Marti

Go to your local Sally Beauty Supply and get a 3-way buffer and a bottle of Botanical Oil from the nail department. Use the black side of the buffer to buff away any peeling layers, then use the white side to smooth and refine, then the gray side to buff to a high shine. Apply the oil and massage into the nails and cuticles at least twice daily and always before bedtime. You should see a difference within a month if you do not miss any applications. For whatever reason, her nail bed is not keeping the nail plate hydrated with natural oils and moisture. Usually, this is genetic.

As for you rfungal nails - you do not necessarily have to take oral meds. There are many OTC treatments available at your local drug store. First, clean the nails as good as you can and clean out all the debris under the nails. Scrub them really well with a soft toothbrush and warm soapy water. Dry them real well - using your blow dryer to be sure all the mouisture has been removed from under the nail plate. Apply a drop of treatment to each effected nail at least twice daily. It can take up to a full year or more to completely kill all the fungal spores. Fungal spores live deep within the nail bed as well as in the layers of nail plate.

Whatever tools you use on your nailsneed to be sanitized between uses and only used on you. Do not let other family members use the tools you use on your toes as the spores can spread. Wash the implements in warm soapy water - even your nail files - and then completely immerse them in a mixture of 1 part clorox to 10 parts water for a full 10 minutes. Remove from the solution, wash and dry and store them in a sealed container until the next use. When you buy nail files at you rlocal Sally Beauty Supply, be sure they can be sanitized - if not, they will fall apart in the solution.