Can someone explain nails to me?

[Redblanky]

I'm a low maintenance kind of girl. I have a few bits done but don't do much myself on a daily basis.

So eyebrows tinted and shaped, lashes linted and lifted, good low maintenance haircut regularly, decent light foundation, little blusher and tinted lip balm, lots of water, whch really does make a difference to my skin, I don't care what anyone says 😆and I'm done.

My hands are a mess, but I think could be quite good. I have long slim fingers and the nails are quite "long" even when they're cut short, ie the nail bed is quite long and shapely. Currently though my cuticles are thick and tatty and I have an awful habit of picking at the skin around the nails. I've had the occasional manicure (regular polish) but it always seems to take so long for the time it lasts and usually ends up smudged from day one anyway. Even worse when I do it myself

I've heard various things about gel paint. Lasts 3 weeks? But ruins nails? Hard to remove/needs to be removed professionally?

I'm tempted to give it a go, what do I need to know? Is gel paint different to builder gel? Do I need an appointment to remove it, even if I don't want it redone? What does happen to your nails if you have it done regularly?

I get builder gel with a gel on top and it’s great. Lasts nearly 4 weeks. I just get a very natural colour. Looks so much better.

And I get infills every 3/4 weeks. Do not take it off yourself.

My nails grow very fast and I found I got fed up with having gel nails as 2 weeks later there was a large gap of growth and they looked awful. Other people seem to manage to keep them going for 3-5 weeks! I stopped bothering as it was so expensive - I found using base coat and then 2 coats of Barry M Gelly nail paint and their top coat gave a similar effect from me doing it at home.

You can remove it yourself by soaking the nails in acetone (for about 15/20 mins each nail) and then removing using a file and a stick but it can leave your nails weak. A salon will remove the gel for about £5 and it’s super quick for them to do it.

Builder gel is just like a nail strengthener gel applied like a base coat before the coloured gel.

As long as it’s affordable I get my nails done every 3 weeks, because it feels like a nice treat having someone else do them rather than me and it keeps me feeling well presented. I’m in and out in around 45 minutes, and they’re bombproof.

I also have long nail beds so don’t have them uncomfortably long because they look longer once painted anyway.

OK so I've heard the term infills, but I don't know what it means...

If you have any kind of builder on your nails or acrylics than they remove the gel polish file and reapply the acrylic etc to fill the gap that has grown.

If you have gels on the natural nail each time this isn’t necessary.

Gel nail varnish is basically a long lasting nail varnish which is "cured" onto your natural nails using a lamp. Takes about 20/30 mins with a basic manicure (cuticle tidy, file etc)

Because it is cured on it can't be taken off with normal nail varnish remover. You can do it yourself but you need the right products. Because it is long lasting you find that you need the "growth" redoing. That's the gap created aa your nails grow. With gel nails you don't get an infill aa such. You have to have the original varnish taken off and new varnish put on.

In fills are required for acrylic nails. This are a hard wearing overlay to natural nails which Create a hard plastic false nail. If tips are added then the acrylic nails can be longer than the natural nail (can't do this with gel only as it is simply applied on the natural nail). Infilling is when there is growth on the nail and there is a gap between the cuticle and the acrylic.

With acrylics you also usually add a nail varnish on top (which can be gel but isn't always).

I get acrylic nails with gel colour about every 3/4 weeks. Costs £25/30 and takes about 50 mins.

Hope that helps!!

Does Builder Gel harm your nails like Shellac or Gelish - I find they make my nails very brittle after removal.
Takes months to recover.
I have nails that never grow and are never strong.
I take plenty of vitamins of the "Hair, Nails and Skin" variety, including Biotin separately but my nails just won't grow strong. They split.

I have my gels done every 3 weeks, never remove them myself and love that my nails always look good without me having to do them!
I keep them short and neat, so any growth in the third week is fine.

Should I care what my nails are like underneath? I never see them 😂

Thank you. So why would choose builder gel over gel paint?

You have both if you choose the builder gel. The builder is literally a gel layer that goes on first to add more strength.

OK so if I'm keeping nails short anyway (because that's how I like them and they look long once painted in any case) I don't need builder gel?

It’s more for people that have nails that split or frequently break. It’s just an added thing. Like if you pain them yourself you can have a normal base coat or you can have a strengthening base coat that might be a little more expensive. Same thing.

Cnd solar oil on the skin around the nail and the nail 2 x a day will stop all tatty cuticles in a week.

Only shellac is non-buff, buffing thins nails so they break easily.

If the brand of polish doesn’t match the lamp it won’t be 100% cured, this dramatically increases the risk of allergies because all nail coatings are acrylic, even gel, and uncured acrylic is highly allergenic. Dry doesn’t equal cured.

I get a shellac polish on my nails from September to November (I'm a gardener), and I have them taken off professionally, I use oil on them, moisturise my hands regularly, keep them short and still they peel and break for a few months after. I love them when they are on, but I don't love the after effect. I think getting an old fashioned manicure and keeping your nails bare is a polished look without the aftermath.

Superdrug beauty do cuticle care and file for a tenner.

Dior Nail Glow is well worth the £ - makes your nailed look clean, healthy and groomed and application wise is idiot and lazy cow proof - almost made for me