Goodbye lovely fingernails

Beavs

Beavs

Cathlete
Today I decided to say goodbye to my lovely gel nails and go back to my old flimsy uber breakable nails (unlike my mother who was blessed with rock hard nails!). I suspect I will one day be lured back to the salon for more fake nails but right now crabby Beavs needs a break.

There was the stress of trying to get to the appointments and the expensive monthly cost of maintenance. Then there's the stress of trying to find a back up manicurist to my semi crabby one. One does acrylics (been there, done that, and no thanks), one does gels, one does wraps, one only does natural nails etc etc x(


I shall shall soon be off to get some acetone polish remover to remove those which I have not pried off myself. Any advice on getting my overly weakened nails back to their normally weak state? Any recommendations on a good strengthener to use? Will drinking a few margaritas help?
 
I think the margaritas are your best bet. My only advice is to keep them well trimmed and maybe keep a light coat of clear polish on them for protection. You'll simply have to wait until the part that has been ground by the machines grows out. Takes me about 3/4 months.
 
I have no nail advice, as I have always just had my stubby, natural nails. But I did want to say that, yes, drinking margaritas will help. Drinking margaritas helps everything. True story. :)

And I'd also like to apologize - I never had a chance to buy you that beer on the RT. I still owe you. Next RT - don't let me forget! :7
 
I just have my flimsy nails too. Too expensive for me also to keep going so now I do them myself and they've been growing really well. In order for them not to break, I always have to keep them covered with something even if it's just a coat of clear polish. They're progressing along nicely and I'm saving a ton. I only go for a regular manicure every few weeks because I'm not good with my cuticles but other than that, I take care of them myself.

Marcy
 
Aside from the margaritas, which are a sure bet to help, there is a product called nailtek which is great for making nails stronger and helps keep them from peeling.

I use it just as you would a clear polish. good luck

Teri
 
Protein protein protein! That is my mantra for today. :p In all seriousness, since I started Atkins I've noticed my hair & nails grow at an amazing rate.

There are also a variety of vitamins out there for hair & nail growth--look for stuff w/a lot of biotin.

I can really sympathize w/nail problems--my nails will grow forever but I have psoriasis so until I started Enbrel they grew pitted & deformed so I always kept them short. I tried gel nails but the maintenance was just too much for me.

I removed them myself also & let me just give a word of advice--this takes serious PATIENCE. Let your hands soak in the acetone for at least 30 minutes before you start to remove them. You might have to keep soaking. If you don't soak long enough & start prying (to use your word ;-) ) them off you'll damage the nail bed & they'll take longer to grow out.

Good luck to you--in all honesty, even though my nails grow quickly I keep them short b/c it really does make life much easier. :)
 
Hey Beavs,

I also had gel nails and just recently removed them, all I can say is keep them very short until the damage nail grows out. If they get long, they break and it is usually down in the quik (sp?). Anyway it has been about 2 months and I have about an inch left of the damage, so I think it will take about 3 months for the damaged nail to grow out.

Kelli
 
I recently had my acrylic nails removed and boy, am I happy. Feels great and I'm happy about all the money I'll be saving. I'm using Sally Hanson Protex (clear) and lots of cuticle oil for my dry cuticles and nail beds. Also, if you have a Sally's Beauty Supply in your town they carry lots of recovery products. It's just gonna take a lot of patience. Good luck.

I don't think I'll go back to the lovelys again (fingers crossed). Hang in there. I know it takes awhile.
 
Hey Beaves,
I've been taking "hair skin and nail vitamins" .They work great! My nails are strong and grow realy fast! I purchased them from wally world a couple of months ago! HTH!
 
Thank you all! I will have no problems keeping them short since they don't grow well anyway. I've tried every diet and and crazy polish out there and have not had any luck (I'll still give your ideas a whirl however). I would just be content to get the natural nail grown back in. I'm also sans patience so I know there will be some prying and margarita sipping (and sniffing that wonderful almond scented Solar Oil).
 
Like the other poster said: Nail TeK-formula number 1. I have had my nails off for years now and have to actually cut my own nails down because they grow so fast with this stuff. Serious business. I love not having to worry about fakes every again!
 
One word-Biotin. It is a wonderful hair and nail strenghtener. Be careful with things like Nail-Tek. They temporarily strengthen, but then every 7 days you have to remove it. Nail polish remover dries out your nails and causes them to split and chip. So I would try not to use it more frequently than 10 days. Even the non-acetone removers damage the nail.

Heres a link to the biotin. Now it takes about 2-3 months to see an effect.

http://www.amazon.com/Elon-Matrix-5000-Vitamin-capsules/dp/B000F5PM4E
Catherine

http://www.rykat.org/forums/style_emoticons/default/arrowhead.png

http://www.picturetrail.com/fit_fairy

http://69.89.25.157/~extremf4/forums/images/smilies/chinup.gif
 
My nails are my pride and joy; they're very long and strong and I owe it all to OPI's "Nail Envy". I can't recommend it highly enough. It's widely available at most nail salons but I buy mine on Ebay.

See www.opi.com for more info.

Hope this helps!
Jody
 
Beavs,

I had acrylic nails for about two years - they were awful - I ended up with fungus under the nails on my right hand. I was faithful going every two weeks, the technician ended up blaming me! It has been two years. It was awful growing my nails back - for the whole bed of my nails were infected. I will NEVER get fake nails again.

I use Nutra Nail with calcium to put on my nails - I never polish them. This stuff is guaranteed to work in 5 to 7 days. My nails are quite awesome. I also use a cream called Barielle, which is used to strengthen the hooves of horses.

The Nutra Nail works wonders - it goes on and just soaks into the nail - it isn't like clear nail polish at all. My nails are hard as nails. I always liked the fench manicure look. So, that is what I have now - my nails do not even split.

When I slack and do not use the stuff, my nails break and are fragile. I actually put it on about four times a day. I buy it by the case!

I hope this helps!

Cheryl
 
I have also used Nail Tek . They have different formulas. There is one for peeling, soft nails and then there is one for severely damaged nails (and on for brittle nails, and normal nails). I used the severely damaged one for awhile and then switched to the peeling, soft one. Good luck. I had to get rid of mine several months back just because I needed the $ for something else. Everytime I see Cathe's beautiful nails on a dvd , I miss mine!
 
I would say congratulations to you since long finger nails drive me crazy!! Its hard to type on the computer and do chores with long fingernails, you constantly have to worry about keeping them perfect and not breaking them. So congrats! I usually only grow out my fingernails and polish them for special events, otherwise they stay short and practical! :)
 
Buy a tub of HOOF MAKER! I bought mine at Walmart in the pet section years ago, but you can buy it online now. It's an orange lotion that you rub into your nails and it makes them grow like weeds and also makes them nice and strong! You'll never want to go back to fake nails once you start using this stuff and get your nails healthy again.

HOOF MAKER!!! Or maybe it's spelled HOOFMAKER without the space.

Since your nails are so weak right now, I'd suggest applying it once in the morning and once at night and avoid polish for a while. You just dip the tips of your fingers in the lotion, then rub the lotion into your nails THOROUGHLY. It doesn't take much. This is an amazing product. After you get your nails healthy, you can just apply the lotion at night. You will be amazed at how thick and strong your nails will get.

Good luck!
 
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