So is the biotin helping or not?

[dreamshark]

As part of the general drying up process involved in getting older, my fingernails have been deteriorating for some years now. I used to have fairly nice looking nails, despite a very minimalist approach to maintenance. But in the past 10 years they have started splitting into layers at the end, peeling, and breaking. The technical name for this phenomenon is onychoschisis.

I tried obsessively rubbing hand lotion into the nail bed, tea tree oil, and of course nail hardener. It just got worse. I finally decided to try taking biotin, a B-vitamin that seems to be particularly important to nail health. The annoying thing about this approach is that because it takes 4 months for a nail to grow out, it's a long time before you can see if it's working. And of course I didn't write down anywhere exactly when I started with the biotin, but I think it was in late March or early April. In any case, more than 4 months ago.

So has it helped? Well... I THINK so. On the plus side, I have managed to grow all 10 nails long enough that there is a little white showing at the end of every nail. When I started this regimen, about half my fingernails looked like I had bitten them to the quick (and I have NEVER bitten my nails!). So that's an improvement. I think they are not so brittle. On the other hand, several nails still show split layers under the coats of clear nail hardener. They just aren't breaking off as easily.

There could be other reasons for that besides the biotin. For one thing, it is summer. Skin and nails dry out terribly in the winter, and rehydrate in the humid days of summer. Secondly, I recently switched to a different brand of nail hardener. Maybe NutraNail just works better than Sally Hansen? So in the spirit of the retired System Tester, I just cleaned off my nails and applied two coats of Sally Hansen. We'll see how that works. I do want to know the truth, but if all the pretty little new white tips on my nails break off again, I'll cry.

Comments

[mle292.livejournal.com]

Knox Unflavored Gelatin used to advertise on their box that if a person soaked their nails in a solution of their product, it would soften and strengthen nails. It was the 70's when I read that on the box, and I think there were laws at the time about making false claims, but I'm no expert on 40 year old federal statutes.

Edited to add: WebMD says that the gelatin thing is bullshit, and won't help at all. I think I probably trust them more than a cardboard box I read when I was seven.

Bummer.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think the whole gelatin thing turned out to be one of those modern "myths" that popular science writers love to debunk. It kind of made sense, since gelatin contains keratin and so do fingernails. But, oh well.

[mplsfish.livejournal.com]

I took a magnesium suppliment for two years for other health concerns. The other effect was my nails got a lot nicer. Magnesium is needed for the processing of calsium. Most americans are quite defficient. It takes up to a year to get results.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

That might be worth trying. I am also prone to muscle cramps, which can be due to magnesium deficiency.

[carbonel]

Just don't use Mentality nail polish. Mentality is apparently recalling most of its nail polish after many complaints of its polish causing onychoschisis. Mentality blames a supplier, said supplier says a) problem predates Mentality's use of its product, and b) no other company using its products have had problems, so not us, and has ordered a C&D on badmouthing it.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

*blech* I almost never use nail polish, but I'll try to remember that brand.