Help! Brittle Nails recovering from acrylics

I have worn acrylics on my nails for probably 10 years. About 6 months ago I took them off and will never go back after seeing the condition of my nails. They look better now but they are still so brittle. I sware they break if I look at them wrong. They are really short and not even on the ends. And remember I am used to having long nails. I need some help from you girls who have been through this. What can I do, is time the only remedy?

You'll need some sort of a nail hardener. I can't suggest any brands since I don't live in US, someone else will probably know some.

My nails were soft and brittle until I started using Calcium Gel - it's a sort of a nail hardener. It worked wonders on my nails. Try looking for one of these.

HTH!

the reasons nails get brittle is cause lack of moisture. i had the same problem (just without the fake nails).

cuticle cream is a god send. use it after everytime you wash your hands and it should get better soon.

edit: a good one is burts bees lemon butter cuticle creme

I'm in the boat with ya!! lol I took mine off about a month ago -- and ugh!!! They were like paper!! :wacko: I've bought just about everything under the sun so far to try and get them into something decent! The part where the acrylic was is almost all grown off (you can actually see a half circle from where they Dremel'ed it at the cuticle, and it looks all rough where the acrylic was -- now its almost at the edge) I think the 3 best things I've used so far were the Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps, Nailtiques After Artificial Treatment, and Sally Hansen Miracle Growth. I've never had a problem growing my nails, they were just always so thin and bendable... and sometimes the sides would bend in and not be as wide & squared off as they were with the acrylics... so I'm hoping that with all these hardeners & protein treatments that they'll grow into something normal! lol my friend had acrylics on for awhile, and has been using the Sally stuff, and her natural nails are like rocks now and are 3x longer than mine ever were with the acrylics on! So she's my inspiration -- lol And the only thing that's keeping me from running back to the salon... lol Hoping I can eventually have long AND strong natural nails /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

oh i feel sorry for you gals, i have so been there ... i used to rub solar (almond) oil on the cuticles and nails as many times a day as I could remember. greasy stuff but it seemed to help promote growth a bit

try rubbing in vaseline everynight and leave it on the naills, you will see a great improvement! well i hope you do, as i did.

I always apply Solar Oil to my nails and cuticles, daily, after removing solar nails.

I like using Nailtique to strenghthen and help my nails grow. A bit expensive but worth it.

I used OPI's Nail Envy when I took off my acrylic nails and they looked great after about two months.

Rejuvacote from Duri is awesome. I used to have crappy nails that would chip and peel so much, and now they're gorgeous. This stuff really helped. You apply it as a base coat under colored polishes, and then as a top coat as well. You should apply it to your nails everyday. You can find this on their official website, duri.com, or in beauty supply stores.

did u have them taken off professionally?

did you ever have them use an electric file on your natural nails??

coz unless they were picked off or other damage was done, your enhancements shouldn't leave your nails that damaged. (i'm a nail tech and would never use an e-file on your natural nailplate)

but now that the damage is done i'd use Solar Oil daily and get some Nail Envy by OPI, it's an awesome nail strengthener!!

Good luck hun! hopin' you'll see quick improvement /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I always had very strong nails until I got fake ones one year. I will never do it again. My nails were so thin, it took forever to get them back.

If they are brittle we have a Skin Conditioning Oil that works on nails great. I actually used it on my grandmothers, and an added bonus was she is 86 and when you are older they tend to turn yellow. Hers have almost no yellow left. Someone told me it nourishes the nails.

Ann Phelps /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I've always had brittle, thin nails. I actually use to get gels/acrylics in order to even be able to scratch my arms *lmao*

I got the Sally Hansen nail treatment in a gold bottle called Nailgrowth Miracle. You use it once every other day (fresh coat each time), and within a month or two I had nails longer than I had been getting my acrylics/gels, and they were really strong!!! I'd tried other treatments, and they never worked... This one was awesome!!! It's like $4-$7 depending on where you get it, Wal-Mart is normally cheapest I've learned...

I treat my nails like hair. Keep trimming them till they are healthy, conditioning with cream, strength polishs, and such. Oh, and Im extra careful with them, when i have just gotten outta the shower or done dishes, cuz they get so soft.

I am going to try that for my daughter!

Ann Phelps /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I started using this product (nailgrowth miracle) recently and I love the results. My nails went from breaking constantly and bending easily to being long and strong. I only had one issue and I'm not really sure what to do about it, or if I should do anything at all.

The new nail growth that has started coming in after using this product for a week appears significantly different in color past the cuticle bed than my nails naturally did before using the product. they are growing in a lot less whitish and much more yellow looking. The difference in color is significant enough that I need to use a nail white pencil under the nail if I want to go sans opaque nail polish. The color change is impossible to detect until the nail grows past the bed.

does anyone know if this is a reflection of my nails being unhealthy? Are they growing too fast or is the composition just changed by the product and they will continue to grow in at the new color. Should I be getting more calcium or something? Please help!

Thanks,

Lena

Hey Lena, I know there are many polishes that will yellow your nails after a while.

Take the polish off your nails

buff them with a 3 way (shiner) buffer to see if some of the yellow will come off and then try applying a base coat before you put on any other polish.

Always wear a basecoat with any polish, it helps polish stick better and prevents yellowing /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Hope this helps

Thanks for the advice. I've been using Nailgrowth Miracle as a base coat but I switched to something else to see if anything changes. I'll try buffing them to see if that changes the color at all.

Thanks again!

i get my nails soaked off and it helps 4839048 times better! then, i use sally hansen's miracle grow or something like that.

Hi, if your nails are very badly damaged you could try Pro Strong.They have a nail strengthener which has flouride in it and it can be used as a barrier over very damaged nails.Someone mentioned Nail Envy,that is fantastic also,as well as their Avoplex Oil,i would reccomend looking for Pro Strong as it sounds like you need protection on the actual nail at least until the nail actually grows up over the nail bed. If there is any fungal infection caused by the false nails then you can use Fungis Fix which is in the OPI range.After some serious TLC your nails will recover and the Nail Envy will be perfect for your nail once it has grown some.Good Luck.