How to deal with weak nails
October 29, 2022 9:40 AM Subscribe
Is there something I can apply to the underside of the exposed part of fingernails to strengthen them?
I grew out my nails for a couple months to get them long enough to do something between an almond and stiletto shape at the salon, before getting Halloweeny black gels done. They looked lovely and gothy for a few days, but I'm too butch and ended up tearing two of them by accident, and so I ended up having to trim the rest — back to square one.
Is there something I can apply or use (perhaps underneath the top of the nail) that will add some strength to them, to help avoid tears?
Bonus Q: Is there a way to trim nails after gels are done, which can help avoid chipping? Or a way to "patch" up a chipped gel? I don't think I want to use nail polish as it would be difficult or time consuming to remove the next time I am at the salon — the gel is a different material I believe.
I'm new to the world of manicures and gels, so I apologize for any dumb questions and thanks for any tips (no pun intended).
I grew out my nails for a couple months to get them long enough to do something between an almond and stiletto shape at the salon, before getting Halloweeny black gels done. They looked lovely and gothy for a few days, but I'm too butch and ended up tearing two of them by accident, and so I ended up having to trim the rest — back to square one.
Is there something I can apply or use (perhaps underneath the top of the nail) that will add some strength to them, to help avoid tears?
Bonus Q: Is there a way to trim nails after gels are done, which can help avoid chipping? Or a way to "patch" up a chipped gel? I don't think I want to use nail polish as it would be difficult or time consuming to remove the next time I am at the salon — the gel is a different material I believe.
I'm new to the world of manicures and gels, so I apologize for any dumb questions and thanks for any tips (no pun intended).
A doctor recommended I take a biotin supplement to strengthen my nails years ago. I think I did, and I think it helped, but my memory is fuzzy.
posted by theotherdurassister at 11:58 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by theotherdurassister at 11:58 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Anecdotal, after I started to add a scoop of collagen to my morning coffee I noticed that my nails seemed to grow faster and stronger. In addition, I‘ve had great success strengthening flaky nails with RescueRXx and so have several people I recommended it to.
As you say you’re new to manicures, know that not all nails do well with all lengths of nail and all nail shapes. For example, I have several nails where my nail is not gently arched/almost flat over my finger but create a narrow/deep arch. These more arched nails do not do well with longer nails or square/squoval shaped nails because the arch gets more pronounced the longer the nail. The arch is not problematic if I keep my nails fairly short.
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:59 PM on October 29, 2022
As you say you’re new to manicures, know that not all nails do well with all lengths of nail and all nail shapes. For example, I have several nails where my nail is not gently arched/almost flat over my finger but create a narrow/deep arch. These more arched nails do not do well with longer nails or square/squoval shaped nails because the arch gets more pronounced the longer the nail. The arch is not problematic if I keep my nails fairly short.
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:59 PM on October 29, 2022
Response by poster: No one's too butch for a mani, fun nails are for everybody 💁
Oh for sure, I'm just being droll. I basically had to do stuff with one hand that was the equivalent of opening a beer bottle with one's teeth, which didn't work out so well for the gels.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2022
Oh for sure, I'm just being droll. I basically had to do stuff with one hand that was the equivalent of opening a beer bottle with one's teeth, which didn't work out so well for the gels.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2022
This video from Simply Nailogical is about ostensibly about nail growth, but it's really about preventing your nails from breaking. Hydration is important because it keeps your nails flexible. Jojoba-based nail oils are great. Personally I use this almond oil pen from the Body Shop because it's convenient, but you can buy refillable nail oil pens on a site like Amazon. I have super dry skin so I use a lot of hand lotion, but nothing does the trick like oil. And you only need a tiny bit.
Biotin supplements are readily available and easy to try. You just need to give them time to work because your nails grow slowly. Some people (including me) experience whitehead breakouts when taking biotin, so that's something to watch out for.
You shouldn't trim your nails while you have gel on. Patching can be hard, depending on the damage, but you can potentially just have one or two nails redone. You can even buy gel polish and a curing light online if you want to do it yourself, but you can also call the salon and see if they'll let you pay like $10-$20 for a redo. The painting is easy, the time-consuming part is getting the gel off.
Speaking of removing gel, as someone who has somewhat weak nails, I really don't recommend places that remove the gel with an emery board and/or sanding tool. It removes layers of the nail and weakens them. It sounds weird, but soaking in acetone is gentler.
posted by neushoorn at 3:04 PM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Biotin supplements are readily available and easy to try. You just need to give them time to work because your nails grow slowly. Some people (including me) experience whitehead breakouts when taking biotin, so that's something to watch out for.
You shouldn't trim your nails while you have gel on. Patching can be hard, depending on the damage, but you can potentially just have one or two nails redone. You can even buy gel polish and a curing light online if you want to do it yourself, but you can also call the salon and see if they'll let you pay like $10-$20 for a redo. The painting is easy, the time-consuming part is getting the gel off.
Speaking of removing gel, as someone who has somewhat weak nails, I really don't recommend places that remove the gel with an emery board and/or sanding tool. It removes layers of the nail and weakens them. It sounds weird, but soaking in acetone is gentler.
posted by neushoorn at 3:04 PM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have very weak nails. They bend and break, my nail beds are flat, and when I do manage to grow them long, they curl down around the tip of my finger instead of growing out straight.
I've been getting gel manicures for about a year now and my nails have never been longer! I started out getting Gel-X extensions, which are pre-hardened gel nails that are applied over the top of your nails and then painted over like normal. What that did was help my natural nails grow long and straight (no curling!!!) underneath. It was like a scaffolding for my natural nails.
(I think waiting for your natural nails to get long and then applying gel doesn't always work if your nails don't have a natural shape that lends itself to strength. Relatedly - it's not the underside of your nail that needs the strength necessarily. A strong nail has a dome/curve with an apex at the nail bed closer to the cuticle and higher in the center than at the sides, which reinforces the whole nail.)
Anyway, once my natural nails got long enough I could do structured gel manicures without the extensions, which involves a base layer of gel that builds the thickness of your nail to create that dome/apex, and when properly applied makes even the weakest nails nearly impossible to break. It does make your nails look thicker but not as thick as, say, acrylics.
(My nail tech uses an e-file to remove the gel and I find it doesn't damage my natural nail. What does damage them is if I go too long between manicures and the gel starts lifting on its own, that usually tears away a layer of natural nail and is not fun. So YMMV I guess on that. But I'm also fairly committed to getting regular manicures, so it's possible I might see more damage if I were going fully natural between manicures. You also get used to the thickness of a reinforced nail and then your natural ones feel thin and weak by comparison.)
All that said, NAILS AREN'T TOOLS. Part of making a manicure last is learning to treat your nails differently. Don't use them to open boxes and pop open cans. Wear dishwashing gloves when cleaning or doing anything that would involve soaking them for long periods of time. Oil your cuticles with jojoba oil regularly. It seems weird at first but now I can't believe I ever washed dishes without wearing gloves, and I use a utensil (or ask someone else) to open cans for me without even thinking about it.
posted by misskaz at 6:39 AM on October 30, 2022
I've been getting gel manicures for about a year now and my nails have never been longer! I started out getting Gel-X extensions, which are pre-hardened gel nails that are applied over the top of your nails and then painted over like normal. What that did was help my natural nails grow long and straight (no curling!!!) underneath. It was like a scaffolding for my natural nails.
(I think waiting for your natural nails to get long and then applying gel doesn't always work if your nails don't have a natural shape that lends itself to strength. Relatedly - it's not the underside of your nail that needs the strength necessarily. A strong nail has a dome/curve with an apex at the nail bed closer to the cuticle and higher in the center than at the sides, which reinforces the whole nail.)
Anyway, once my natural nails got long enough I could do structured gel manicures without the extensions, which involves a base layer of gel that builds the thickness of your nail to create that dome/apex, and when properly applied makes even the weakest nails nearly impossible to break. It does make your nails look thicker but not as thick as, say, acrylics.
(My nail tech uses an e-file to remove the gel and I find it doesn't damage my natural nail. What does damage them is if I go too long between manicures and the gel starts lifting on its own, that usually tears away a layer of natural nail and is not fun. So YMMV I guess on that. But I'm also fairly committed to getting regular manicures, so it's possible I might see more damage if I were going fully natural between manicures. You also get used to the thickness of a reinforced nail and then your natural ones feel thin and weak by comparison.)
All that said, NAILS AREN'T TOOLS. Part of making a manicure last is learning to treat your nails differently. Don't use them to open boxes and pop open cans. Wear dishwashing gloves when cleaning or doing anything that would involve soaking them for long periods of time. Oil your cuticles with jojoba oil regularly. It seems weird at first but now I can't believe I ever washed dishes without wearing gloves, and I use a utensil (or ask someone else) to open cans for me without even thinking about it.
posted by misskaz at 6:39 AM on October 30, 2022
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No, there is no good way to trim your nails mid-manicure. The base coat and top coat are encapsulating the color coat, and if you trim them you're going to breach that, meaning you've created a weak point from which further damage will spread.
You can absolutely use a top coat to freshen up your nails and help re seal a point of damage. Any top coat will be fine. Regular polish top coat will go over the gel just fine and won't cause any problems at all for removal. If you want to color match to fill in a chip you can do that too, but you'd probably just be best served by a clear top coat to slow the spread of any chips/damage.
You may be hard on your hands but nails don't care at all how you present. No one's too butch for a mani, fun nails are for everybody 💁
posted by phunniemee at 9:49 AM on October 29, 2022 [2 favorites]