Most commercial fingernail hardeners contain formaldehyde and/or other toxic chemicals that make nails stiffer so they flex less, but also weaker, so they are more apt to break. In addition to cancer and other potentially-serious medical risks, clinical studies have found that formaldehyde causes fingernails to become dry, brittle and then split over time.

A "beauty expert" I saw on TV a couple days ago recommended using garlic to harden nails. She said if someone puts crushed garlic in fingernail polish, lets it sit 24 to 48 hours, and then applies it to their nails it will make them harder than acrylic. I had never heard that before, but searched the web and found garlic being recommended and strongly endorsed for nail-hardening in several nail-care forums and also that garlic is now being included as an active ingredient in some commercial nail-hardening products. The forum posts I read said nothing about putting garlic in nail polish. They recommended cutting or crushing garlic and directly applying it to nails for ten-minutes or so.

I haven't tried garlic for nail hardening. I am just passing this on as a possible remedy for a common nylon-string-guitarist problem. I don't know whether, like formaldehyde, garlic causes nails to become dry, brittle and split over time. I also don't know what effect it might have on your love-life. Try this idea at your own risk!

-Bob

Hola Bob
Here in Britain they say that in these times horses have to go a lot on roads, not only grass and as that is not natural for their hoofs there has been produced a product for making their hoofs harder and not likely to crack.
I do not know but I heard some guitarist mention it.
It sounds like a bigger risk than garlic to me.
I wonder if you eat garlic if the effect of it will get into your nails.
The chemicals sound like a bad idea.
My daughter has started to use nail polish. Do you know if it also contains the same chemicals that give cancer?
Gracias
Tomás

TomasJimenez wrote:Hola Bob
Here in Britain they say that in these times horses have to go a lot on roads, not only grass and as that is not natural for their hoofs there has been produced a product for making their hoofs harder and not likely to crack.
I do not know but I heard some guitarist mention it.
It sounds like a bigger risk than garlic to me.
I wonder if you eat garlic if the effect of it will get into your nails.
The chemicals sound like a bad idea.
My daughter has started to use nail polish. Do you know if it also contains the same chemicals that give cancer?
Gracias
Tomás

Tomas, The stuff for horses contains formaldehyde same as the human nail hardeners. If nail polish has a hardener in it, then it may contain formaldehyde. I don't think most nail color polish has a hardener in it. It should say on the label. The nail hardeners don't have to say they have formaldehyde in them because it is a low amount and not required by law.

My wife is trying the garlic oil and vitamin E treatment. They recommend everyday for two weeks for results and two months for best benefit. I have one nail that split that I may try it on. One hint on nails is all damage must be filed off.

I honestly can't see how garlic will harden your nails. But at least you won't be attacked by a vampire!

Anyway, the usual acrylic nail hardeners contain "formaldehyde resin" whatever that is, but basically it stays on the nail, and doesn't touch the skin much. Juan Serrano recommended "Hard as Nails" to me thirty years ago. and I haven't had the slightest problem with my nails since then.

TomasJimenez wrote:The chemicals sound like a bad idea.
My daughter has started to use nail polish. Do you know if it also contains the same chemicals that give cancer?
Gracias
Tomás

I am not qualified to answer that, but Dr. Michael Roizen posted this at the Dr. Mehmet Oz website:

... painting your nails is like coating them with a medley of toxins. In fact, nail polish is likely the most toxic cosmetic there is. Polish includes such toxic substances as formaldehyde, phthalates (they're solvent for colors, but are toxic to the nerves and endocrine system), acetone, toluene (they keep the color in their liquid form, but they evaporate quickly and fill the air with toxins, putting your respiratory system at risk), and benzophenones (which are known carcinogens and have estrogen-like effects). ...

You can read his full post at http://ask.doctoroz.com/question/nail-polish-toxic-chemicals.

Michael Roizen, MD, is Chief Wellness Officer at the Cleveland Clinic, a Past Chair of a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee, and a former editor for six medical journals. He has published more than 165 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 100 textbook chapters, 30 editorials, and four medical books (one, a medical best-seller), and received 13 U.S. and many foreign patents.

Mehmet Oz, MD, is Vice-Chair and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University and directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

-Bob

Try clear, white or de-coloured iodine.

I had lost a nail and it came back very soft and my nails have always been soft anyway. I was recommended to apply decolourised iodine once a day for a week and then once a week thereafter. It didn't make my nails noticeably thicker, but it did make them stronger.

I also use a cuticle cream too every so often because the iodine seems to make the cuticles tougher/drier and I figure it's good to ensure the nails don't dry out. (As well as the thought that body surfaces should grow tougher with use, so I make it a vigorous/tough cuticle massage).

Just don't get any hydrogen peroxide on your nails cause it will bring back the colour of the iodine and make your nails look nicotine stained.

Take a good vitamin with a B complex, which usually includes biotin, which is also god for your nail growth.


You can try hardeners, but any lacquer-based ones can possibly make your nails weaker as they don't get to breath.