since hitting the menopause (gulp) my finger nails are terrible. soft and bendy, splitting and with thick ridges growing down them.
i have tried multivits for 6 months
sally hansen regrowth
sally hansen hard as nails
and wearing top coat of clear polish
even this has not helped
does anyone have any ideas of what WILL work? they keep breaking so short they hurt!

I was always told to eat a cube of jelly every day !! Sorry can't help my nails are .... well hard as nails.
Aileen

I was told a cube of jelly a day as well (although my aunty thought you were meant to rub it on them!!! LMAO)
I dont know but my mums nails are terrible, and I will be going through a temporary menopause for the next 6 months :( :( So may well get this as well. So hope there are some answers :)
Lea :) :)

Would mention it to your doctor as it is possible a symptom of something not working as it should. Could be hormones but could be something else and anyway I would think the doctor can help.

How is your diet?  Plenty of water with fresh fruit and vegetables has a noticeably positive affect on my skin, hair and nails.  The opposite is true when I eat badly over a period of time... !

Mine do too.
The only time there is any respite is when I am off work, this means I am not washing my hands every 5 minutes and using horrible hand rubs at tother times.
Is there any thing you do repeatedly that could be harmful?

The best I can get mine is with the Sally HAnsen gold bottle, and time off. ;)

Karen

i have rubbish nails, but they're a lot less rubbish now.  I use OPI Nail Envy (the original one, but theres different ones for different things), an have done for a few months, and have noticed a massive difference. 

OPI Nail envy is amazing!! I use it as a top coat or buy it in pink for a day to day colour that goes with everything. Make sure you treat your cuticles as well and acetone free nail varnish remover and a sheabutter hand cream.

Works for me Expensive but the nailenvy lats for ages and you'll see the difference in a week!!

My old hairdresser told me to take silica suppliments to strengthen my hair and nails, didn't actually get round to trying it but it is 'supposed' to help. Maybe I should try my own advice!
Mel

I found these good.

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=247&prodid=327&cid=30&sid=0

As a birthday treat this year I went for a manicure and mentioned to the lady my nails were soft and often split and broke. She recommended that I try Nailtiques Formula 2. There are others for different issues with nails. She told this brand was the only one she would use herself. I gave it a go, and now I have to trim my nails! I still do get the odd break and it hasn't completely cured the splitting, but they are much stronger. I do use cuticle oil too and hand creams, but that was just normal hand/nail care for me anyway. I wouldn't be without this stuff now and while I don't do the one coat daily thing any more, I never have bare nails now. I worked to get them nice so I want to protect them. Sometimes I wear a colour, but when I don't I just swish on a coat of this.I hope that helps.

OPI do a fantastic range of products. I have been a nail biter all my life and a few months ago decided enough was enough and i wanted to stop. My nials have grown so quickly and are incredibly strong thanks to OPI. Its not the cheapest but not hugely expensive and definitely worth every penny. I'd recommend highly. When my bottle ran out and i forgot to get more it only took a few wekks for my nails to get brittle and break.

quick update.
thanks for all who mentioned OPI its brilliant. nails are at last growing and not breaking as much. you can put layer over layer and no peeling off or flaking.
its dries really hard and stops then breaking.
i would recommend it to anyone, worth every penny
thanks

Hi Tina

Did you use OPI Nail Envy?  After the recommendations on here I thought I might put it on my Christmas list but I don't know what one to go for...

Thanks

They are all really good so it wont matter which one you are given :-)

I just ordered a mini one of the original forumula on eBay for £2.80. Not sure how long it will last but can't afford to splash out on the bigger one this side of xmas.

I think the original one covers a multitude of nail issues, but if you go to the opi.com website, there's a section on Nail Envy under the Nail Care bit and it explains what each one's for.  From experience, the Matte version isn't as good as the Original and it makes you nails look odd.  The Original is also cheaper?  I pay £10 for the Original (online) whereas the Sensitive & Peeling is £15.  I'm about to start on bottle 3 of the Original stuff.  When you do get it, make sure your nails and clean and dry with NO hand cream on - it'll stop the OPI from working properly, as the hand cream will cause a barrier (i had this problem when i first started using it.  OPI customer service had to point out the obvious, mind!).

Thank you - it's on my list!!

i used nail envy as the first 2 layers then opi top coat to make a crisp shell. they do sell it in boots, i wish id found it years ago!