Dermatologists tips for aging nails – nail growth begins to decline at age 25

We often put great attention into skin and hair routines, but have you ever wondered about your nail health or considered how they age?
Your nails age similar to the rest of your body, and professionals say that things like keratin loss are a huge reason. This can be considered along with factors like malnutrition, slower circulation, and water damage.
There are many practices you can do to help strengthen and protect your nails as you age. TODAY spoke to board-certified dermatologists to detail the best methods.
“Our nails age just like the rest of our body,” said board-certified dermatologist Dr. Pooja Rambhia. “Age-associated nail changes are largely due to impaired circulation, trauma, infections and underlying systemic medical conditions.”
Dr. Dana Stern, a board-certified dermatologist who specializes in nail care, expanded on the topic of blood flow noting that as we age, “our peripheral circulation becomes compromised.”
She continued: “The reason why that’s significant is people don’t realize that healthy nails require oxygen and nutrients that are delivered from the bloodstream. And so, when circulation is compromised, it significantly can negatively impact nail health.”
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Keratin loss is also a factor. Rahmbia explained that since our nails are predominantly made out of keratin proteins, when we get older, it is natural for the Keratin to start to fade.
Nail health can be affected as the rate at which your nails grow changes as time passes. Stern has noted a major difference in how fast your nails grow by the age of 40, saying that when nails grow slower, they are replaced less frequently.
According to Dr. Michele Green, a board-certified dermatologist, “changes in our nails can begin as early as our twenties, as nail growth begins to decline starting at 25 years old.”
The nails can also become ridged. Stern says that ridging, also known as onychorrhexis, is “an age-related phenomenon” that happens when the growth plate of the nail shrinks. Nail ridging is comparable to skin wrinkles that can form with time.
One way that was listed by Rambhia to lower nail changes that come with aging is eating a well-balanced diet. This means a diet that has sufficient amounts of protein, and vital vitamins and minerals such as Iron.
There was a consistent practice that was agreed upon with the experts, which was that moisturizing is very important for nail health, which should be done along with consuming a sufficient amount of water.
Water exposure to your nails isn’t always a good thing. Stern says water can put a “tremendous strain” on nail cells because nails are extremely absorbent.
Green also added on to the bad parts of water exposure, noting that if your hands are often wet, this can contribute to weak and brittle nails.