I am 32 and I have shit nails. They have always been shit. Help me have not shit nails please.

[FlatscreenGoat]

They grown 1 or 2mm, then bend/peel/tear off

I have never been able to grow them.

I kept acryllics on for 5 years because they are so shit. I had them removed about a year ago to try and grow my own nails and be A Proper Grown Up?

Since then I have tried:
Nail Envy
Sally Hansen doodah
Solar Oil
Perfectil
A daily cube of jelly
A glass nail file

They are still shit.

I have awful nails too. I put it down to years of biting, and I'm not sure whetehr, even now that I've stopped, they will ever be strong enough to grow properly again.

Mine always tear off from the sides. I have recently started taking a good multivitamin so maybe that will help. Watching your thread!

I used to really bite my nails as a kid. Do you think that does lasting damage?

Have you tried taking an supplements designed to help nails? Holland and Barrett do one I think. I tried Horsetail Silica supplement once, it wasn't cheap, but after 6 months I had amazingly strong nails. Mine have a tendency to flake or break easily normally.

Biting damages the nail bed and affects the way they grow - I bit mine until I was 13 and a couple grow a bit wonky past a certain length now.

I know you said you'd tried nail envy but did you try the sensitive and peeling version?

Mine were crap for a good few years after I stopped biting, eventually they stopped breaking do easily / often and the free edge gradually started further and further up the nail which I think helps them break less too?

I still have some breakages but I've found being careful to file in one direction and keeping up nail envy & avoplex oil along With taking zinc tablets has helped me a lot - they're no where near as soft & thin and can take a lot more before breaking.

Gelish helps my weak nails, though I am a bit of an addict now.

I have really strong nails but I had a false one put on one that i broke and it really damaged my nail, it took six months for it to be strong again. I would talk to your doctor about taking a vitamin b supplement, you can get one in sainsbos or boots.

Mine are long, after 37 yrs of horrendous biting.
Oddly it has been easy to quit.

I get snags at the sides then have to cut the poor things down. It is so depressing, and often feels futile.

But

The nails which have been safe from biting for the longest time are actually stronger now. The very first two that I grew are quite tough, whilst the newer ones tend to snag more. So this may mean that you will just have to give it time. It is 'dead' matter after all, and ought not to prevent future success.

I hope!

Also, no nail bed damage here, I don't think, and I did used to bite them right down....my cuticles are great and there are no longer any bumps on the regrowth. I really just think it will take patience.

I've bitten mine for .. since i had teeth lol
Watching your thread

Mine grew once and it was a funny feeling, they grew quite strong but i've bitten them right down, have about 1cm of nail :( so i felt them 'knitting' into my skin.. and i had bumps :(

So yes, now i'm thinking about quitting biting again i am interested in the responses :)

Mine are awful, so watching with interest.

My 11y DD2 has had beautiful long grown up nails all her life
Absolute monster about having them cut.
Strangely she has toe nails that curl down as if her shoes are too tight, even in summer when she's in sandals and no socks

Mine look like toenails and I have not been a committed biter since I was 17. The nailbeds DO recover though - mine went purplish then seemed to fade into normal pink, so the bed does recover. Plus I think nail characteristics are partly genetic. Mine are just like my mums.

I found wearing false nails was the the perfect way to get out of the habit - totes recommend! you just dont want to when they are past the tissue parer stage

I started taking a Boots vit B supplement about 4 months ago and noticed about 3 weeks ago that my nails are now about 10 times as strong as they used to be (exaggerating a bit - but they are long and not flaking - and I've had shit nails for 43 years!)

I've also spent a fortune on products over the years but this is the one thing that appears to work. Plus it's only about a fiver a month...!

A manicurist I went to swore that silica worked and her nails where super strong! I'm trying it now as my hair could do with a boost these days!!

Well I was in the same position not long ago and now I always have perfectly polished nails!! The secret is Shellac but do it yourself at home rather than pay for it in a salon. Its like magic - it goes on like a polish but is as tough as an acrylic, you don't have to scuff your nails before you put it on and it stays looking salon finished for about 2 weeks. Plus it comes off easily if you want it to with acetone nail varnish remover.

At the outset this does cost approx £100 but the stuff should last for years.
Right I brought all this stuff off amazon:
Shellac - base coat and top coat (£37.50)
Shellac - comes in an array of colours (£15.00)
UV lamp - I got the promixia direct 34Watt UV lamp (£25 ish)
Nail Perfection UV Gel wipe - (£6.00)
Nail Perfection Pure Acetone (£6.00)

Then its so easy:

1. Base coat wait ten seconds
2. First coat - put it under the UV lamp for 2 mins (there is a timer button)
3. Second coat - Under UV lamp for 2 mins
4. Top coat - Under UV lamp for 2 mins
5. Wipe with UV gel wipe and voila dry shiney lovely nails.

I love it and when I think how much it costs at a salon it really hasn't taken me much time to have recouped what I would have spent.

get perfectil tablet from boots skin hair nails - made my weak nails go really hard and grow
Get a manicure (or maybe gelish/shellac) regularly so you stop picking them

Was the Sally Hansen you tried the new one? Miracle Cure - dark blue bottle? It's wonderful stuff.

My mum uses Magic Nail that she buys online from the US Amazon site. They do free shipping to the UK apparently

she swears by it - and she has fabulous strong nails

massage hand cream into your cuticles - the rubbing gets the circulation going and helps them grow - manicurist told me that

Hi FlatscreenGoat.
I too used to be ashamed of my hideous peeling split nails. A couple of years ago I went for the chop...that is I stopped trying to grow them. I started keeping them shortish and tidier, a bit like http://primandpolished.blogspot.co.uk this length. Now I have a regular nail routine, and I have to say I get lots of compliments about my nails. People often ask me where I got them done, and think they are gel nails!
My routine is as follows, done on a Wed and Sun-unless going out at weekend,when will do the night before.
Take off old polish, cut nails every 10 days or so.
File the skin at the side of the nails to get rid of hard skin.
file the nail itself, I use this.
Apply oil to the cuticles and sides of the nail-I use sweet almond.
Apply hand cream, leave for a bit,or even overnight.
Apply base coat, two layers of polish,and the top coat. I like Models Own base and top coat.
keep polish in the fridge, with the lid wiped and firmly closed-it will last forever!
Blush as you receive lots of compliments about your gorgeous nails!

i do this in front of the TV, it takes about an hour. Kids have to be asleep though-or else it is smudge city!

I bought a bottle of almond oil Irrc it was £4
Rub a teeny bit on every day for about a month

BINGO strong healthy nails

Mine improved when I got a dishwasher.

Mine were absolutely dreadful, they used to peel continually, I even asked the doctor for advice. The ONLY thing that's worked for me is a LEIGHTON DENNY nail file. It took about 3 months or so before I saw a slight improvement though.