Ridged Nails: What Are They Telling You?

Dr. Yaseen Arsalan, a Doctor of Pharmacy, has advice on the “nutraceutical” side of things:

Onychorrhexis

Sounds like the name of a dinosaur, but it’s actually the condition that creates the vertical ridges that sometimes appear on nails. It’s especially likely in the case of thinner nails, and/or certain nutritional deficiencies. Overuse of certain chemicals (including nail polish remover, hair products that get on your hands a lot, and cleaning fluids) can also cause it. It can also be worsened by various conditions, including eczema, psoriasis, hypothyroidism, anemia, and amyloidosis, but it won’t usually be outright caused by those alone.

There are two main kinds of ridges on nails:

• Vertical ridges: associated with hypothyroidism, anemia, and aging. Often an indicator of low iron.
• Horizontal ridges (Beau’s lines): caused by interrupted nail growth, brute force trauma, chemotherapy, acrylic nails, and gel nail polishes. Can also be an indicator of low zinc.

There are an assortment of medical treatments available, which Dr. Arsalan discusses in the video, but for home remedy treatment, he recommends:

• Nail-strengthening creams (look for coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E)
• Hydration (this is about overall hydration e.g. water intake)
• Careful nail trimming (fingernails with a curved shape and toenails straight across)
• Nail ridge filler (he recommends the brand Barrielle, for not containing formaldehyde or formalin)
• Moisturization (with cuticle oil or hand creams, because that hydration we talked about earlier is important, and we want it to stay inside the nail)

For more on those things, plus the medical treatments plus other “how to avoid this” measures, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• The Counterintuitive Dos and Don’ts of Nail Health
• Regular Nail Polish vs Gel Nail Polish – Which is Healthier?

Take care!