Yes it's a minor thing but I knew it would eventually come up. I love getting my nails done. I was getting them done for about 5 years now. Started way before HRT. It was the first thing I did after I knew I was trans. Used to be be the girls would say. Oh your nails are so thick and strong. They loved working on them. Now if I get any length they break easy. Had them done on Saturday and had to go back today to get one fixed today. I take biotin to help but they are still thinner than before I started HRT. Arrrrg! Lol
My nails are just as breakable as they were before hrt too. They even bend without actually breaking.
I swear by vaseline healthy hand and nail lotion as well as supplementing b12 and silica for skin, nails, and hair. As it sits now my claws are box cutter sharp/strong lol
I would have thought nail strength and health was more related to diet and general health rather than hormones??
HRT can affect nails. After surgery I had to stop wearing nail polish because the solvent in the polish was attacking the nail. Even without polish I have to keep them shorter or they will break off on me. Diet and health are good so the only thing that change was testosterone.
Curious! I can't say I've noticed much difference with my nails since HRT (or now post GRS), although as Angèlique mentioned above, mine tend to bend rather than outright break.
Mine don't really break. They bend, peel layers, and make me trim them. Sound familiar to anyone? Still, I wouldn't trade them in.
I used to have my nails done using gel or shallac. After about 3 months and having the gel removed I thought that the agressive use of removers was not good as my nails became softer and dry. I was advised by the manucurist to stop using gel or Shallac and use a good normal varnish product for weak and dry nails. They recommmended that I use OPI, seems it has the reputation that is the best for damaged nails. I have used OPI for 8 months and my nails are much better and stronger.I also use hand creams a few times a day. I also give my nails a week rest every month.
Yes, Sarah, I have exactly the same thing going on. Biotin has helped but it only slows down the peeling. I wish I could find something, anything (,other than testosterone!) to help them regain the strength they once had.
Quote from: Dee Marshall on January 09, 2017, 09:55:28 PM
Biotin has helped but it only slows down the peeling. I wish I could find something, anything (,other than testosterone!) to help them regain the strength they once had.
Same, I've been taking biotin for 8 months now, and whilst it has helped, my nails are still not as strong as pre HRT. It's quite frustrating. :(
I've heard that progesterone may help, but I've never tried it. Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!
same. my nails used to be so sturdy and resilient, but now i can barely keep them at the length they once were so i have to keep cutting them early.
Good stuff here. I've got 'lines' along the length of my nails, resulting from nail bed damage over the decades. The nails tend to tear along their length. I try to keep them as smooth on the edges as possible to avoid any catching and tearing. I have to keep the torn ones trimmed way back until the untorn portion grows out.
I hadn't heard that about OPI, so maybe I should switch from the gel polish over to their varnish. I just picked up some biotin as well.
I'm not the original poster, but hey... Thanks, everyone! :)
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Quote from: Michelle_P on January 09, 2017, 11:38:15 PM
I've got 'lines' along the length of my nails, resulting from nail bed damage over the decades.
Me too. My sister gave me one of these to get rid of the lines and buff them to a smooth, polished surface:
https://www.amazon.com/4-Way-Mini-Nail-Buffer-Block/dp/B0002C72AW/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1484027017&sr=8-4&keywords=tropical+shine
After I transitioned I use to do my nails all the time. The partner of one of my friends use to do them for me all the time when we all watched movies. But over the years I found I didn't bother with it as much. I do remember that my nail texture was different, especially when I was on spiro prior to SRS.
Now because of my sport and passion for gardening, I can rarely keep long nails since they always get chipped, cracked, or coated with something (usually from the garden). I do kind of miss it, especially pedicures. I am currently waiting for a toenail to fall off that I stubbed on the bottom of someone's skate when I was playing in San Diego. I guess I could paint them all that weird purple bruisy color... ;D
Well, the problem is that my old nails look corrugated from the end. ~^~-~^~ If I buff the ridges out to match the valleys, I'll wind up with shredded nails. The nice thing about the gel polish is how thick it is and how well it filled in the low spots. Time to experiment...
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I think it's the spiro. I mean, it retards hair growth and nails are the same matrix, so it stands to reason that your nails would suffer as the result of the anti androgen
Mine were fine prior to HRT and grew rather rapidly. Once I cranked up the HRT, they fell apart like a house of cards. I've heard apocryphal stories about progesterone improving them, but I persomally have no idea. I'm gonna ask my endo next week when I see her. But I see acrylics in my future.
Quote from: Jane Emily on January 09, 2017, 11:54:15 PM
There's always Bondo. :)
Heh. That always works better with fiberglass and resin. Which, oddly enough, are available for nails. If i get desperate for some real flash, I can get fiberglass or silk nails done, which actually does bond a reinforcing mat to the nail!
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Uh oh....
Has anyone tried Keratin Supplements or anything like that to fix this? I use nails to play my guitar... :<
Huh... I actually didn't realize there was a correlation between nail strength and testosterone before reading this thread.
I will say that (from the other side of things), pre-T, my nails were weak as hell. They would bend (no splitting) and any flick to them hurt pretty bad. My fiancée's nails are harder than diamonds, though. She takes a multivitamin and a relatively high amount of vitamin D3 daily.
I, too, started taking D3 (3k mg's) and just before starting HRT my nails reached the strength of hers. A lot of people have a deficiency in that particular vitamin (especially in the winter months or the indoor types) so it could possibly give you some benefit.
Quote from: PrincessCrystal on January 10, 2017, 12:18:57 AM
Uh oh....
Has anyone tried Keratin Supplements or anything like that to fix this? I use nails to play my guitar... :<
I see no reason why this wouldnt be worth a try. I do the same. Though the silica and b vitamins do enough with the hand lotion I mentioned.
I solved the problem with no-chip gel. With the exception of two weeks that I had to remove it for my SRS I've had the gel nails for a bit over a year now.
I love this stuff! It's almost indestructible. I'm a Mfg. Eng so I'm often out in the shop getting into production process and machinery, lost of grease, oil and sharp metal objects.
In a year I've done nothing more that take a small chunk out of one nail, and that was at home cutting veggies!
Quote from: Violets on January 09, 2017, 10:20:24 PM
Same, I've been taking biotin for 8 months now, and whilst it has helped, my nails are still not as strong as pre HRT. It's quite frustrating. :(
I've heard that progesterone may help, but I've never tried it. Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!
Not sure if progesterone helps because I am on that and my nails are still thin. But I do think it has had a big differences in my breast development.
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Quote from: Dena on January 09, 2017, 07:34:58 PM
HRT can affect nails. After surgery I had to stop wearing nail polish because the solvent in the polish was attacking the nail. Even without polish I have to keep them shorter or they will break off on me. Diet and health are good so the only thing that change was testosterone.
It's not just the solvents, it's also the fact that wearing polish prevents your nails from getting oxygen. Even though nails are dead... they are just protean (keratin), that will make them brittle and weak. Your nails are much more permeable than the skin.
That happens to me as well. I keep my nails very short because I play guitar. If I grow them a little they split and crack. Ironic that certain nail polish is advertised as making your nails stronger, when it does the opposite!
Diet effects your nails too.
From Wikipedia:
"Vitamin A is an essential micro-nutrient for vision, reproduction, cell and tissue differentiation, and immune function. Vitamin D and calcium work together in cases of maintaining homeostasis, creating muscle contraction, transmission of nerve pulses, blood clotting, and membrane structure. A lack of vitamin A, vitamin D, or calcium can cause dryness and brittleness.
Insufficient vitamin B12 can lead to excessive dryness, darkened nails, and rounded or curved nail ends. Insufficient intake of both vitamin A and B results in fragile nails with horizontal and vertical ridges. Some over-the-counter vitamin supplements such as certain multivitamins and biotin may help in growth of strong nails, although this is quite subjective.
Protein is a building material for new nails; therefore, low dietary protein intake may cause anemia and the resultant reduced hemoglobin in the blood filling the capillaries of the nail bed reflects varying amounts of light incident on the nail matrix resulting in lighter shades of pink ultimately resulting in white nail beds when the hemoglobin is very low. When hemoglobin is close to 15 or 16 grams, most of the spectrum of light is absorbed and only the pink color is reflected back and the nails look pink. A lack of protein combined with deficiencies in folic acid and vitamin C produce hangnails.
Essential fatty acids play a large role in healthy skin as well as nails. Splitting and flaking of nails may be due to a lack of linoleic acid.
Iron-deficiency anemia can lead to a pale color along with a thin, brittle, ridged texture. Iron deficiency in general may cause the nails to become flat or concave, rather than convex. Heme iron is absorbed fairly easily in comparison to non-heme iron; however, both types provide the necessary bodily functions."
Progesterone helps some women with getting stronger nails. I take some with estrogen, have very low T and my nails are quite strong, confirmed by manicurist. A few women cannot tolerate progesterone though so talk it over with your doctor, as always. :)
Keeping these nails intact and looking good has meant I wear gloves when doing farm and trail chores most of the time. I think that progesterone and biotin have helped but I definitely had tougher nails once upon a time in another life ;)
Fortunately they are like our hair and do keep growing and give us more chances to play ;D
I play classical guitar (with my nails), so I both need them to be long, and to not break from the abuse. I've put a bit of homework into this, but I'm no expert so take this advice with a grain of salt.
I use Nailtiques. It's very shiny :) I'm not sure how much better it is than regular polish, but it does make a pretty huge difference compared to nothing. I'm using the 2 plus right now, but I think I liked the plain 2 better.
As for ridges, they can be a sign of poor nutrition. You may consider taking a multivitamin if you don't already, and be sure you're not running at a consistent calorie or protein deficit. And I would recommend against buffing them out - this will thin the nail and make them more prone to breakage. Instead, use some sort of polish to fill the gaps.
And whenever you're re-doing your nails, apply some jojoba oil to the nail and surrounding area and let it soak in. Nail beds love it and will turn pink. Just be sure to wash your nails well and let them dry out for a few minutes before applying a polish to them, or it won't stick right.
I've also found that some nail files will weaken the nail in a way that shows up later, such as flaking/peeling or tearing. I got a set of small diamond files, one of which is a very fine grain, for projects around the house...but that one ended up in my nail kit, as it works far better than anything else I've used (and I've tried a LOT of files - glass, grit-based, actual sandpaper, weird unidentified plastic substances that were labeled as a nail buffer, etc).
Last tip and then I'll shut up! After you're done shaping your nails, but before you apply polish - rub them on some material that you know snags nails. I have a super-soft flannel shirt I use. But rub them in every conceivable way on your test material, and if it snags or pulls at all then fix that or it will turn into a problem later.
It's a harsh world out there for nails; good luck!
I noticed a slight weakening of nails after taking spiro and estrogen alone, and they got stronger after starting progesterone.