Some of you may have seen on my Instagram feed that I recently had some beautiful acrylic nails done for attending my cousins' wedding. I really loved them and probably would have got them redone if I didn't work in retail.....if you work in retail you will understand the struggle. So when the time came that I needed to have the acrylic removed I opted for a gel polish which was also very cute and I will have done again but yesterday I really needed to remove the gel polish and when I did I remembered just how much damage acrylic does! Now by no means have I ever had good nails, they are soft, weak and either peel or snap regularly but looking at them this morning I realised they needed some major TLC which also gave me an idea for a blog post.....so today I'm giving you a rundown of tips and products to look after those delicate nails that need a little extra help.
The first suggestion I would make is to get yourself a good nail file, I use the Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File which comes with a lifetime guarantee, I couldn't imagine using a traditional nail file now other than in emergency situations. It really seals the nail and leaves the edge very smooth helping to stop your nail from catching on things and getting damaged.
My next tip is to pick yourself up a nail polish designed to repair and strengthen, currently, I'm using Sally Hansen 18K Gold Hardener which at first I didn't think was doing much till I noticed that my nails were growing longer when using the polish consistently. This gives more strength than a traditional polish and will be my best friend while I repair the damage I've done. It also looks super pretty with the little gold flecks....I'm not sure if they actually do anything to help strengthen the nails or not.
The next tip is to use a cuticle oil on your nails, I tend to just use whatever oil I have at home as this works just as well as buying fancy ones marketed for cuticles, currently I'm switching between rosehip oil and argan oil.
I have done a little research online and if you want to grow stronger nails you should eat food high in protein like poultry, fish and spinach. You could also try supplements like Biotin, my mum tried this a while back and had quite good results although as soon as she stopped taking them things returned to normal....as expected I guess.
You may also want to check your nail polish remover to make sure it doesn't contain any acetone, this is very drying on your nails, unfortunately, its needed to remove gel polish and acrylics.
Okay, so this is just a quick rundown of some advice and tips to look after your nails and help them to grow long and strong. What do you use to keep your nails in good shape?
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