Gel nails… what condition are your nails after the gels come off?

[sycamo]

Mine are always so brittle afterwards and liable to breaking easily. I cannot fault the nail technician so wondering if this is common with gels or if I need to be doing anything differently? She does always try to sell cuticle oil which I bought and used but hasn’t made a difference ??

I used to get gel nails for years and they were fine but the salon didn’t use any dremels or drills which are terrible for nail damage.

That true of where I get mine done, just files and emery board.

I've had gel nails for about a year now. I have Builder in a bottle, but it has to be the multi coat one, not the all in one. The all in one didn't do well for me, they lifted and my nails took a beating. The regular multi coat one works brilliantly for me. Even if I do manage to lose one, the nail underneath is noticably stronger that before. I have natuarlly flimsy, thin nails that bend and split though.

My nail lady is great, we tried various different combinations of products to get the right one, and she makes notes every visit so we can go back and check. She also won't use electric files as she finds them too harsh, so files by hand.

Awful here too, they only get better by growing out

Absolutely unaffected. I had BIAB plus gel polish for 3 years solid and they're just the same as they were.

@sashh
the grown out section is fine on mine too, the damage is the bit that has had the polish on, and that section takes a while to grow out.

I have friends with naturally weak nails who have constant gels, for them it gives them ‘stronger’ nails which grow. I have strong nail which don’t snap or split usually, for me the gel leaves them in a far worse condition.

I can get a week out of a normal home manicure if I actually bother to take my time (and factor in time spent travelling to and sat in a salon), vs 2.5 weeks for me with gels. So the couple months for the damage to grow out is a bit silly really.

Yes the fact they only last 2.5 weeks for all that faff and damage also put me off. It’s not a nice relaxing experience having the gel taken off!

@Wishona

Sorry I should have said what is under the gel is the same.

I'm not denying anyone's experience we are all different.

BTW I'm lucky if I can get home from a normal manicure without damage.

@sashh I wonder if your nails are less dry or something? I honestly have the strongest nails and it really makes them brittle. I watch the damage grow out hoping it doesn’t split into my nail bed.

It’s a shame as gel is so shiny! I am getting my toes done tomorrow though.

I started having my nails done because my nails are naturally very brittle and would take me hours of looking after. I have them done every 4 weeks. When they grew out during Covid, they were no different to how they were before.

I think a lot can be attributed to the person who does them though. I have never been to a nail bar. I get them done by a beautician, she uses a buffer to remove them.

I have no intention of stopping

I’ve had mine done every two weeks for the last year or so and they are absolutely fine. If they are removed properly they will be fine.

I’m sure they will. However, mine were done continuously for 20 years and they were never removed at all, they just grew out during lockdown and my nails were screwed. They’ve only just recovered. I guess we’re all different. Who knew?

I wish I could have gels, but my normally strong and good nails hate them. It's not even a case of them being damaged underneath and ignoring it - huge flakes of gel and nail come off.

Used to be able to get a few goes at it, but last time I tried it the flaking happened on the first application.

What's BIAB??

Builder in a bottle. By The Gel Bottle

I've had builder gel (with french or a colour on top) with apx 4 weekly infills for about 5 or 6 years at least constantly.

My natural nails are fine and quite brittle.

VERY occasionally (once or twice a year) i'll bash a finger tip so hard on something that the gel pings off. Natural nail revealed is exactly as it always was. Pink and normal and really long. It feels fragile compared to when it's in it's armour coating but no different to before i had gels. I jut look after it until i can get to the salon to have it redone.

BUT - as previous poster says - my nail tech NEVER uses drills and NEVER files down anywhere near my nail bed. She lightly files off the top coat and/or colour down to the builder gel, and does the little infill at the grown out bit, re does the colour and top coat and that's that. So the builder gel just grows out and gets filed off like you would a normal nail.

It's probably best to have it on and keep it on rather than on/off iykwim?

Funnily enough one of my grown up DDs nails just won't 'accept' gels. She's tried loads of times. Different technicians including my one. They pop/peel off.

I know right 👍

Before the previous year I had a break due to my job but before that I had them for about 10 years and again no problem.

One time I remember that I had them removed by a newly qualified technician and they were damaged.

I really do think that correct and proper removal really helps with the outcome.

Mine are completely normal. My nail tech is extremely careful when she removes. Very little buffing and we infill only starting from a fresh nail once every 3-4 times so the nail bed isn't being buffed every time.

It's the buffing down too much that messes them up

How do they remove them without buffing/acetone/drills? I’m wondering what I should ask for. I agree it’s not the gels per se as my nails grew long with the gel on and felt protected. It was the awful removal process.

I think the buffing is OK as long as they don't start buffing your own nails.

My DD also uses nail builder, but her nail technican takes all of the product off the nails with a hot acetone soak.
After having this done 3 times her own nails are wrecked.
My nails are still in great condition because they are never subjected to buffing or acetone.

As well as buffing the surface to start the removal they usually buff the nail before the application, repeated buffing really weakens the nail (I found this out the hard way when I was young and first discovered nail buffers).

Thank you!

I’ve had a skin scrape test via the GP. It came back negative for fungal infection. It could be an allergic respite think.

I have. She said fungal infection or allergic reaction. What did you use on your nails to repair them?