Best thing you can do for your nails ....

[sgj99]

What is the one thing you would recommend to someone trying to grow out their nails or someone just trying to keep their nails healthy?

My suggestion is to use a cuticle cream/oil daily. I have a bad habit of picking at my cuticles but if there is nothing to pick at than my nails look great.

 

[kemilia]

I posted a thread about my nails being nearly perfect after months of doing nothing with them and I think the suggestions made total sense, especially the nail polish remover one. Eliminating chemicals (both remover and polish) are probably the answers here, but who wants to have no nail polish? I have to my nail tech to hardly cut any cuticle and so far my nails are doing ok with the weekly manis, time will tell.

If you can, go a month or so with no manicures, see if there is a difference.

 

[NancyG]

Sorry, but I've got two. 1) moisturize your eponychium (what most call cuticles) daily and push them back gently and 2) use a high grit (>240) nail file.

 

[PewPew]

Great post! I agree on the importance of using oil or cream on the cuticle area AND nails regularly. (It doesn’t have to be a costly product designed for nails, even a bit of olive oil is fine to use!). Be sure to also oil/moisturize the free edge of the nail, or put a drop on the underside of the nail if yours are longer. What this does is help keep the nails a bit flexible, so that they are not so brittle they chip/break with everyday tasks.


Like NancyG, I also recommend a gentle, high grit nail file to avoid tears when shaping the nail. I have used the crystal (glass) nail files from Nail Tek for many years. I like that they come in a protective case and can be washed/sterilized and used for years. Some other brands of crystal files I have tried like the inexpensive Sally ones have gotten dull over time b/c the grit rubs off. Higher quality nail files are etched and if they feel “dull,” just cleaning the file of nail dust will restore it.

Cuticle oil + a crystal nail file are actually my go-to gifts for friends reforming from nail biting or just getting into nail care.

 

[pmburk]

I posted this in the thread @kemilia mentioned: stop using acetone polish removers, and switch to a glass or crystal file.

 

[kemilia]

I posted this in the thread @kemilia mentioned: stop using acetone polish removers, and switch to a glass or crystal file.

i absolutely cannot stand the glass or crystal files, they send shivers or something through my nails and I just can't, kinda like nails on a chalkboard (which means nothing to the kids nowadays--what's a chalkboard? ).

 

[Chagall]

I posted a thread about my nails being nearly perfect after months of doing nothing with them and I think the suggestions made total sense, especially the nail polish remover one. Eliminating chemicals (both remover and polish) are probably the answers here, but who wants to have no nail polish? I have to my nail tech to hardly cut any cuticle and so far my nails are doing ok with the weekly manis, time will tell.

If you can, go a month or so with no manicures, see if there is a difference.

Nail polish and remover are very hard on nails. I love natural well manicured nails and hardly ever wear polish. I use a manicure board to buff them naturally. My nails are so healthy that I have to cut them frequently. Chemicals discolour the nail and sometimes cause them to lift up from the nail bed at the end. Although it’s fun and necessary for events to paint them, I am always happy to get them back to their natural state.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Utmost for me are having "healthy" nails. I have found using a diamond crystal nail file makes the world
of difference. No nicks or rough edges.
I get a mani weekly, I use non acetone polish remover, I also use 7 or 9 free polishes, I use cuticle oil
nightly & take good care of my hands as well with nurturing hand creams especially now because we are starting
to get cold weather.
IMO, "hands speak" for me. Well groomed nails & soft skin just say that someone cares for themselves.
I have the same feeling about skin.

 

[Souzie]

Collagen supplements or a multivitamin that contains biotin...

 

[EmCii]

1. Keep your nails polished as much as possible. A good base coat can help prevent staining. Polishes ARE NOT toxic to the nails. They’re a great way to provide your nails with a barrier of protection. They do not penetrate the nail, except for the color pigments depending on the base coat. Polish does not make the nail lift at all. Only outside trauma to the nail, or some sort of fungal/bacterial infection typically does that. The chemicals in polish, are not what causes staining, it is the color pigments within the polish, and even then it’s not damaging the nail, just staining it, which doesn’t determine the strength or integrity of the nail. Which also leads to say: yellow nails don’t matter! And yellow nails do not mean damage.

2. Quit buffing the natural nail. It does lighten up the nail, but all that’s happening is that you’re shaving the layers of your nails away, which WILL weaken them over time.

3. Learning to be okay with the fact that It’s okay if your nails aren’t white, or are a bit transparent. Contrary to what a lot of misinformation says, the only reason nails become white, is that when they grow longer, they gradually get drier and drier. Evident by how the pink part of your nail plate is actually transparent (which will eventually grow to the free edge and turn white.) It’s currently transparent because it’s moisturized with water and the natural oils your nail bed secretes. Same with how your nails become transparent when wet, or when you do a moisturizing treatment, or a soak. The whiter a nail is, the drier it is.

4. Too much moisture in turn, gradually weakens nails as well. Nails have the ability to absorb 1/3 of their weight in water. The layers of the nail swell and contract which can cause a bit of damage, but over time can lead to peeling, splitting, and flaking. Aside from showering, I’d always suggest to keep your nails protected by using gloves. Washing dishes, using strong surfactants, etc.

5. Keep your nails protected in general, and watch what you’re doing from day to day. We are gloves as needed, try to grab stuff a bit slowly and deliberately, don’t use your nails as tools, etc.

 

[Compass Rose]

I know this is a reply to an older post, but I just got a glass nail buffer to try instead of using polish. I did this because my nails were just getting awful with the splitting and breaking. So I cut them all down to the shortest length possible, and I started buffing them with the glass buffer. It only takes about 10 to 12 strokes to get a glassy finish on my bare nails. This, along with olive oil or avocado oil and they seem to be reviving nicely. Oh....just don't drop the file on a tile floor.......

I posted this in the thread @kemilia mentioned: stop using acetone polish removers, and switch to a glass or crystal file.

 

[maelao]

I always apply different oils before going to sleep. Now I'm using almond oil, at least I forgot about hangnails

 

[pixiejenna]

Any more product recommendations? I used to get gel polish before but once the quarantine started I removed them. The bottom part of my nails are still dry/breaking, they’re about half way grown out from my last gel polish. I;ve been applying oil several times a day before work and before bed. I was using jojoba oil and then bought one by opi. I try to moisturize my hands though out the day as much as I can at work, but I’m obviously washing them and using hand sanitizer way more than normal. I am nearly trimming/filing them twice a week because they keep breaking. Dior used to have a abricot nail cream that I loved but they’ve discontinued it (don’t know when it was eons ago since I used it).

 

[Love Of My Life]

Any more product recommendations? I used to get gel polish before but once the quarantine started I removed them. The bottom part of my nails are still dry/breaking, they’re about half way grown out from my last gel polish. I;ve been applying oil several times a day before work and before bed. I was using jojoba oil and then bought one by opi. I try to moisturize my hands though out the day as much as I can at work, but I’m obviously washing them and using hand sanitizer way more than normal. I am nearly trimming/filing them twice a week because they keep breaking. Dior used to have a abricot nail cream that I loved but they’ve discontinued it (don’t know when it was eons ago since I used it).

Just took a look at the Dior website... It looks like it might now be called Huile Abricot ( daily nutritive serum)
priced at $28 & it is in a tube . The older version was in a little jar..

 

[pixiejenna]

Just took a look at the Dior website... It looks like it might now be called Huile Abricot ( daily nutritive serum)
priced at $28 & it is in a tube . The older version was in a little jar..

I saw that but I don’t think that it’s like the one that was in a tub. Looking at the ingredients it has 4 different types of oils in it so I think it’s oil based treatment vs a cream. Since I don’t feel like I’m getting much benefits from the different oil treatments I’ve been trying I don’t want to spend $30 on another oil treatment.