Health Tip: Aging Hair and Nails

By
Diana Kohnle
June 16, 2009, 12:02 PM ET
1 min read

June 17 -- (HealthDay News) -- Your hair and nails are no less prone to the effects of aging than your skin.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers this list of common changes to hair and nails due to aging:

  • Hair color all over the body (chest, scalp, facial hair, etc.) changes to white or gray, and may begin as early as the 30s.
  • Losing hair is normal as you age, as it doesn't grow as fast as once did.
  • Hair becomes thinner.
  • Baldness may occur in men and women.
  • Body hair that remains may become more coarse.
  • Nails may turn yellow and cloudy-looking, and may form ridges.
  • Nails grow more slowly, and may appear dull and become brittle.
  • Toenails and fingernails may grow in harder and thicker, and toenails may become ingrown more frequently.