Nails filed too thin with drill, ouch

[sunshinyday80]

First time having builder gel on my nails and went to have it removed today. The nail technician used an electric drill thing to take the gel off (drill, soak, then gentler drill) but I’ve come away with red inflamed patches on my nails that are very thin and painful, especially when anything touches the nail. It seems she’s drilled into the nail bed and removed my actual nail not just the gel. Plus she nicked my cuticles a few times. What can I put on my nails to reduce the pain and sensitivity while they heal and grow out?

I once filed my own nails too thin following advice is cosmo to file the ridges out of my nails with an emery board!
It was so painful. I couldn’t even flick through files in the filing cabinet at work without yelping if my nail touched the files rather than my finger tips.
There wasn’t anything I could put on but it did improve in a couple of weeks. I would return to the salon and insist they take details and add it into the incident book, just in case.
Take paracetamol to ease the pain, people think it’s just for headaches but it will help.

Ouch! I’ve been in this position before and a couple of coats of nail strengthener does make a difference. It’s a bit spenny but OPI Nail Envy is a good option.

I had this too and it's really put me off gels. I put nail strengthening clear polish on but basically had to wait for it to grow out.

Honestly, I'd run a mile from any nail salon that uses an electric file. It's not best practice for this exact reason. I totally sympathise with your pain and hope it improves quickly.

Yep this is not how decent nail techs remove builder. Nail envy for now. Lots of cuticle oil.

Oh Jesus, she really went to town with the drill. Yes to the recommendation of strengthened and please do not go back to that salon.

I second this re nail envy. It’s expensive but worth it. Put one coat on top of another every day for a week, remove and start again.

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/7610548653685130329?q=nail+strengthening+polish&client=safari&sa=X&scaesv=571321355&hl=en-gb&biw=375&bih=548&tbs=vw:g&sxsrf=AM9HkKnSqsipDJ18QM6SVXnaw9pn95nS4g:1696607224075&prds=eto:954459818409836736440,cdl:1,prmr:1,rsk:PC12515306908083675029,pid:370564139270678595,cs:1&ved=0ahUKEwjlwKe34uGBAxXIZEEAHXNyD6sQgTYIihI

I used this one after the same thing happened to me

Ouch, nail envy or repair mode.

Do you have any cuticle cream or cuticle oil? That can help around the cuticle area. If the cuticles are really sore then you could use plasters to protect the area and give it time to heal.

Thanks everyone, will definitely get Nail Envy or another strengthener. And definitely not going back! Just bumped my index finger and actually cried out in pain, getting stuff out of my handbag is difficult etc. Not sure how I’m going to cope until it gets better

And I’ve got some cuticle oil so will start using that

This happened to me at the beginning of August. Never going back to that salon again. Absolutely horrendous. Not only were my nails so thin, they started to crack as time went on too - they bent so easily, that they just cracked and broke. You totally have my sympathy.

I have used Boots Damaged Nail Solution, then topped with Rimmel Stronger Nail Nail Nurse once a week ever since and have kept the nails cut really, really short - it was the only way to stop them bending and breaking more. I’m now 2 months in and they are almost grown out. They stopped being sore after about a month I’d say, but the areas where they cracked and broke were still tender until they finally all grew out.

This is 2 months in - you can still see the slight redness at the top of a couple of nails and still see the semi circles of rough nail which hasn’t grown out completely yet, but it’s not too noticeable. I’m hoping by the end of October to be back to normal and to be able to grow them a little again.

If a nail person brings out the drill RUN! No decent salon with proper trained techs will use a big scary metal drill on nails. Only those “cash only” places do. Avoid. They are also money laundering.

I wanted to avoid those type of places so I went to a really lovely lady who runs her own beauty salon, had good reviews etc. It’s my first time having my nails done so I didn’t know what to expect or to avoid. Have learned a very painful lesson!

You have my sympathy. I’m two weeks after having BiAB removed and my nails are still really tender and covered in splinter haemorrhages. I’m really angry as this salon makes a huge deal about their safe removal methods. I’ve trimmed them as short as possible and using nailtiques no 2 on them. That is holding them together till they recover a bit.

First pic is how sore they are, second is of splinter haemorrhages up close. Every nail is like this.

Like you, I went to a really ‘reputable’ salon, great reviews etc etc. I said at the time it was painful but was assured it was fine. It hurts to do anything involving my fingers.

Sorry you’re also going through this and still in pain two weeks later. My nail beds are throbbing this evening, feels ridiculous to take pain relief for it. I had no idea stuff like this could happen, especially from a reputable place

It was my first time too and the salon was recommended (although, it was cash only which they only told me afterwards!).

How do people get them of without the drill then? Just soaking? Hand filing? Is it something I could do at home more carefully?

My dd took me to a cash only salon to get acrylics almost a month ago for a wedding. Never having had anything like this done before I was horrified when they got the drill out but thought maybe it’s normal having never had the procedure done. I’m lucky, my nails are not painful. Just flaky.

I went to a local salon I can trust to get them removed… it took a while. I’m keeping them clear polished and cut really short. I realised after the event it was probably money laundering. Was already thinking whilst there perhaps slave labour as all the technicians were from Vietnam.

My acrylics were removed by slight filing with the drill to ‘key’ the surface and nowhere near my natural nail. Then soaking and lots of scraping. The technician used a very very fine tool bit (idk what it’s called) and demonstrated the drill on her hand to show it doesn’t do damage. I don’t know if the drill is necessary for gel polish as it is much thinner.

The salon I use gently hand files the shiny layer then soaks the rest until it comes away easily. Never seen an electric drill/file thing there.