Best (cheapest) site to buy nail products from?

[alltoomuchrightnow]

Have been recommended Barielle and Jessica cream and oils as my nails are wrecked from years of gels.
I need to soak the gels off (pure acetone? from chemist?) then try and restore my nails. The nail bed is now so thin it's incredibly painful if they get buffed /filed on the surface (I nearly passed out! seriously! and I have high pain threshold!), so no more gels from me
And if any of you with weak brittle bendy nails could recommend your nail savers!
I keep hearing about Phenomoil? (not sure of spelling)
I tend to only buy beauty products from eBay but I realise this isn't always the best place or necessarily the cheapest

[PinkandTwinkly]

I buy my pure acetone from Poundland.

To be honest you don't need to spend a fortune.

Oil - any will do, the trick is applying regularly, and massaging in to stimulate growth. Boots/Superdrug do their own brands, if you want posher Jessica and OPI Avoplex are good. I use Bliss Kiss which i have to get shipped from the stated.

Treatment/Protection. Keep on at all times,to protect the nails. Again lots to chose from and everyone has their own faves, OPI Nail Envy, Nail Magic, Nailtique
I being awkward again use a brand i have to get from the states. Duri Rejuvacote - its fantastic tho.

Also, invest in a crystal file. Really helps with sealing ends and preventing flaking.

[alltoomuchrightnow]

is it called acetone or simply nail polish remover? have never been able to remove gels with regular remover

[alltoomuchrightnow]

thanks i will look up those products. I really want a hardener that sinks into the nail.. not one that sits on top as a polish, they don't work for me, got the Sally Hansen hard as wraps one and nails still split and bent

[alltoomuchrightnow]

can't stand bendy nails as it's actually painful and can't do much!

[alltoomuchrightnow]

cheapest on eBay is £12.24 with free postage, is that a good price? (Rejuvacote) - and i recognise the bottle.. I bought some years ago! and it was good! thanks for jogging my memory!

[itsbetterthanabox]

Good gels don't need buffing on the nail surface. If you have weak nails the technician should not buff your nail bed. Well applied and removed gel will not damage nails at all. So you need a better tech.
To remove the gel you need pure acetone. This method is prob the easiest www.luluandsweetpea.com/2013/03/diy-gel-nail-removal.html?m=1
A very good nail hardener is Mavala Scientifique. I've found it cheaper at allbeauty.com or Amazon. It's a tiny bottle of liquid that you paint just on the tips of your nails twice a week. It's soaks in and really hardens the nails inside. Follow the instructions, it is strong stuff!
Then just paint your nails with a physical strengthener that just protects the nail from bumps and makes it temporarily thicker. I like Gelous by American classics which is sold at Sally's. It's a normal polish base coat but it gives a thick coating that stops nails being so sensitive.
Use a good nail oil several times a day. The very best is CND solar oil. You can get it cheaper on Amazon/eBay and it is excellent. Be religious about using it and it will make a huge difference.

[alltoomuchrightnow]

thanks Itsbetter - do you mean the actual Sally's high street stores?
I've used Scientifique fairly recently..but being so tiny and my nails so bad it ran out really quickly!

[alltoomuchrightnow]

does nail oil affect gel polish?

[alltoomuchrightnow]

just bought some Solar Oil from eBay

[itsbetterthanabox]

Yes Sally's hair and beauty supplies. The shop itself. They will have a lot of good stuff!
How often were you using the Scientifique? It should be twice a week max and only on the tips so it should last a long time.
You should always oil your nails when you have enhancements. I'm surprised your nail tech didn't tell you. Oiling your nails when you have gel polish on helps it last longer as your nail stays flexible plus it keeps nails and cuticles healthy.

[alltoomuchrightnow]

Since having gels i've probably been to about 15 different salons. Most of the tech's don't speak much english, some don't speak any and translate through a colleague (who doesn't speak much).. never been able to have a proper conversation with anyone doing my nails.
Scientifique..my nails were so brittle i was using it several times a day ! it worked but ran out really quick! and they went blue and a bit sore

[alltoomuchrightnow]

blue stained, that is

[itsbetterthanabox]

I would only go to a salon where I could explain what I wanted. I don't care where my tech is from but they need to be able to talk nails. I would also only go to places that use hand files. Some places use electric drill files on the nail bed which is very damaging even done once let alone every time. So I would go in and look at the place before using them.
You will make your nails even weaker using Scientifique that much. Twice a week is all you need and it will improve them. No more! But use the nail oil as much as you can, that you can go mad on!

[alltoomuchrightnow]

i realise this was my mistake . years of cheap salons where no one could speak english , usually the most the conversation went would be 'you want colour which?'. Which is fine if , say, buying clothes etc but not where health is concerned. Which i never thought of.(that pain would be involved!) but now my nail beds are damaged. The one person i did see (who spoke good english) in a salon near to where i live now,has now left unfortunately. She said the nail beds had got so thin from years of drills. She buffed/ filed the surfaces of mine instead and applied CND shellac. and even then i nearly passed out from the burning pain. she said she saw someone with the same problem but worse who got holes in her nail beds and the girl actually screamed and cried (which i can fully understand) when this technician prepared her for gels.
so it's goodbye to gels for me as i can't be buffed or drilled. Even the thought of it makes me want to run away screaming. I would rather have dental surgery without numbing than go through that again!
I'm really surprised to hear what you say re good gels don't need nail surface buffed. I've actually never heard of that. (wish i had then i wouldn't have this problem now)
The last time i had gels (week before last) i begged them not to use drills and to just buff the surface gently. Guy was really quite annoyed, saying that it wouldn't last five minutes that way. Though he did admit in broken english that yes my nails were thin and i should try and have a break from gels for a couple of weeks. So that is the advice i am taking on.. he is right.
So once these current gels are off, that is it.. hence me asking for advice here.
I did try in most of the salons to ask for advice, but no one understood me and would just nod or shake head. But where I used to live, there just wasn't any alternative.. all the salons were non english speaking… english was not the first language. I loved the multi cultural neighbourhood but regret the years of damage i've put my nails through (about 6 years non stop) Basically i kept up the gels because of how weak and brittle my nails had become, and was in a very physical job where I was always pulling things out of sacks etc and nails would bend back or snap without the gels

[newdayandmorenewpants]

I do my own gel polish at home and have never been anywhere near my nails with a drill! To remove I buff the surfaces of the polish to break the seal then use OPI nail wraps with OPI acetone and sit for 15 minutes, sometimes with a lukewarm heat pack on top to accelerate the process. The polish then just falls off.

Once your gels are off without using a drill you need to get moisture back in to them. I have just had a 2 week break from gel polish to get them back into shape. I used Leighton Denny Rennovate twice a day for a week. I then used the Hydraflex duo and kept 2 layers of the Hydraflex polish on for as long as it lasted, removed with normal remover (acetone free I'd suggest for you) and applied again. I was still using the Rennovate cream twice a day on my cuticles and still use once a day even though I've got gel polish back on. My nails are now better than before I started using gel.

Please don't go to a salon that uses electrical tools to remove the polish, there is no need, they do it because it's quick and easy, not because it's better for you or because it's the only way. Google some salons in your area that use Jessica or OPI, their regimes don't involve using drills to remove the polish! There is no reason why you can't wear gel polish again, just be more selective in the place you use I reckon.

[alltoomuchrightnow]

well to take a break from the drills i started going to a salon that does CND shellac and is very against drills. but even she buffed the nails (not even that hard)..that was when i first knew something was up ,the pain was sickening, i nearly shot through the ceiling. and she said if i carried on with drills i'd get holes in nail bed and told me about her client who had screamed. so i can't even go back there as can't have any buffing.
so..its back to natural for me.. i wonder how long it takes for nail bed to re thicken…. could it be damaged forever ? i have under active thyroid but take meds but i know it doesn't help with nails and hair. e.g. i haven't plucked my eyebrows in nearly 20 yrs. they never grew back so i have sparse crappy brows now. My eyelashes haven't grown back since a year or so of fakes.. so i don't hold out too much hope for nails but if I can at least thicken them in a fake but not damaging way i won't have the pain and snapping factor?

[Vajazzler]

You should take a look at this nail card website. The lady who runs it is called Ana and she's very informative. She sells a wonderful nail oil which if you apply religiously will help your nails.

Also I got rejuvacote much cheaper www.ebay.com/itm/200461811186

[Vajazzler]

Whoops this is the website. www.nailcarehq.com

[alltoomuchrightnow]

thanks will look in a bit

[alltoomuchrightnow]

i stopped buying from the USA as everything i've ever got, i pay an import price on so you end up paying more than UK. and some sellers get snotty if you ask them to mark it as gift to reduce risk of this

[Sizzlesthedog]

Are you sure it's gels you've been having? Acrylic nails have a drill sometimes, but gels shouldn't.

Beware acetone will burn as well. Can you grow out the gel, file a bit off the top as it grows. The new nail will be stronger. Oil and then keep them short. They will recover.

[alltoomuchrightnow]

this is the confusion and the language barrier. Years ago I started having shellac.. no drills needed -set under Uv.
then moved to london… and it was drills for the next five years. It was advertised as gels.. it was sold to me as gels… 'powder gel' - i did question this many times… it turns out it was acrylics. A white powder was mixed with some solution and painted on. I did wander why i didn't get the uv lamp treatment afterwards. It was always those blowy fan driers. I q'd it a few times but was told, 'no no, is gels, no need uv, this is quicker' . It suited me as it was only £18 and quite quick.
Then recently chatting with the lady where i had the pain and she said my beds were thin… she said real gels are only set with uv lamp. and no drills.
so.. it turns out I've been having acrylics all these years and being sworn to that they were gels! and it does look like a gel being painted on. so i was v confused.
I wish people would call things what they actually are.
as when this lady said i'd been having acrylics , I said no.. i thought acrylics were stuck on fake nails...

[alltoomuchrightnow]

i've got the solar oil coming so i need to decide what else. some super strong hardener i guess. I can't do anything with weak bendy nails… and i use my hands a lot! I will be scared to do anything as the pain of a nail bending to the quick is awful

[alltoomuchrightnow]

i can only buy stuff where i can use Paypal as i have money there. no money in my bank account until end of next week. shouldn't be buying nail products i know, but this isn't vanity! it's about pain avoidance! and being able to use my hands ;-)
so i'm thinking of Scientifique or Rejuvicote for strengthening . or should i get one to absorb and one to sit on top like a coat. hmm in that case i need both….

[handcream]

We have lots of salons around here often run people from the Far East who speak little English and seem very unqualifed to do anyone's nails. One only takes cash. I am surprised they haven't been raided by immigration or Inland Revenue.

I have used a few of them, never again...