Fragile or slow-growing nails are often the sign of a vitamin deficiency. B-group vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E... these essential nutrients play a key role in keratin production and nail plate renewal. Knowing which ones to focus on, how to get them, and how to include them in a care routine effectively boosts nail health, both from the inside and outside. Discover the superpowers of vitamins for your nails!
The Role of Vitamins in Nail Health
Nails are made up of over 90% keratin, a fibrous protein whose synthesis depends directly on an intake of essential nutrients. Certain vitamins are essential for the production of this protein and for the proper functioning of the nail matrix. Here are the vitamins that matter most for your nails:
Biotin and other B vitamins
Biotin (or vitamin B8): this is THE essential vitamin for your nails. It drives keratin synthesis as well as collagen synthesis. Thanks to biotin, the nail plate becomes thicker, harder, and stronger.
Vitamin B5 (or panthenol): this other B vitamin regulates the nail's natural hydration and promotes cell regeneration.
Vitamin B12: it participates in the production of red blood cells, ensuring proper oxygenation of nail tissue and protecting it against oxidative stress.
Vitamin A
It stimulates sebum production, which forms the nail's protective lipid film, ensuring suppleness and shine.
Vitamin C
This vitamin plays a part in collagen production, which contributes to tissue cohesion. It is also an antioxidant that helps limit the effects of daily environmental aggressors. It is essential for ensuring healthy growth and resilient nails.
Vitamin E
Like vitamin C, vitamin E has a powerful antioxidant action that protects cells and supports microcirculation in the nail bed, helping to prevent the appearance of vertical ridges and other signs of weakness.
Vitamins are essential for strong, healthy nails.
Vitamin deficiencies: how do they affect nails?
Your nails speak to you, and they are often the first warning signs when it comes to nutritional deficiencies. Here is how to decode the signs of a vitamin deficiency.
Slowed growth
Are your nails growing slower than usual and becoming thin and crumbly? This could be a sign of a biotin or vitamin B6 deficiency, which contributes to the metabolism of amino acids that are precursors to keratin. When these B vitamins are lacking, keratin production drops and inevitably, nails grow more slowly.
Soft nails
Do they bend easily, look dull, and lack firmness? Soft nails can reveal a vitamin A deficiency, which is essential for ensuring proper nail hydration and maintaining their natural rigidity.
Brittle nails
Nails that break easily are also linked to a deficiency in vitamin B12 or vitamin C, which are essential for nail strength. A vitamin B5 deficiency can also lead to brittle or splitting nails by reducing hydration.
Ridged nails
Have vertical or horizontal ridges appeared on your nails? Ridged nails are often a sign of a vitamin E or B12 deficiency, which disrupts growth and creates irregularities across the nail plate.
⚠️ If these symptoms persist despite a balanced diet, it is recommended to consult a doctor. Some deficiencies require medical follow-up.
How to strengthen your nails with vitamins?
Securing your vitamin intake means ensuring strong nails and radiant, long-lasting manicures. Here is how to do it:
A balanced diet
Diet remains the primary source of vitamins for nails and the simplest way to maintain healthy skin and natural nails. Which foods are best for nails?
- For biotin (B8) and B vitamins: cooked eggs (especially the yolk!), liver and organ meats, oily fish (salmon, mackerel), nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts), legumes (lentils, chickpeas), brewer's yeast, whole grains.
- For vitamin B12: beef liver, fish (tuna, trout), shellfish (oysters, mussels), fortified whole grains, eggs. If you follow a vegetarian diet, supplementation may be necessary.
- For vitamin A: liver, sweet potato, carrots, spinach, dried apricots, butter. Orange vegetables and leafy green vegetables are your best allies.
- For vitamin C: fresh fruit and vegetables, especially citrus fruits (orange, lemon, grapefruit), kiwi, bell peppers, broccoli, strawberries. Eat them raw whenever possible, as vitamin C is heat-sensitive.
- For vitamin E: plant oils (wheat germ oil, sunflower oil), green vegetables (spinach, broccoli), nuts (almonds, hazelnuts), seeds (sunflower, flaxseed), avocados.
Eating a balanced diet: the best way to ensure your intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
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Targeted dietary supplements
Sometimes, diet alone is not enough to meet your needs, especially with restrictive diets or identified deficiencies. That is where food supplements come in!
Nail Boost dietary supplements are designed to work from the inside out to correct vitamin deficiencies with a formula rich in biotin as well as vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, and minerals (zinc, copper, magnesium, selenium). Taken as a 2- to 3-month course of treatment, this food supplement helps stimulate growth and strengthen the keratin structure of natural nails. You can tailor the treatment to your needs:
- For soft, damaged nails, opt for a 3-month treatment taking 2 capsules a day.
- To maintain your nails and boost their vitality, opt for a 2-month treatment taking one capsule per day.
Vitamin-rich nail care
Alongside a balanced diet, vitamin-enriched nail care and manicure products help act on the surface to boost nail resilience.
- The Green Flash™ Vitamin Base Coat is the first enriched LED gel polish base coat that protects and strengthens the nail under colour. Its patented KeraHCE+ technology combines hexanal, vitamin C and vitamin E. The result? It creates an antioxidant shield that preserves keratin layers and optimises the adhesion and wear time of Green Flash™ polish.
- Active™ Smooth nail care polish is a polish designed like a CC cream for nails, available in 4 different shades. It smooths the surface by leaving a satin nude veil that blurs ridges and revitalises the nail thanks to a formula combining castor oil plant fibres, hexanal, AHAs and vitamin E. The ultimate ally for ridged nails!
- The Active™ Bright nail care polish, meanwhile, is a brightening polish that creates a radiant white finish, perfect for diminishing yellowing nails. It also deeply hardens and repairs thanks to a formula enriched with lemon extract, linden extract, hexanal, AHAs and vitamin E.
- S.O.S. Base is the ultimate emergency treatment for damaged nails. Enriched with panthenol and vitamin C, it repairs, restores, and strengthens weakened nails. Use as a 2 to 3-week cure, applied alone or under Green™ nail polish, to restore harder, healthier nails.
- The Keratin Booster, a biotin + keratin concentrate designed for intensive targeted action on soft nails. Its biomimetic formula deeply penetrates to support keratin production and redensify the nail plate. Apply to bare nails 1 to 3 times a day for 5 to 7 days.
- The Perfecting Concentrate, enriched with castor oil, mastic tree extract and vitamin E, provides daily hydration and protection for nails and cuticles. Its practical pen format makes application easy, at any time of day.
- The Complete Serum is formulated with a water base, plant glycerin, panthenol and chestnut extracts; it hydrates and restores dry, damaged or brittle nails. We love its lightweight texture that absorbs quickly, without any greasy or sticky finish.
To show off beautiful natural nails, the key is knowing how to listen to them! Adopt a varied diet paired with targeted supplements if needed and suitable vitamin-rich treatments, and your nails won't lack a thing. However, if signs of fragility persist, don't hesitate to consult a doctor to find the cause.
