Skin Deep - First Aid for Distressed Nails

WE all know about products for aging skin, but what about aging nails?

Those products are out there. But whether they work is up for debate. This fall, Dermelect Cosmeceuticals, a company based in Great Neck, N.Y., released a line of products for aging nails that features an ingredient called ProSina, which is extracted keratin from sheep’s wool. The Dermelect Web site says that ProSina features an “active form” of an amino acid that gives the product the ability to “cross link with the keratin in nails, resulting in the integrity and cohesion of the nail plate.”

Dr. Ella Toombs, a Washington-based dermatologist, isn’t sold. “I am not aware of any clinical data supporting the penetration and integration of keratin into the nail plate following the application of a nail lacquer,” she said.

But Virginia Haygood, a buyer at the department store Takashimaya New York, thinks otherwise. “My nails became stronger and my cuticles weren’t as ragged as before,” she said. Now Takashimaya and the apothecary C. O. Bigelow both carry Dermelect.

Anti-aging nail products might have questionable dermatological benefits but they can provide coverage for ridges and discoloration, both telltale signs of nail distress, according to Dr. Toombs. Dermelect offers a ridge filler with ProSina, and Essie has a Fill the Gap ridge smoothing base coat, with yucca extract. For discoloration, pink-hued nail strengtheners that cancel out yellow tones are available through Essie, Dermelect and Perfect Formula.

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