What are your best tips for nails that break easily?

E

evab18

Member
Jan 24, 2017
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#1
Hi! I'm new here and new to nail care. My nails break so easily and I'm never able to grow them long. The most they grow is the first week of a gel manicure (I get it once in a while) and then the second week they usually break. (And I get the polish removed)

What's your favorite tip / product for growing nails?!

Thanks [emoji4]
 
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#2
Welcome to the fabulous world of nail care (& polish ❤️)!! One of the most valuable things I've learned is that many of us need to balance 2 things to maintain intact nails: strength & flexibility.

Strength makes sense & there are a lot of nail "strengthers" on the market that will harden your nail. (One popular one is OPI Nail Envy. Just keeping any polish--even just a clear coat-- on the nail also gives strength). The problem is that with longtime use of nail strengthers, the nails may become too hard or brittle, making them prone to cracking or chipping when lightly stressed, like bumping your nails on a table. This is why flexibilty is important. Strong, *flexible* nails are less likely to crack or break when stressed.

Flexibility can be gained by using a moisturizer (lotion, creme or oil) on your nails and the skin around your nails. **You don't nead to buy a special nail or cuticle creme/oil** (any lotion or even olive oil will work), but it can be a nice motivator to have a few lovely smelling ones in your bag or desk to get in the habit. If you like lemon scents there are 2 popular cuticle cremes: Lush Lemony Flutter & Burt Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. A place like Sally Beauty will have a variety of scented cuticle cremes in chapstick-like twist tubes, as well as oils in nail polish size bottles and pens. Their house brand BeautySecrets has an almond-scented oil that comes in a nail polish sized bottle. I've tried so many & usually keep the old pens to refill with jojoba oil & sometimes, a fragrance oil.

I automatically apply something to my nails/cuticles 2x a day -- right after i put on my face creme, but I *try* to do once during the day when I remember. (I used to be a nail biter, so that little bit of nail and skin TLC helped me quit). I like using a fast absorbing oil bc I can put a drop *under my nail* where it will be absorbed into the nail (particularly important if you're wearing gel nail polish, though nail scientist Doug Schoen has said it's still beneficial to be moisturizing the top of the nail plate & surrounding skin when wearing polish and gel polish).

There are SO many products and reviews out there that it can be overwhelming and expensive. You DO NOT have to buy a lot of products to have nice nails. It really helps if you can learn a little bit about how & why a product works.... YouTuber Christine from SimplyNailogical has a (long) video that talks more about the above with some tips and (inexpensive) product recommendations:



Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any beauty blogger or website. I've just been a nail care & polish nut for a looooong time :biggrin:
 
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#3
PewPew said:
Welcome to the fabulous world of nail care (& polish ❤️)!! One of the most valuable things I've learned is that many of us need to balance 2 things to maintain intact nails: strength & flexibility.

Strength makes sense & there are a lot of nail "strengthers" on the market that will harden your nail. (One popular one is OPI Nail Envy. Just keeping any polish--even just a clear coat-- on the nail also gives strength). The problem is that with longtime use of nail strengthers, the nails may become too hard or brittle, making them prone to cracking or chipping when lightly stressed, like bumping your nails on a table. This is why flexibilty is important. Strong, *flexible* nails are less likely to crack or break when stressed.

Flexibility can be gained by using a moisturizer (lotion, creme or oil) on your nails and the skin around your nails. **You don't nead to buy a special nail or cuticle creme/oil** (any lotion or even olive oil will work), but it can be a nice motivator to have a few lovely smelling ones in your bag or desk to get in the habit. If you like lemon scents there are 2 popular cuticle cremes: Lush Lemony Flutter & Burt Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. A place like Sally Beauty will have a variety of scented cuticle cremes in chapstick-like twist tubes, as well as oils in nail polish size bottles and pens. Their house brand BeautySecrets has an almond-scented oil that comes in a nail polish sized bottle. I've tried so many & usually keep the old pens to refill with jojoba oil & sometimes, a fragrance oil.

I automatically apply something to my nails/cuticles 2x a day -- right after i put on my face creme, but I *try* to do once during the day when I remember. (I used to be a nail biter, so that little bit of nail and skin TLC helped me quit). I like using a fast absorbing oil bc I can put a drop *under my nail* where it will be absorbed into the nail (particularly important if you're wearing gel nail polish, though nail scientist Doug Schoen has said it's still beneficial to be moisturizing the top of the nail plate & surrounding skin when wearing polish and gel polish).

There are SO many products and reviews out there that it can be overwhelming and expensive. You DO NOT have to buy a lot of products to have nice nails. It really helps if you can learn a little bit about how & why a product works.... YouTuber Christine from SimplyNailogical has a (long) video that talks more about the above with some tips and (inexpensive) product recommendations:



Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any beauty blogger or website. I've just been a nail care & polish nut for a looooong time :biggrin:
Click to expand...

Thank you for your nail care tips sharing, I also learned a lot from them. Will get Burt Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream soon :P:smartass:
 
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#4
I'd keep your nails as short as you are comfortable with so they can grown healthy & have some flexibility.
Cuticle cream especially now the weather is getting colder is a must as you don't want hangnails or dry cuticles.
I would also consider a 5 free base coat as well as polish. There are many in the marketplace & the tips
from the above poster were great
 
#5
Not to get personal but have you mentioned this too your doctor? Maybe some underlying health condition or deficiency could be causing it. Usually gel nails kind of help nails grow because it's so thick. Product wise i know some people like nail envy and nailtec. And some people use a nail booster with gel manicures if th ey have thinner nails. I also agree with the other poster about keeping them and your hands moisturized especially heading into winter. Diet wise you could try adding gelatin to see if that helps.
 
#7
Sugar Bear Hair made my nails like iron. I'd never had all ten of them so long without any breakage. I recently switched over to another biotin supplement to see if it works as well just bc the SBH is so damn expensive. But it definitely worked. I will say it took about 6 months before my nails showed a difference, so be patient.
 
#8
As pewpew stated, I am a big fan of OPI nail envy.

My nails usually break or chip really easily, but ever since I started using OPI nail envy, nothing.
I've only been using it for two months though, and I didn't know there was such a thing as too hard for nails. I'll be careful of that.
 
#10
tulipfield said:
Sugar Bear Hair made my nails like iron. I'd never had all ten of them so long without any breakage. I recently switched over to another biotin supplement to see if it works as well just bc the SBH is so damn expensive. But it definitely worked. I will say it took about 6 months before my nails showed a difference, so be patient.
Click to expand...

I really wish I could take a biotin supplement for my nails but on the flip side of that, I really don't need my hair to grow hahaha. So I'm scared to take some. I have thick hair on my legs, etc and I don't want to have to wax my eyebrows more than I usually do, lol!!
 
#11
evab18 said:
I really wish I could take a biotin supplement for my nails but on the flip side of that, I really don't need my hair to grow hahaha. So I'm scared to take some. I have thick hair on my legs, etc and I don't want to have to wax my eyebrows more than I usually do, lol!!
Click to expand...

My experience is it doesn’t make things grow faster, just more sturdy (for my nails, anyway). I’m a very hairy person and I haven’t had any problems with more hair on my legs. :3
 
#12
I have to use dipping powder so my natural nails can grow long. The dipping powder looks thinner than gel but it lasts longer because it makes your nails extremely hard.
 
#13
I’m so glad I stumbled across this thread! I use the 7 day polish a lot. I realized after reading PewPew’s informative post my nails lack flexibility. Chip constantly when I bang my nails against something. I was going to stop for awhile the 7 day polish bc I thought that’s wreaking havoc on my nails. While it still may be wreaking havoc my nails need oils or a cream around them. Thanks PewPew!
 
#14
My nails chip a lot ,even when using base coat.
I have tried sally Hansen's hardeners -they help a lot .
I try to take biotin and keep them away for a week without polish .

Even essie makes good ones.

Try and be persistent.
apply hand crème twice a day .
 
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