Tough Cuticles,Soft Nails

[cramp_n_mystyle]

Does anyone have cuticles that are as tough as nails...and fingernails that are soft and thin like paper?! What could cause this?And what can I do about it?!

[Sailorsong]

I have found that hand lotions do nothing for the cuticles as it evaporates too quickly. I have problems with my cuticles mostly in the winter and once a week I coat them liberally with Vasoline and bandages at bed time to keep them soft. The bandages is mostly just to keep the vasoline off of the bedding.

Dennis

[cramp_n_mystyle]

Thanks supermum_ms & Ojibajo,
  Well,I know the thinness isn't due to overfiling as I rarely get the time to even do that,lol! As much as I envy the beautiful long nails that some women have,I know some use artificial nails.I'm not going to be the one to ask "are those real?"

I'm mostly concerned about my tough cuticles.I no longer do gardening or any kind of manuel work that would cause it.I do have my hands in water alot;but I also use alot of hand lotion.

[Ojibajo]

I just have ugly hands period. I look at all of my friends with their pretty feminine hands with a great deal of jealousy. My cuticles split and bleed and are disgusting. I have short and wide nail beds and I have to keep my nails short so that they don't bend backward and break beyond the quick. Ouch! It used to bother me a lot less because I played guitar and I was told by one of my guitar instructors that I had "the perfect guitar hands" (even if my fingers were a little short) Now MS has robbed me of that. Maybe I will get that back one day, but right now I don't have enough dexterity in my left hand to play. My left hand also seems to have a mind of it's own at times, randomly spasming and contracting at any given time.

I was thinking that even as ugly as they are, I should maybe treat myself to a manicure. At least I would get a little pampering and soft hands out out of it. Maybe I will spring for a pedicure too! I think after the rough year that I've had, I deserve a little pampering.

You should treat yourself to some pampering too!

[supermum_ms]

Hey there, I don't think there is anything disease wise to worry about because none fit the nail signs of xxxx. Mayoclinic has a video on nail signs you shouldn't ignore and ugg but nothing even close to what your saying, I really couldn't find anything medical, not even a vit deficiency came up.

The thickness of a persons nails is actually determined at birth, and the only other thing i could find regarding nails becoming thinner, was to do with over filing. Hard cuticles and soft nails seemed to be a common problem, again it seemed to be more about cosmetic causes than health related. There was no end to the tips and tricks to fix it, so i'd google for some ideas there.

Cheers.........JJ