Nailed It…

Shhhhh, hear that screaming? That’s my nails (or stumps) after a year of acrylic abuse, audible to everyone else, but me. Silly Relly.

Ok, so when it comes to the whole healthy finger nails thing, I’ve never been lucky. Years of biting them as a child and my unhealthy nail polish collection left them brittle, dull and full of mountainous ridges. However, I haven’t actually seen my natural nails in little over a year and things have turned downright ugly.

The Damage is Done

My nails have been buried under acrylics and drowned in nail glue. To be clear, I’m not talking salon acrylics, (I wish I was that fancy) I’m talking the Boots bare ones I could paint myself. They were only really short and the perfect shape (my nails but better). After a few months, my own nails didnt look so appealing to me so acrylics became a safety blanket. My natural nails only saw the light of day when they popped off.

I could leave a trail of nails…trains, shops, the significant others car (shhhhhh). Honestly, the bottom of my bag is like a pit for mismatched, broken acrylics.

I never took any notice of my poor nails underneath until it was too late. It wasn’t until one split down the middle (ouch, that shizz hurt) that I paid attention. I was left with nothing but tiny stumps and dry nail – beds. I finally plucked up the courage to ditch the falsies and drag myself to a doctor.

Going Eau Naturelle 

Turns out my nails (or lack of them) were just severely damaged and in SERIOUS need of TLC. In a desperate bid to regain a nail I could actually paint, I made a quick dash to Boots and bought some nail treatments to lend them a helping hand.

Cue a haul…

Save the Nail Repair and Rescue (for very damaged nails): A treatment base coat for nails damaged by falsies, It claims to ‘contain a Bio-extender to increase the nail’s keratin resistance. Retailing at £7.95, it seems a wee bit pricey for what it is, but it works. After using this for 3 weeks, my nails have grown back quite strong and that painful split has healed. You are meant to coat your nails with this once a week; although I don’t believe it lasts that long, after 4 days it tends to peel off.

Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail and Cuticle Oil: I just coat my nails with this every night before bed. It absorbs into my nails without feeling mega oily. In the morning my nails look more hydrated and less brittle looking. I think this was around the £7 mark again in Boots, so a little pricey but you can buy it a LOT cheaper elsewhere.

Vaseline Healthy Hand and Nail Conditioning Hand Lotion: I actually had this before I got on the healthy nail hype, but this has since become my lifeline. It keeps my dry hands and bay throughout the day, the keratin keeps my nails happy, and at £3.37 its cheap and cheerful.

Holland and Barrett Advanced Vitamin – Super Nail Formula: These taste and smell RANCID but they appear to be doing the job. I just take one a day to support my nails and give them back any vitamins they lost during their nail glue blanket. This retails at £7.39.

The Outcome

It’s only been 3 weeks and my nails are alive and kicking. With fresh air and my collection of treatments, aka food for my starving nails, my stumps have grown into full nails again and my nail beds covered.

*Merry Jigs!*

I even embraced the bare necessities (the simple bare necessities 😉 ) and didnt give in to my urge to paint them. Stumps don’t look good painted, and I didnt want to give my poor deprived nails more reason to hate me.

As far as healthy nails go, I think I’ve nailed it – Pun Intended

Consider this a lesson learnt
Ladies, step away from the falsies, they do more harm than good (not to mention damage to the bank account.) Don’t leave your natural nails to split. Embrace what your momma gave you and stay natural.

Next step on the nail road is cuticle; can anyone recommend a good remover?

-ramble fin-

Ciao for now!
x