What Causes Brittle Nails and How to Fix the Problem?

Having brittle nails can feel frustrating, especially when they break, peel, or split. While many people try to fix the problem with topical products, nail strength actually reflects what’s happening inside your body and in your daily habits.

Everything from nutrition and hydration to hormones, stress, and environmental exposure influences how strong or fragile your nails become. Understanding human biology and negative factors helps you address potential problems and rebuild lasting strength.

In this guide, we break down the most common triggers and show you how to restore healthy, resilient nails.

7 Main Reasons Behind Brittle Nails

These are the main reasons why your nails may be losing their beautiful natural appearance:

1. Nutritional Deficiencies

When people ask what causes brittle nails, nutritional deficiencies are usually at the top of the list. Your nail plate depends on steady nourishment to stay firm, resilient, and glossy. When you don’t get enough protein, iron, biotin, or vitamin D, your nails become brittle because your body prioritizes essential organs when allocating nutrients.

Nutritional deficiencies weaken keratin production, leading to soft, brittle nails, slow growth, peeling, and splitting. A lack of biotin creates thin, soft nails that bend easily. Iron deficiency reduces oxygen delivery to the nail matrix, causing nail abnormalities, ridges, and nails that crack with minimal pressure. Low vitamin D affects calcium regulation, which decreases overall nail strength.

Solutions

Improving your nutrient intake can quickly strengthen brittle nails and support long-term nail health:

• Include lean protein daily to reinforce the nail bed and nail plate.
• Consider iron supplements if blood tests show iron deficiency.
• Add biotin-rich foods or supplements to enhance keratin structure.
• Ensure you get enough vitamin D through sunlight or supplementation.

Balanced nutrition keeps your nails healthy, protects them from dryness, and prevents many common nail problems linked to deficiencies. If your dry and brittle nails don’t improve even after dietary changes, there’s a chance you’ll eventually suffer from a nail disease.

2. Chronic Dehydration

Chronic dehydration plays a major role in the development of brittle nails. Your nails rely on water to stay flexible and strong. Without enough fluids, the nail plate dries out, hardens, and loses its natural elasticity. This increases the likelihood of dry, brittle nails, peeling edges, cracks, and soft nails that split under pressure.

When the body becomes dehydrated, the nail bed receives less moisture and fewer nutrients. This affects keratin production, weakens the nail matrix, and leads to nail changes such as rough texture or brittle nail tips that chip easily. People who struggle with dry skin or dry hair often see the same dehydration reflected in their nails.

Solutions

Hydrating consistently helps you strengthen your nails from the inside out:

• Drink water regularly throughout the day rather than all at once.
• Moisturize nails and cuticles with hand lotion containing lanolin or alpha hydroxy acids.
• Wear rubber gloves when doing chores to prevent moisture loss.

Better hydration supports the nail bed’s structure, keeps the nail plate flexible, and helps you strengthen brittle nails over time. When hydration improves, your nails grow smoother, more resilient, and closer to truly healthy nails.

3. Overexposure to Water

Too much water ranks surprisingly high on the list of causes of brittle nails. Repeated soaking causes the nail plate to expand and contract, weakening its structure. Over time, too much moisture strips protective oils from the nail surface, leading to soft, brittle nails, peeling edges, and splitting nails.

People who wash their hands constantly, work in environments with frequent hand washing, or spend long hours washing dishes often notice their nails crack or fray. Even warm water breaks down the bonds inside the nail, and those changes intensify when combined with harsh chemicals, household cleaners, or cleaning fluids.

Solutions

You can still keep nails healthy even if your lifestyle requires constant water exposure:

• Wear gloves when doing chores, cleaning, or washing dishes.
• Keep nails trimmed and nails short to reduce breakage.
• Apply hand lotion or creams with alpha hydroxy acid after water exposure.
• Seal your nails with clear polish or a gentle nail hardener to lock in moisture.

These simple habits help strengthen brittle nails, prevent peeling, and allow you to maintain strong nails even if you’re forced to expose your hands to water.

4. Harsh Nail Products & Chemicals

Constant exposure to harsh chemicals or poor-quality cosmetic formulas can weaken the nail plate, damage the nail bed, and trigger long-term nail abnormalities. Nail polish remover, especially acetone-based removers, strips natural oils, leaving nails dry and brittle.

When used frequently, these removers dehydrate the surface, leading to soft nails that peel, bend, or split. Even regular nail polish can affect nail health if the formula contains drying ingredients or if you layer polish without letting the nail breathe.

Salon treatments, including artificial nails, gels, and acrylics, place significant pressure on the nail matrix. Strong glues and filing techniques weaken the nail plate from above and below. Over time, this leads to brittle, splitting nails, thinning, or white patches caused by surface trauma. Repeated filing with coarse tools damages keratin layers, so using a fine emery board makes a major difference.

Solutions

You can still enjoy beautiful nails without sacrificing nail strength:

• Choose non-acetone removers and apply them only when needed.
• Give your nails weekly breaks from nail polish or artificial nails.
• Switch to protective products like clear polish, gentle buffers, and strengthening treatments.
• Wear nylon fibers gloves when handling chemicals or washing dishes.

Protecting your nails from chemical exposure helps you strengthen your nails, reduce peeling, and prevent future nail problems or early nail diseases. With consistent care, your nails stay strong, smooth, and healthier overall.

5. Aging & Natural Keratin Changes

As you age, your nails change just like your skin and hair. Natural shifts in keratin production often explain what causes brittle nails in adults over 40. The nail plate becomes thinner, moisture levels decrease, and the nail matrix produces new cells much more slowly. These internal changes lead to dry and brittle nails, slower growth, and nails that crack more easily.

Aging also reduces oil production around the nail bed, making it harder to retain moisture. When the nail loses its natural flexibility, even small daily activities such as typing, opening containers, or tapping surfaces can cause issues. Over time, this creates a pattern of brittle nails that break before they can grow long enough to look full and healthy.

Solutions

A few habits dramatically improve nail strength as the years go by:

• Undergo anti-aging programs at reputable clinics such as Elixir.
• Maintain a steady intake of protein and iron supplements (if needed), and ensure adequate biotin intake.
• Consider warm treatments like a paraffin wax bath to restore flexibility.

These simple steps help restore moisture, support keratin production, and keep nails strong despite age-related changes. With the right care, you can maintain smooth, resilient, truly healthy nails at any stage of life.

6. Hormonal Changes & Medical Conditions

When your hormone levels fluctuate, keratin production slows, circulation changes, and moisture levels drop, which explains what causes brittle nails in many people experiencing life transitions. These internal shifts often lead to soft and brittle nails, peeling, and nails that crack more easily.

Changes during pregnancy, postpartum recovery, menopause, or periods of weight gain can affect nail strength. Hormonal imbalance alters the blood flow to the nail bed and nail matrix, reducing the delivery of nutrients needed to keep nails healthy. When the matrix can’t form strong cells, brittle nails occur, ridges develop, and the nail plate becomes more fragile.

Certain medical conditions may also cause issues. For example, thyroid disorders, including both thyroid disease and thyroid problems, such as slow metabolism and dry skin, can leave you with dry and brittle nails and thinning edges. Poor circulation from Raynaud’s syndrome restricts blood flow to the fingers and nail beds, causing nails to grow weak, thin, and prone to cracking.

Solutions

If you suspect hormones or medical conditions are the reason behind brittle nails, consider the following:

• Get blood tests to check for iron deficiency, vitamin D levels, and nutritional deficiencies.
• Support circulation with gentle massage or warming techniques if you have Raynaud’s syndrome.
• Treat any fungal infections promptly to avoid long-term nail diseases.
• Keep nails trimmed and nails short to prevent snagging while they recover.
• Use strengthening treatments like clear polish or a mild nail hardener to reinforce the nail surface.

Addressing the root cause helps you strengthen your nails, correct persistent nail changes, and regain truly healthy nails.

7. Stress, Lifestyle Factors & Bad Nail Habits

Daily habits and lifestyle choices play a surprisingly large role in what causes brittle nails. Stress, nutrient depletion, poor nail hygiene, and certain routines weaken the nail plate, reduce moisture, and interfere with keratin production. When these habits persist, brittle nails occur more frequently and become harder to manage.

High stress impacts hormones, appetite, and nutrient absorption, which leads to nutritional deficiencies such as low iron, biotin deficiency, or inadequate protein intake. These deficiencies directly affect nail health by slowing keratin formation in the nail matrix. This results in soft, dry, brittle nails and frequent cracks.

Lifestyle factors, such as biting your nails or picking at your cuticles, are other issues. Repeated trauma from nail biting or scraping weakens the nail bed and causes permanent nail abnormalities. Even sleeping with nail polish on for extended periods, or constantly peeling it off, can damage the nail plate’s structure.

Solutions

A few consistent habits help you strengthen your nails and reduce brittleness:

• Keep nails trimmed to prevent accidental snagging.
• Avoid picking, biting, or scraping the nail surface.
• Give nails occasional breaks from nail polish and nail polish remover.
• Maintain a nutrient-rich diet with enough biotin, iron, and protein.

Healthy habits strengthen brittle nails from the root, reduce breakage, and support long-term nail health.

Restore Nail Health with The Elixir Clinic’s VitaDrip Therapy

If your nails feel weak, brittle, or slow to recover, visit The Elixir Clinic for a more advanced and effective solution. Our bespoke VitaDrip infusions deliver targeted nutrients directly into your bloodstream, addressing the underlying causes of poor nail health, including nutritional deficiencies and dehydration, as well as stress, hormonal imbalances, and reduced circulation.

Our expert team evaluates your overall wellness profile and designs a personalized infusion plan that strengthens nail structure from within, supports healthy cell regeneration, and enhances overall vitality.

Book your VitaDrip session at The Elixir Clinic and take the next step toward stronger, smoother, more resilient nails.