Advice on nail products for ukulele playing and weak nails

[Portakalkedi]

Any advice pls re nail products? Never been to one and no idea about acrylic nails etc, but I've started to learn ukulele and my nails are very soft and break easily, making it hard to play. Have tried Rimmel Nail Nurse, Sally Hansen Nail Strengthener, rub in castor oil frequently etc, not making any difference. I read that some uke players have acrylic nails done for this purpose? Is this something I can do at home? I also hear that fake nails can cause problems when removed. Any advice gratefully received!

Not sure of the science but guitarist friends swear by jelly cubes. The stuff you dilute to make jelly from the supermarket. One of those a day and it seems to make a difference. Anything like an acrylic/ gel builder will give the nail temporary strength but tends to weaken nail underneath.

Hi, I play the guitar and I cut my nails short so I can place the fingers correctly, or strum without breaking the right hand nails. I decided to choose - be a musician or have nice nails. The nails lost.

Thanks, I used to eat jelly cubes as a teenager to improve my nails! Will have to start again. Re nice nails, I don't really care about that, as they're so poor I have just always kept them short and used clear polish or Nail Nurse. Now I am keeping the left hand ones shorter for fretting, but would love to grow the right hand ones and keep them strong enough for fingerpicking! I've tried using various picks but can't get on with them.