimming.

Breaks between manicures

The AAD advises going without polish for 1 to 2 weeks or longer to give your nails a rest, and moisturising after every polish removal, because most removers dry the nails.

Which habits make brittle nails worse?

Small habits repeated every day add up to constant wear on your nails. See which of these apply to you.

Biting or picking your nails and cuticles

The NHS advises against biting or picking your nails, and the AAD advises against removing your cuticles, because cuticles protect the root of the nail. Repeatedly picking or pushing back cuticles can also leave ridges and waves across the nail surface.

Using nails instead of tools

Reach for a can opener, scissors or the tip of a pen instead of your nails when peeling stickers, tearing packets or opening lids.

Cutting down the sides or cleaning under nails with sharp objects

The NHS advises against cutting your nails down the edges and against cleaning under them with sharp objects. Use a soft nailbrush instead.

Leaving nails damp

The AAD advises keeping nails clean and dry. Dry your hands after washing or housework, then apply cream.

When should I see a doctor?

Brittleness at the tip on its own usually comes from everyday wear, but some nail changes need a doctor's look. The NHS advises seeing a doctor if a nail has changed shape, changed colour or fallen off and you do not know why.

Changes to show a dermatologist

The AAD advises having a dermatologist look at:

• a new or changing dark streak in the nail
• a nail lifting away from the skin underneath
• redness and swelling around the nail, or a nail turning greenish-black
• small pits in the nail surface, or deep grooves running across it
• very thick nails, or nails that dip into a spoon shape
• fingertips and nails that curve down much more than usual

When good care does not make a difference

The AAD advises seeing a dermatologist about nail problems that persist. If you have cut down on water and chemicals, paused manicures and moisturised regularly, but the new nail still grows in brittle or peeling, or several nails become brittle at once for no clear reason, see a doctor to look into the cause together. If you take regular medicines, mention them, because some medicines can affect the nails, and do not start creams, medicines or other products on your own without talking to a doctor or pharmacist.