04/15/2026
What you are seeing in this picture is the nail plate separating into layers, which is a structural issue. We call them peeling. Doug Schoon tells us
That the nail plate is made of many layers of keratinized cells, and those layers are held together by cohesion, which helps keep the nail from cracking and separating as it bends and takes stress. The upper layer helps resist everyday exposure and the middle layers help the nail flex without breaking, so when that structure starts to come apart, the free edge is often where it shows first. Repeated mechanical stress is a big part of that, including tapping, pressure, everyday use, over filing, picking, and small trauma that builds over time. Cycles of getting wet and drying out make that worse because water affects the nail plate, and the plate has different water content through its layers, so repeated expansion and contraction adds more strain to a structure that is already being flexed by normal life. Doug also says genetics can influence how the nail is built in the first place, including thickness, flexibility, and durability, because the types and blends of keratin in the nail plate are influenced mainly by genetic factors, so some people may absolutely be more prone to this than others. What genetics do not do is make the nail actively peel on their own. Genetics may set the stage, but the peeling itself is still the layers breaking down from stress, exposure, and wear over time. Doug is also very clear that the nail plate is non living, so once it is damaged it cannot heal itself and has to grow out. He is equally clear that nails do not need to breathe, they do not need calcium, and they cannot be topically fed, because all oxygen, nutrients, and water needed for nail growth come from the blood, not from something placed on top of the plate. That is why what you put on the nail is not going to reverse structural damage once those layers have already separated. Cuticle oil is not feeding a dead nail plate back to health. What Doug does say is that lipids in and on the nail plate help increase flexibility and help prevent excess water loss, and that the main benefit of nail oils is to slow water loss from the surface and help prevent excess water from penetrating into the nail plate. Over time, regular use of nail oil can help reduce brittleness and increase flexibility of the nails and surrounding skin, but that is support, not repair, and for intact nails of normal thickness it may take a month or more of daily use to significantly increase oil content.
