Growing Your Nails

donegalgirl28

I had some gel nails last Christmas and I really want natural long nails but my problem is that they always seem to chip any time they get past the tip of my finger. I don't bite my nails either.

I've tried using Perfectil tablets but I didn't take them long enough and forgot to some days. Does that work?

Any tips would be appreciated

jokettle

My nails used to break a lot, and my beautician told me that my problem is due to under-moisturised hands and nails. I've started using hand cream at least twice a day, and I have a bottle of nail and cuticle oil called SolarOil that I'm trying to use daily. I've noticed a marked improvement in the last month, and I really didn't think it would make that much difference!

I think my diet in general is quite good, so I don't take any supplements, but if you think a hair and nails-type supplement would make a difference then I don't think there's any harm in trying it out.

Pythia

Try getting Shellac. The layer of gel makes them much harder and so you'll have 2 weeks growth when you take them off.

I also use Solar Oil although I had long nails before so I haven't seen a particular difference there.

I have never tried this but you could try Sally Hansen's 'Hard as Nails'.

I would also recommend using gloves for housework as water and chemicals can weaken them too in my experience.

misslt

My nails used to be very brittle too - a great tip I got (and in my opinion it works) is buff the cuticle oil into the base of your nailbed - I use the step 3 of those 4 sided buffer thingys.

The Sally Hansen hard as nails is good too as said above.

Malari

I found Shellac a great way to grow nails without them breaking too. Obviously make sure you remove them properly or you'll do more damage to the nails!

Autumn Moon

The Sally Hansen 'Hard As Nails' is REALLY good! I find Vitamin B-Complex great for my nails too - makes them really strong!

The Cool

If you're looking for something cheaper, 17 does a good fortifying nail polish, it has lots of calcium etc in it. I wear it on bare nails or as a base coat. I found it made a good difference to my nails as they were chipping and flaking a lot.

tigerblob

I keep natural long nails, and I don't use any of the paint-on products or creams. My number one tip is to file all your nails once a week - this gets rid of any tiny nicks that could turn into breaks. Don't file them too roundly or they'll snap. And always wear gloves if you're doing the dishes.

GingerFire

Don't file back and forth either as it creates heat and splits the layers in your nails.

Shellac/gel overlays are a great way for you to get your nails long, but, they only add strength while they are on. As soon as you remove it your nails are back to their weak selves.
I'm a nail tech and always have a layer of clear gel on mine or I'd have no nails!

donegalgirl28

GingerFire wrote: »

Don't file back and forth either as it creates heat and splits the layers in your nails.

That's where I'm going wrong. Was filing my niles once a day before I go to bed and the Sally Hansen hard as nails stuff and using hand cream twice a day. Haven't tried cuticle oil yet but I've actually noticed that in the exact middle of my nails a piece comes off leaving it spilt and weaker and means I've got to file it right down.

What kind of technique should I be using?

mcnamarak

donegalgirl28 - lots of great advice here i must say! The reason im responding is i hope i can help, i am a beautician and nail tech by trade and in these times people dont have the money to splash on expensive nail treatments but that doesnt mean they dont deserve good nails !!
Try some or even better a combo of these:
Things like keeping your hands and nails moisturised with a hand cream and nail cream, i would say a hand and nail cream is better cos lets face it who has time throughout their day to either apply seperate ones - Also hand and nail cream doesn't have to be expensive, something from boots/superdrug/dunnes etc will do just dont get the highly scented or perfumed ones, stick to something simple like nivea, johnsons or vaseline who do a great one in my opinion - also when applying with the intention of growing make sure you just take the extra 30 seconds to rub the cream on your cuticles, these are at the end of your nail, to the naked eye where your nail and skin join at the end!!
Wear gloves when doing wash up or anything where your hands will be submerged in water or liquids obviously not in the shower or bath etc...)
If you want your nails to grow even faster and better a manicure is a salon is ideal, keep an eye on websites like groupon or living social, even one or two manicures at the beginning of your quest for long natural nails will really help. This is the ideal situation of course!! Another simple option is to soak your hands in hot water (not boiling, you can use your best judgement here as to the heat you can handle!), leave them soaking for about 5 to 10 minutes - there are cuticle removers you can get to use while soaking but they can be very hard on your cuticles if you do not know what you are doing...), after the times up take your hands out, pat them dry and gently use one of your other nails to push the cuticle down, if you feel resistance or ANY pain you may have particularly hard cuticles which may need a professional to push them down and remove them which can make all the difference
You should file your nails about once a week or twice, don't overfile!! And do a see-saw type motion from left to middle and then right to middle.
If you are putting a clear polish on leave it on for about 3/4 days at a time and then take it off for a day or so - your natural nails need a break from chemicals in polish (no matter how good or expensive the polish is is), when you are on your 'break' days just put the hand cream on when you remember and do concentrate on the cuticles. Then when you are going to out the clear polish on just use some cotton wool and nail varnish remover on your nails as though removing polish so that you get rid of any excess oil on your nails caused by lots of hand and nail cream, leave to dry for 2/3 minutes and apply clear polish. Also PLEASE ensure you let the polish dry for about 10 minutes, this is one of the main reasons it wont work.
Good clear polish brands for hardening, strengthening, healing polishes: Sally Hansen, OPI (can be gotten in some pharmacys or retail salon suppliers), Nails Inc (brown thomas or some boots stores), Rimmel, Salon Services own brand (again in a retail salon suppliers in your area).... Anything in general which says hardener or strengthener (or both) will be beneficial if you do not have a lot of money to spend to begin with!
Also last thing i promise: shellac or 3 week manicure can help your nails however if your own nails are in a weak or bad condition try some of the things above before you go paying for shellac/3 week mani etc... the product is only as good as the canvas as the saying goes!

Well i hope this helps and happy growing

timetogo

Pythia wrote: »

Try getting Shellac. The layer of gel makes them much harder and so you'll have 2 weeks growth when you take them off.

I also use Solar Oil although I had long nails before so I haven't seen a particular difference there.

I have never tried this but you could try Sally Hansen's 'Hard as Nails'.

I would also recommend using gloves for housework as water and chemicals can weaken them too in my experience.

+1 for the gloves. I used to do my cleaning up without them and the ends of my nails weren't great. I've been wearing gloves since before Christmas when I've been cleaning and they're much better.

I also got a kit like this and it does a really good job for me.

donegalgirl28

mcnamarak wrote: »

donegalgirl28 - lots of great advice here i must say! The reason im responding is i hope i can help, i am a beautician and nail tech by trade and in these times people dont have the money to splash on expensive nail treatments but that doesnt mean they dont deserve good nails !!
Try some or even better a combo of these:
Things like keeping your hands and nails moisturised with a hand cream and nail cream, i would say a hand and nail cream is better cos lets face it who has time throughout their day to either apply seperate ones - Also hand and nail cream doesn't have to be expensive, something from boots/superdrug/dunnes etc will do just dont get the highly scented or perfumed ones, stick to something simple like nivea, johnsons or vaseline who do a great one in my opinion - also when applying with the intention of growing make sure you just take the extra 30 seconds to rub the cream on your cuticles, these are at the end of your nail, to the naked eye where your nail and skin join at the end!!
Wear gloves when doing wash up or anything where your hands will be submerged in water or liquids obviously not in the shower or bath etc...)
If you want your nails to grow even faster and better a manicure is a salon is ideal, keep an eye on websites like groupon or living social, even one or two manicures at the beginning of your quest for long natural nails will really help. This is the ideal situation of course!! Another simple option is to soak your hands in hot water (not boiling, you can use your best judgement here as to the heat you can handle!), leave them soaking for about 5 to 10 minutes - there are cuticle removers you can get to use while soaking but they can be very hard on your cuticles if you do not know what you are doing...), after the times up take your hands out, pat them dry and gently use one of your other nails to push the cuticle down, if you feel resistance or ANY pain you may have particularly hard cuticles which may need a professional to push them down and remove them which can make all the difference
You should file your nails about once a week or twice, don't overfile!! And do a see-saw type motion from left to middle and then right to middle.
If you are putting a clear polish on leave it on for about 3/4 days at a time and then take it off for a day or so - your natural nails need a break from chemicals in polish (no matter how good or expensive the polish is is), when you are on your 'break' days just put the hand cream on when you remember and do concentrate on the cuticles. Then when you are going to out the clear polish on just use some cotton wool and nail varnish remover on your nails as though removing polish so that you get rid of any excess oil on your nails caused by lots of hand and nail cream, leave to dry for 2/3 minutes and apply clear polish. Also PLEASE ensure you let the polish dry for about 10 minutes, this is one of the main reasons it wont work.
Good clear polish brands for hardening, strengthening, healing polishes: Sally Hansen, OPI (can be gotten in some pharmacys or retail salon suppliers), Nails Inc (brown thomas or some boots stores), Rimmel, Salon Services own brand (again in a retail salon suppliers in your area).... Anything in general which says hardener or strengthener (or both) will be beneficial if you do not have a lot of money to spend to begin with!
Also last thing i promise: shellac or 3 week manicure can help your nails however if your own nails are in a weak or bad condition try some of the things above before you go paying for shellac/3 week mani etc... the product is only as good as the canvas as the saying goes!

Well i hope this helps and happy growing

WOW! Thanks for your brilliant and long reply!

mcnamarak

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

WOW! Thanks for your brilliant and long reply!

No problemo. Nice to help someone with something that you really love and get paid for it

endacl

Hi ladies! Interloper here. From a classical guitar background! We do nails too.

Diet is important. And sleep. In fact, anything that makes your hair shiny is good.

This one might seem a bit weird, but have you tried eating a couple of cubes of jelly every day? Worked wonders for some students of mine. The gelatine is made from, well,

basically its made from animal toenails

.*


Not a wind-up. It might just work for you.



*Spoiler tags added to avoid offending the more faint hearted.

Dark Phoenix

mavala scientifique is amazing stuff for strengthening nails! You just apply it to the top half and it makes them seriously hard its great stuff.

I also find that taking a supplement like kelp tablets or silica helps. bear in mind though you will need to take supplements consistently for a few weeks to start seeing a difference