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Getting your nails done is quite the treat. Who doesn’t love to feel pampered as hands that have been submerged in dishwater, typed on laptops at home, and detangled a head full of hair get massaged, moisturized, and cleaned up? But what regimen do you have for your nails that doesn’t involve a nail tech? When you’re at home, are you regularly clipping and filing your nails, oiling your cuticles, and moisturizing your hands after washing them? If you are as swamped as most people stuck at home during this pandemic, chances are, you’re not giving your nails the tender, love, and care they could use outside of appointments.

ORLY is here to help. The brand just launched a new line called Breathable Treatments. It includes a Breathable Protein Boost ($15), Breathable Calcium Boost ($15), and a Breathable Cuticle Oil ($15). All three work together to help restore and protect your nails.

To learn more about how we can best strengthen our nails in addition to using the treatments, we asked Dr. Jeannette Graf, board-certified dermatologist and Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, to educate us. She shares what breaks down our nails, how the ingredients in the Breathable Treatments help, the best way to maintain our nail health at home, and sets the record straight on to clip or to not clip your cuticles. Find out what she had to say.

stronger nails

Source: Orly / ORLY

What causes brittle nails that break easily? 

Dr. Graf says nails that break easily are weakened because they need some moisture.

“Nails become dry and brittle when they lack moisture,” she says. “Many things can strip the moisture in fingernails but the common culprit is washing and drying the hands multiple times a day and frequently using detergents, household cleaners, and nail polish remover.

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