The Persona
Dreaming of nails falling off: meaning and interpretation
The defense at your fingertips
Care for your image, your ability to defend yourself, and the feeling of having (or losing) your grip.
Symbolic reading
Nails are both ornament and claw. Dreaming that they fall off, break or peel away usually points to a defense running out of strength, or an image that has become hard to keep up. If you were taking care of them or having them painted, the dream is looking at how you want to be seen; if you pulled one off, you may be paying a price to stay in control. It does not predict illness.
Jungian key
In Jungian terms, nails belong to the Persona, the face we show, and also to the instinct that scratches when it feels cornered. Losing them exposes what is underneath: a sensitivity that needs a different kind of protection, less rigid and more your own.
You do not need claws to defend yourself. Look for the place where you can set a clear limit.