Marti

Your sister has a dried out nail plate. This can be due to age, genetics, health issues or if she uses strong solvents without wearing gloves. Strong solvents include large amounts of water or any type of household cleaning solution. These can wick the natural oils and moisture from the nail plate, leaving it dried out and prone to splitting, peeling and other forms of breakdown.

The worst thing she can be doing is wearing bandaids on her fingers as they will absorb whatever precious moisture is left in the nail plate. She can go to her local Sally Beauty Supply and purchase a 3-way buffer and a bottle of Botanical Oil from the nail department. She can buff the nail plate surface with the buffer to smooth out the peeling layers; first the black side to remove what she can of the peeling portion, then the white side to remove scrathces and further refine, then the gray side to buff to a high-shine. This will help to seal the nail plate from losing so much of the natural oils and moisture. She should apply the Botanical Oil at least twice daily, massaging it into the nail plate and the cuticles. Always at night and always after having her hands wet. She can buff the nails a couple of times a month, but not so much as to remove too many vital nail plate layers. Usually, it is only the surface layer that splits and sometimes the central layer. She won't want to try to remove all the peeling the first time, but can buff a little the second week and a little the third week. Also, buff the free edge as well.

Do not have her wear nail strengtheners as they contain large amounts of formaldehyde which will only dry out the nail plate even more.