Nail help! Gel nails or leave natural?

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I've never bothered with nails before but now both children are at school and I'm feeling more like myself again I have been painting my nails approximately twice a week since October. My nails have always been strong and until I started painting them I have been in a routine of filling them down to nothing once a week and then they grow really well for the next time I'm due to file them away. I use a Leighton Deny crystal file.

For the past month the quality of my nails has been going down and they're now horrible and peeling. I've spent a fortune on opi nail envy, opi nail envy sensitive, two different Sally Hansen repair polishes and I can't justify spending more on things that won't work. I'll try and attach some pictures.

I have really bad dry skin and I'm awful for picking around my nails when they're not looking nice so I know that once I don't have polish on I'll pick away without even knowing I'm doing it. I just want nice nails again. Any advice? Do I need to fork out for gel for a few months to let this mess grow out? Or is a break from having anything on them needed? Help!

hopefully these pictures will work

It’s clear your nails don’t like what you’re doing so change definitely needed.

I wouldn’t switch to gel as that’s likely to be even harsher.

Can you just leave them with nothing for a few months to recover, then start again with totally different products? New base coat, different brand polish, different file?

Thanks for the reply Chewbecca. I can leave them, I have no actual reason for needing painted nails other than wanting them to look nice and it stops me picking my skin. I'm at a loss about which brands to try though, maybe nail berry I suppose. I've been using a mixture of max factor, Rimmel & Sally Hansen before trying the strength treatments.

Get BIAB. Builder in a bottle. Gel bottle is the best brand, just Google for salons near you who do it.

It lasts 3 to 4 weeks and makes your nails longer and stronger.

Your cuticles look sore and over grown, try a nail oil and an orange stick to push them back, OPI nail envy is very good at strengthening nails, gel will make them worse in the long run.

My nails went like that after a few rounds of gel polish. I think it was the removal process that damaged them. It was really hard to get rid of the splitting and I tried everything from biotin to OPI Nail Envy to all sorts of creams etc, but what helped more than anything else was IBX nail treatments. I had them around every 2 weeks I think for a few months.

Try the Dior abricot creme - it strengthens nails and soothes cuticles. They also have a nail varnish that is brilliant for strengthening nails and their glow nail varnish leaves a lovely shine without having gel nails.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to have a Google of some of the suggestions on here

My nails do that whenever I paint them regularly, sadly. I can wear nail varnish as a one off but only occasionally. I've tried loads of different kinds of varnish and removers. Gel is the worst because of the harsh removal process

Mine do that when they are painted regularly or if I have gels. Doesn’t matter what brand etc, they just don’t like it! I find cuticle oil, hand cream and lots of fresh air and daylight on them for a good few weeks works best. I never bother with my hands now but go to town on my toes!

I would just go for regular manicures with standard nail polish if I were you. Use a decent hand and nail cream regularly. When you're filing don't saw them. Gel, acrylic, biab will all make them weaker. Wear gloves for washing up.

It might be nail varnish remover, are you using an alcohol free one?
I got gel nails at Christmas and am only now finished growing out the damage removing them did to my nails.
I'm going back to gentler nail varnish and alcohol free remover.
7 free is what your looking for on the polish bottle, Lakur, Nails Inc brands etc

Jojoba Oil for your cuticles will do wonders

Gel wrecked my nails, I think it was the removal of them. If you do get gels, a lot of people end up needing to get them done again and again as it wrecks the nails underneath.

What nail polish remover do you use and how often? If it's not an acetone free polish remover, then get one.

Do you file nails one way? After a bath/shower?

Do you use a cuticle oil? www.amazon.co.uk/CND-SolarOil-Nail-Cuticle-Conditioner/dp/B007NPX4LM/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_mod_primary_new?hvlocphy=9046375&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&hvnetw=g&keywords=cnd+solar+oil&hvadid=259132760099&qid=1647978745&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5-WRBhCKARIsAAId9Flht2PzqWDRq-QsIVWNkOlt7Cfx56HYUeQ4GOYxS3EGK2UX6PBsXzAaAqxGEALw_wcB&hydadcr=13284_1753088&hvdev=m&hvqmt=e&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-296379740290&adgrpid=53571369819&hvrand=1563844848623873700&sr=8-2

If not, then this one is amazing and the bottle lasts forever. It helped to repair my wrecked nails after I got gel polish.

My nails do this when I do back to back nail polishes. They need a few weeks to recover and use if good oils and hand creams. I only use polish for special occasions now.

I tried a number of Sally Hansen repair/ strengtheners and they noticeably made my nails worse - no idea why. I found a base coat instead and my nails improved. I also use Lush cuticle cream (lemony smelling) and that has been really good for the overall condition of nails and skin

I'm a picker and the only thing that stops me is a gel overlay on my nails.

My nails used to look like yours. I started having gels, plus builder underneath, to strengthen them. I knew it might make them weaker long term but they were so weak anyway, splitting and peeling and sore when they split high up. I've been having gels for a few years now. Learnt to do my own in lockdown. My nails are in a much better condition now when I remove the gel. It's really not true that they ruin everone's nails. I think it depends on the indvidual.

Some great advice, thanks all.

I had IBX treatment today and they look notably better already.

I really do pick my skin to the point of bleeding if I don't wear polish, I don't even know I'm doing it until I feel blood. It's a pretty disgusting habit which I only seem able to break if I wear polish/gel.

I'm going to get the oil that was linked to earlier in the thread and I'll get a better remover, my current one was the cheapest in the shop.

I really want to be able to paint my nails and might try the CND vinylux polish next. The ones I have clearly doesn't agree with my nails at all and I'm pretty hard on my hands so I want something durable and this seems to be a good make.

The only time gel nails look good is when they have just been done, then there is a widening gap again until they are done again./ I think well manicured natural nails look so much better, especially if done by a professional.

Sounds like the way you're filing them is damaging them. Even your description sounds a bit harsh!

It's hard to explain something so physical so why not watch a few videos on YouTube of people doing manicures on themselves and see how they do it? Or check out the nail artists 'Betina Goldstein' and 'Harriet Westmoreland' on Instagram. They do fabulous, healthy looking, natural nails.

@AgathaX

My nails used to look like yours. I started having gels, plus builder underneath, to strengthen them. I knew it might make them weaker long term but they were so weak anyway, splitting and peeling and sore when they split high up. I've been having gels for a few years now. Learnt to do my own in lockdown. My nails are in a much better condition now when I remove the gel. It's really not true that they ruin everone's nails. I think it depends on the indvidual.

This is a great story. I hope mine would be the same if I do eventually try gels. I'd rather not have gels because they're so expensive. If I have them and find my nails are similar to yours then investing in the home kit would probably be worth it to save money.

@thisplaceisweird

Sounds like the way you're filing them is damaging them. Even your description sounds a bit harsh!

It's hard to explain something so physical so why not watch a few videos on YouTube of people doing manicures on themselves and see how they do it? Or check out the nail artists 'Betina Goldstein' and 'Harriet Westmoreland' on Instagram. They do fabulous, healthy looking, natural nails.

I know to not go back & forth etc but I will check out some YouTube tutorials. When I say filing them down to nothing I just mean really short to try and prevent me from being able to pick my skin & cuticles. When I was doing that they were growing quickly and we're pretty strong. I haven't been going as short for the past 5/6 months since I've been painting them.

@Lookingoutside

Get BIAB. Builder in a bottle. Gel bottle is the best brand, just Google for salons near you who do it.

It lasts 3 to 4 weeks and makes your nails longer and stronger.

Absolutely agree, my nails have grown without breaking after using this gel. High recommend

Another one singing the praises of BIAB. They really do look great and last so well. My nails have grown so long.