What's With These Ridges In My Fingernails?

Aging

Vertical ridges in an older individual's nails can simply be attributed to their natural aging process. When an individual ages, their skin, hair, and nails are exposed to factors that cause them to become increasingly dry. Repeated hand washing, the application and removal of manicures, cleaning without gloves, and excessive wear over time cause the nails to lose their ability to hold onto moisture. In addition, the process that occurs in an individual's skin and nails that replaces cells that have died or shed off becomes less efficient as they grow older. Instead of a positive or level balance of cell production and cell loss a younger individual has, an older individual begins to experience a negative correlation with more cell loss than the number of cells their body is producing. This process is not only specific to the nails and skin but many other types of cells in the body as well. This mechanism causes the nails to become weak and develop vertical ridges that make their texture feel rough. In addition, individuals of advanced ages are more prone to developing medical conditions and diseases known to contribute to the formation of such ridge abnormalities in the nails.

Uncover more details on reasons for nail ridges and other nail issues now.