talk to me about nails

[qazxc]

I have short and stubby fingers. So I do like a bit of length on my nails, sadly my nails tend to split or break quite easily.
I was thinking of trying acrylic or gel nails, can anyone talk to me about pros and cons. How practical/hardy are they?
What about nail art/shellac/ polish. Looking for some inspiration.

Thin weak nails need acrylic, gel is for brittle nails.

You can have normal polish over acrylic/gel, it adheres better than it would on natural nails.

I have gel nails.
I have them short and round so they look like a great version of my own.

They are as tough as anything. I'm a writer and they easily take a fortnight of keyboard bashing. They also hold varnish 1000% more efficiently between re-do. I almost never reapply polish during the fortnight ( unless I fancy a change).

If you have thin or weak nails, don't get a gel polish. It will ruin your nails.

Gel polish does weaken nails tho it's fine if you have it properly soaked off and then re-done.

Have a search on Pinterest for ideas. There are thousands and thousands to look at.

Mine were the same as yours Op, I could never grow them. I tried gel/acrylics which were great as an instant fix but underneath my nails were just the same. When the acrylics etc were taken off my nails underneath were in a terrible state. I also really disliked the inconvenience of the maintenance of them so eventually went back to having crap shot nails.

That is until I read a nails thread ( full of lovely painted nails, some real some not) I was pointed in the direction of Nail Envy. Never heard of it before but I thought I'd give it a go. I think it's bloody marvellous.

Week 1.

Week 5.

What is nail envy please?

nail envy

Opi Nail Envy. I bought the kit, I paid £24.95 (Amazon), I think the Nail Envy on its own is about £10-£12.

At the age of 49 I now have nails, and strong ones at that

My nails are just recovering from having gels,it's taken MONTHS! Mavala strengthener has helped as has Daddi oil every day without fail. Filing every day also helps weirdly.

Sorry but acrylic really isn't the answer to any Nail problem.

Best to care for them using nail envy, cuticle oil and get them up to scratch.

Then choose between Normal polish and gel. Make sure you go to a reputable salon for gels, one that removes them with foil and cotton wool and not a drill. My salon doesn't even offer acrylics, that's how bad they are for you.

Definitely not acrylics!

I'd recommend Nail Envy as well. Gel polish is okay but you MUST take it off properly (no picking or scraping).

I have found that any sort of fake nail makes my crappy nails even worse BUT gel polish, which I do at home and take off very slowly and carefully, has been a game changer.

The other thing is Solar Oil. If your nails break easily then this makes them more flexible, which seems counterintuitive but has made a HUGE difference to my nails. Plus it smells like a Bakewell tart

bargainous Nail Envy!

That's a fab buy, thank you for sharing.

Came up when I googled it! My nails are unstoppable since I started having b12 injections (for health, not vanity!) and struggle to keep them a sensible length but it's such an amazing offer I might get some as gifts!

I don't think Mail Envy works for everyone - I actually found that weirdly it made mine even worse!

Just on the acrylic point again. They aren't for me but I have many friends who have had them for years without any horror stories. You need to go for the sculptured ones where the nail is built up with powder (rather than stick on and acrylic over the top) and find a really reputable salon. But other than that I don't think they're that awful. I just don't like the feeling of them.

These are mine. Real nails. I bit for years. I have gel powder every three weeks. Nails fine underneath although tbh I don't care as are always polish

I have also just started using SNS (gel powder). It lasts until the nails grow out without chipping and my nails seem strong (although when I got it changed I did see my natural nail is weak, even though it claims to be nourishing). It is expensive, around £25 every 2-3 weeks.

Nail Envy looks great!

I have had acrylics for about three years now. Pros are that my nails always look "done", polish lasts as long as I want it to and I can choose the length and shape (I go for the most natural looking I can get them, not the square, white tip ones). Also in 25 years, my nails never ever grew once, were always weak and brittle and generally awful looking, so the acrylics have covered that up.
Cons are that they wreck your real nails underneath. That's why I keep up with always having them now. But since my nails were so awful to begin with, that's not much of a loss to me. I don't plan on removing them any time soon, so it doesn't really matter to me what a bad state my real nails are left in.

take biotin and / or sea kelp. really strengthened mine and helped them grow

Have you tried vaseline hand and nail lotion? It has great claims of making your nails 10x stronger in 2 weeks - obviously could be a load of rubbish but I've used it and i felt it made a difference.

Sorry don't know much about acrylics other than DD wants to have them done.

I've had gel nails for about 5 years
Yes it's ruined my nails but who cares?? No one sees them
I keep them short and practical but they look lovely