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... 

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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Quote from: Michelle_P on January 09, 2017, 11:49:18 PM
Time to experiment...

There's always Bondo. 

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.