Tricks for longer , stronger nails :)

Jul 18, 2012

Manuela B.

Hey guys, I recently gave up on acrylic nails and decided to let my natural nails breathe for a while. But they are sooooo weak from years of acrylic nails that i cant seem to keep a mani without them breaking :( Any advice or tricks or what products to use or what to take for stronger nails ? :/

Jul 18, 2012

Sana R.

I had gel nails for a while and once I took them off, my nails were weak too, so I definitely know how you feel.

Honestly, you're going to want to file your nails very short. The longer they are, the easier they will break. To shorten your nails, you're not going to want to use a nail clipper. The pressure on your nail, because they're weak, could cause your nail to crack into your nail bed. Just use a high grit nail file until they're as short as you can stand them.

Next you're going to want to moisturize your cuticles. Your cuticles are basically what protect your nails from infection, so you want to make sure it's very very healthy. That means no cutting them, just gently pushing them back with a cuticle stick and moisturizing them with cuticle oil or lotion once a day.

You'll also want to use a nail strengthener. Any one you pick is probably fine but do make sure you coat the edge and a little bit of the underside of your nail for extra protection. You can paint your nails over that but do not put a base coat under the nail strengthener. You want it to get into the nail.

The only thing left to do is wait. Unfortunately, there is really nothing to do to get your nails completely back to how they were besides letting them grow out. Eventually, your nails will completely grow back to the strength they once were, but it will take a couple of months depending on how fast your nails grow. I took off my gels in late March and they're STILL growing back.

I hope that helps :)

Jul 18, 2012

Manuela B.

Sana!!!! Thank you!!! Awesome advice , I didn't know that about the cuticles :) thank you!!!