Step one in nail care is moisturizing them. I have been using hand cream for years, but only recently did I read that one should make the effort to rub it into the fingernails and cuticle.

There is so much emphasis on handwashing today; when cooking a main dish, I may wash my hands four or five times. By bedtime, my hands and fingernails are longing for moisturizer. (Almost any kind will do.)

It may be the men's nails get brittle from dryness too.