Ladies with beautiful manicured nails, please help a newbie.

[OMalleyTheAlleyKit]

Evening.

I have been a nail biter my whole life and have somehow managed to grow my nails!

However (due to thyroid issues maybe?) they are quite brittle, and seem to be discoloured, I'm a non smoker BTW.

I've been thinking of getting acrylic overlays with gel nail polish. But that would be a 35ish a month commitment I think?

I've tried to just paint them but it looks childish and the shape doesn't look right. Also it chips in days with all the cleaning and stuff I do.

Just looking for any advice!

Your nails don't look bad at all!

I also managed to kick my nail biting habit. It takes time for your nails to develop strength again so you'll notice they'll be better as time passes.

File them regularly into a nice shape this will help a lot of with breaking and splitting and help them to strengthen. Sally Hansen Diamond Polish is brilliant for preventing flaking btw.

Don't get overlays, they weaken your nails so once you start you'll never stop. Keep your nail care simple, wear gloves to wash up, clean and garden and you'll notice a difference.

Book a manicure if you want help getting the shape right and for a treatment.

I’d book a good manicure and there are products you can put on like flexitol and oils that can help improve the appearance of your natural nails, start using handcream.

OPI nail envy works miracles. If you put acrylics on they will ruin your nails. Nail envy will strengthen them. Get if off amazon or ebay though not boots because its about twice the price.

Finish off your nails with seche vibe top coat too. Adds strength and makes plough last longer by bonding all the layers together.

*polish not plough

I get gel nails done every 3 weeks costing £18 a time. I have naturally brittle nails but the gel polish makes them much stronger so I've actually got quite long nails now (which I never get without the gel). I don't like acrylics, too difficult to do ordinary things (and takes too long to get done), although my nails are long enough to look like acrylics now.

Also, whilst it is lovely to finally have longer nails, keeping them relatively short will help, particular if you do a lot of cleaning/baking/gardening. Some people find that filing encourages nails to split, so maybe experiment with using a decent pair of nail clippers to keep the length manageable. And just using a file very lightly if you have any rough edges?
I would second the suggestions of nail envy. You put a couple of coats on first, then add another coat every 2 days. Then once a week take it off (use acetone free nail polish remover) and start again. It can be used instead of base and top coat if you still want a colour on.

If you do decide on a professional manicure a Jessica prescription manicure would be a good choice. Jessica does a range of paint on treatment varnishes for different nail condtions.

Previously bitten nails tend to grow quickly. Keep them shortish for a while. Strengthen them but keep them flexible with sweet almond oil rubbed in nighly and never file down the sides, that's a sure fire way to get splitting nails. Never file past the top of the finger pad down the side of the nail.

Just get gel nails - no need for acrylic overlays.
I would keep them a bit shorter, looks much more classy and less likely to break.

I met a hand model who said the secret was to rub hand lotion ( or oil- almond, olive, ) into your nails constantly throughout the day. She recommended the cheapest - Vaseline intensive care. And yes she had lovely nails, just as well as they paid her rent so to speak. It does work, as does a vitamin pill.

Get gel overlays, I pay £25 about every 4/6 weeks. I work outdoors in a physical job and they never chip, just grow out and need infilling. They will always look pretty!
So what if they weaken your actual nail? It doesn’t matter🤷‍♀️
There’s no need to be filing and putting on strengthening treatments and wearing gloves and rubbing almond oil on and cuticle bollocks. That’s a lot of maintenance for no reason. Gel overlays look after themselves and always look good. Do it.