For dry, sensitive hands with nails breaking constantly...

I'm 36 and over the last 12 months my hands are getting very dry and sensitive, especially the fingers. The nails keep breaking and I have hard dry skin around the nail which becomes very sore and hurts. Is there anything that you could recommend?

Alison: Firstly it would be good to try to find out what is causing this. You haven't mentioned what your job is or if your hands are in and out of a lot of chemicals or irritants.

So, I'd recommend you use something really gentle, such as an A'kin Handwash as they don't contain ingredients that a lot of people can be allergic to. Then when your skin becomes irritated as you've described use L'Occitane 100% Shea Butter as this only contains one ingredient. That way we're lowering the amount of potential allergens that are on the skin.

Do bare in mind, however, that this skin irritation could have been triggered off by something. If you are really concerned about it then you must consult your doctor and he may be able to prescribe something for you that you can use alongside your beauty routine.

For dry, splitting, peeling nails...

I have a nail peeling problem with my thumbs and the next two fingers on both hands. The other 2 fingers on both hands are strong, good nails. I have used OPI nail envy nail and strengthening & peeling which seals the split end but does not stop the splitting and peeling. I've had this problem for two years now. Have also used OPI hand and nail care. Any ideas to solve this dry splitting peeling problem would be great.

Alison: You've missed out a vital thing - your cuticles! Drying out of the nail area and nail peeling as you've described requires a product like OPI Avoplex Nail & Cuticle Oil on your cuticles three times a day. Once a week when you have removed your nail strengthener and varnish, I would advise leaving it off over night and soaking your nails in the Avoplex Oil so that it actually goes into the bare nail as well as the cuticle. Any peels or flakes can be buffed off with a nail file and you can then seal your nails with the OPI Nail Envy treatment you already have.

The one thing I would query is whether you do some sort of manual work or hobby that requires you using those two sets of fingers as maybe this is causing your nail peeling effect. Or maybe poor circulation could be causing it as those two fingers are fed by the same veins. It may be worth looking in to.

For weak nails that aren't re-growing properly...

I have a question about nail care products. I haven't taken good care of my nails through a period of illness for the last three years- they have worn away to nothing and show no sign of re-growing. I think they may need some extra help to speed up the process of growing them back- would OPI Perfect Partners Nail Envy & Avoplex Duo (217523) be the ideal product? It's had great reviews. I really want them to grow and look like normal nails!

Alison: You can definitely use the OPI Perfect Partners Nails Envy & Avoplex Duo but I may recommend an alternate nail formula purely because your nails are suffering from illness damage where they go into shock and don't grow properly. My first choice would be ProStrong as the Nails Envy & Avoplex Duo are excellent at working on an existing nail that's growing whereas ProStrong might give you that edge. It's a totally different system with totally different ingredients and I recommend ProStrong Fluoride Nail Preparation Kit. Apply this to the nail every single day. You should use this with OPI Avoplex Nail & Cuticle Oil. What would also be really good is the ProStrong Advanced Nail Care with Calcium if your nails feel weak once re-grown. This calcium will also give your nails the edge as you have been poorly and it's good for nails that aren't responding well.