Show me your lovely short nails!

[FurryTurnipHead]

I need some nail inspiration. I have been a nail biter all my life, and have finally managed to grow them a little bit and stop biting the skin.

I am totally clueless about nail stuff. No idea what any of the terminology means. But I love seeing short painted nails, especially dark colours. Could I do anything with these or are they still too short? Photo shows my two best ones, so be kind, this is good for me!

I want them to look in good condition and maybe put something on them to strengthen and improve them and keep me from biting again. I'm happy to go to a beauty place, couldn't do it myself, but wouldn't know what to ask for.

For the record, I don't want them to grow any longer this, and I don't want false ones.

Any ideas or pictures of similar length appreciated!

I also keep my nails like that. I prefer the natural look; it is much more attractive than fakery.

They look great! I’ve (mostly!) stopped biting my nails in the last couple of years and it feels so good to have hands you’re not ashamed of.

If you’d like to go to a salon you could have a gel manicure. I’ve had a couple and they don’t care at all that you don’t have really long nails to work with. Just grow them as long as you’d like and they’ll file them down and shape them. You can choose from all sorts of colours and it’ll last a couple of weeks.

What I recommend is nipping to boots or tk maxx and just picking up a couple of nail varnishes that you like, along with a base coat and a top coat. You’ll be rubbish at it for the first couple of times, but it’s quick and easy once you’ve had a few tries. I really enjoy painting mine, and it’s helped me to stick at the non biting.

Thanks Tof that's helpful, and good to know they would do stuff with this length. Well done on the (mostly) stopping too! As you can probably guess from the two finger photos, I have not quite completely cracked it yet but focusing on those 2 fingers as what I can achieve.... I dream of being able to put my hands on the table in work meetings rather than hiding them!

Ps. These are mine today - a little chipped as my baby doesn’t believe I should have time for personal grooming! I don’t grow them any longer than this as they’re not very strong after years of abuse and just snap.

They look lovely tof and a similar length so that's good inspiration!

Here’s mine, they’re 2 weeks into their last shellac as you can see, but I always have them short.

Thanks TSS. So, shellac, is that just a type of varnish? Or are they false? They look beautiful by the way, but perfect!

I keep my nails short and have gels, although their looking scruffy and need changing in this pic

That's a nice length furcoat.

I've just had to Google to find out the difference between shellac and gel, there's a whole world out there I didn't know about. Sounds like shellac may be best for strength and shine without length.

I prefer to keep my short and just nicely buffed, but do occasionally have a dark Shellac polish.

Shellac can be quite damaging. As you've just managed to get them looking so nice I'd stick to nail polish. They look very healthy btw.

I much much prefer my nails short. Don't like them long at all. A lot of fashionistas say to keep them short.

I really like OPI nail envy to keep mine strong and looking glossy when I'm not wearing colour. It can dry your side nails out a bit though so if you're a recovering skin nibbler, be careful when applying it. Essie do a few treatment polishes as well as ones that give a hint of colour at the same time.

Get a cuticle oil like Byers Bees lemon butter and massage it into the cuticle and nail every night. It's a good habit to replace the old ones and will help keep them soft as well as increase blood flow to make the grow nicely.

I also really like a nail buffer block. One that has different pads around the sides. Used lightly once a week, it'll keep them looking healthy. Careful not to overdo the buffing though.

You can go into any manicure place and ask for just a colour put on. Don't let them cut your cuticles as it makes them grow back more and is damaging. I really like Nails Inc nail bars if you have one of those. Or just your local salon. A dark red is gorgeous.

Congratulations and well done btw! (I bit for 10-15 years, haven't been a biter for 13 years now. It's so nice to have lovely groomed nails.)

Meant to include this pic from this months red mag

Byers= berts

Oh ffs Byers = Burts Bees

My phone hates me.

These are mine, I week old Gelish (same as shellac). I don’t find it ruins my nails at all whenever I have a break from having it done. I much prefer shorter nails to the long thin talons that seem to be fashionable at the moment. Mine are quite short at the moment though.

Pic added this time

Thanks Enid that's all really useful advice. I certainly don't want to damage then, so perhaps I need to experiment with a few products at home and keep them looking good rather than going to a salon. I suppose just a glossy top coat will help them look nice and protect them.

I try to use cream on them a lot as its when I get dry bits that I tend to pick at them, so may get some specific cuticle cream.

Love that colour Dioxide, they look fab!

They are lovely too mamma, must be the gel that adds that 'thickness' to them that I quite like, would give me the confidence they aren't just going to break off.

I need a trip to Boots to treat myself!

Stupid phone....

Oh, I like all these a lot. I’m also a short-nail person. I don’t like the look of long ones at all, which is just as well since I can’t maintain them.

Wow. You all have such lovely nails 👍

I always keep mine very short, shorter than yours in fact, but always had shellac on them (before I had a baby and didn't have time any more). I love dark purples and reds in winter and a nice bright coral in the summer. I never find shellac damages my nails, I don't know if it maybe affects longer nails more.

Hello fellow ex nail biter. I'm two years in and have lovely strong nails. I started using shellac/gelish nail polish (went to a beauty salon rather than a nail bar) loved the way they looked BUT my nails were growing quickly and I could keep up the cost of having them done every 3 weeks. When I stopped having them done like that my nails were in a right mess - so dry and peeling. I now only use normal nail polish and do them at home. Even when I have polish on oil them daily at the nail bed and under the nail. I find Barry M and Essie see the best brands (have wide brushes which makes it easier to apply) always use a good base cost and a top coat.

People with the dark nails done at home (not at a salon) - how long do they last? Because I chip mine within hours, then it looks awful. Is there some kind of amazing top coat I’m missing or am I just rough on my hands?

I keep mine short because of work and alternate shellac (if I need them to be immaculate) and either bare or normal varnish. This is OPI varnish.