Question for those who always wear nail varnish

[catbingo]

Do you sometimes not wear varnish to let your nails "breathe" or does it not really matter if you have it on all the time?

Well I've been wearing nail varnish pretty much constantly for about 30 years and I don't appear to have had any problems. I rarely go without as my nails are magnets for dirt for some reason so I look like a scruffy five year old without nail polish.

I go through phases, and find that when my nails are painted they grow better, less chance of splitting

I bought some base coat recently to combat the yellow staining.

If I'm going on a beach holiday I don't wear nail varnish because it's very good for the condition of nails. Or so I was told. It does seem to give them a boost.

I have gels most of the time but definitely need to have periods without anything as the gel polish seems to leave my nails thin and weak a lot of the time. I haven’t worn old style varnish for a long time as I just seem to constantly chip it.

I had gel nails for a while until my nails split badly in February. I am still growing out the brittle nail and have one nail that splits as soon as i undo a shoelace or even look at it!

I think you do need to let the air in.

I treated myself to a manicure Medical Pedicure at Margaret Dabbs recently. Prior to my visit I’d been getting regular mani/pedis but in the weeks before my visit I noticed that my nails were getting sort of “flakey” (easily split, didn’t grow very long, my big toe nails looked kind of scuffed).

The technician told me that constantly having polish on my nails wasn’t letting them breathe and was causing the damage. She also said that this kind of damage can lead to fungal infections of the nails

Nails get all the oxygen they need from the blood supply in the nail bed.

Only our lungs breathe. It’s cod science to say skin or nails breathe because they both do better dry than constantly wet and lungs are wet.

I’m a graduate podiatrist and I re-trained as a nail tech.

The flakiness is either lack of oil in the nail, eg I oil my fingernails every day but I don’t do my toenails or it’s damage from footwear.

My nails flaked and split after having Shellac almost constantly for a few years. I was always told to feed them with oil every day but rarely got round to it....
I recently used Nailtique No. 2 Nail Protein over a 2 week period and it has definitely made them a lot stronger.Still some work to do but getting better. Am avoiding Shellac for a while now and persevering with just painting - and regular oiling!

Mine are fine with gels, but if I use normal polish and change it a couple of times a week then in a few weeks they do tend to get flakey, I assumed it was the drying (oil removing) effect of the remover. So I tend to give them a break for a few weeks if that happens. I find it impossible to keep normal polish looking good for long in summer as I'm a keen gardener, so tend to mainly do fingers in winter, toes in summer.

Fluffy does oil work on nails that are polished? I only tend to use it when mine are bare as I assumed it wouldn't get through the polish.

I permanently have acrylics on, so no.
And yes my natural nails do grow. In fact they are the same length as my acrylics, I've been growing them since January. My nail lady wants to do acrylic overlay on my natural nails now I have the length.

Me having my nails painted all the time started several years ago as a way to stop me biting my nails. I don’t use acrylics or gels, just normal everyday polish. I’m at a point now where my nails feel “naked” without polish. I’ve not had any issues.

My nails are better with polish on as it protects the nails. Acrylics, shellac and gel etc. Is the opposite, it ruins your nails.

Your nails need to be looked after from the inside not outside. If you eat well, take vitamins and drink water your nails will be healthy and less likely to break or flake away, no matter what you put or don't put on them. The only 'outside' job you need to focus on is making sure the cuticle is well moisturised. You can use cuticle oil if you like but normal hand cream will work, just focus on massaging each cuticle for a few seconds - this will help keep the cuticle moist which means it's less likely to grow down your nail and look generally unkempt. And do not EVER let any beauty therapist cut your cuticles.

Nails can't breathe, they are 'dead' cells (hence why they don't hurt when you cut them, like your hair, eyebrows and lashes). Acrylic and shellac nails get a bad rep for thinning nails and making them break quickly, however that's more likely to be down to a crap nail technician who's over filing your nail bed and putting a thicker amount of product on than needed (so this causes strain to your nail bed, which is already thin and weak from over filing) OR like I already mentioned, your nails could be weak anyway from a bad diet and acrylic/shellac only make the problem worse.

I have gel on almost all the time. My nails are thin and break easily anyway, but with gel they actually look and feel a lot better. I have an excellent nail tech, though. She's very experienced and knows what she is doing.

I’ve never had gel or acrylic but I do wear normal nail polish pretty much all the time. Whenever I change it I can see my nails are in fine condition. I just really hate the feeling of not having it on: my nails feel all “tight”, whereas with it on I can’t feel them at all.

Not really what you were asking but I always wear polish and if I don't wear it my nails throb for days

Who Yes because there’s a gap between nail and skin where it can get in. Shellac cracks as it dries to let oil in.

It needs to be cnd solar, or if you have nut allergies dadi oil. Made by the same chap. Baby oil etc has huge molecules that can’t penetrate nail.

I’ve had throbbing after polish but never after shellac.

Fluffy, thanks, I use almond oil (Body shop pen), is that any good?

I do find that dead skin seems to creep out from under the cuticles as the nails grow, I scrape this off with my other nails after washing my hair, when it has softened from my hands being wet, would a better oil used more regularly help prevent this?

For me leaving my nails unpolished on beach holidays is not about letting them "breathe" or not, it's about the water, salt and sand buffing and cleaning them

Who Your have to suck it and see. If the nails stop breaking and all the skins not peeling or dry it’s ok.

That dry skin on the nail is cuticle, it gets dragged out as the nail grows. You can buy aha based cuticle removers.

Nails don't need to breathe, they're dead. Nails spilt and break because they're brittle, and water dries them out. If they're breaking or splitting all the time you need to use a cuticle oil, jojoba oil is best because it's the oil that's closest to our own sebum so our skin absorbs it better.

Thanks, I just remembered I bought some of that cuticle remover a while ago and never got round to using it, just done it now and grossed myself out with how much dead skin came away! Nails look much better for it.

Does anyone know of a nail polish brand that is gentle on your nails ie no nasties in it? I have been a bit paranoid about wearing nail polish after using a metalic Barry M nail polish last year that really damaged my nails and wondering if there is some ingredient in some nail varnish brands I need to avoid.

Yes, you need to avoid formaldehyde

Really bad for your nails

Thanks Peanutbutter. :)