Nail Help!

[velouriaL]

Since my ring is done, on its way to my BF, and will definitely be coming to me soon (before we move at the end of the month), I really need to do something about my nails!

I am an incontrovertible nail biter, and I really think that I''ve stunted their growth. I have very short nail beds to boot. Not to mention short, chubby fingers...

I don''t really like acrylics have never looked good on me, plus I need to type a lot a work and then pack up for our move. I broke an acrylic once at prom (no, I was no drunk... why would you suggest such a thing?

) and it hurt really bad. I would totally do falsies if they could look really natural and be really short and thin.

When I get mani/pedis, they usually just cut my cuticles and buff my nails or put a layer of clear polish on them, but that really doesn''t help that much.

Is there any way to get my nails looking like this:

Here''s my starting point:

Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[saturn]

I was a nail biter from age 6 until last summer. (Much worse than you!) I''ve tried to stop in the past, but always started again.
I tend to bite my nails when I''m even just a tiny bit anxious (even just watching a suspenseful TV show got me biting).
Last summer, I decided that enough was enough. I went on a week-long trip where I had as little stress as possible (no TV, even). I religiously maintained my nails, with polish, so that I would be less tempted to bite. I drummed my nails on the nearest surface whenever my hands weren''t busy (keeps me from biting, and maybe helps them grow faster). Also, I had it in my head that I needed to stop biting so my hands would be pretty for a ring. It worked, and now I have fairly nice long nails.
The nail product that I like is Sally Hansen Triple Strong (in the green bottle). It strengthens the nails so that they don''t break as easily. I think that the short nail bed comes from biting for so long (I have it too). I''ve heard that it will get better over time. I think that the best thing to do is to use hand lotion, nail strengthener, and nude polish. And try your best not to bite! Things should start looking better within a few weeks.

 

[twinkletoes]

you can have a very thin layer of acrylic powder put on your natural nails and then topped with the clear UV gel (for shine & strength). they''ll grow fast and look very natural!

good luck!

 

[MissAva]

Your nails are not likely to look like that persons becuase they have s different shape nail bed then you do. When I quit nail biting I kept my hands painted in dark shades of polish like Smoking In Hanvana by OPI. That wya when I felt tempted to chomp on them it was painfully obvioush and made me want to hide my hands. I also leanred how t do my own nails and when I thought about biting them I remeberd how much time and effort I had put into painting them. I still keep my nails short beucase then they get too long I hurt myself (I scratch in myself and will cut through skin without waking up). Thre have been great tips in the LIW forum about ways to do your nails. When mine were first growing back I used ProStong and it worked well for me, now mine are thick with out being yucky and healthy. Have you tried a reward system? ie you get something for every three days you go without biting? (that was how long I made myself wait you may want to try another length of time) I would let myself earn little nail items, polish, buffing cream, chamois buffer and so on. That way it becomes a cycle of matainece.

 

[dazedland]

Date: 7/11/2005 5:21:46 PM
Author: twinkletoes
you can have a very thin layer of acrylic powder put on your natural nails and then topped with the clear UV gel (for shine & strength). they''ll grow fast and look very natural!

good luck!

Excellent idea, you should also start taking vitamins and buy that nailtique stuff. I have the opposite problem, my nails grow like weeds and I prefer them short, so in anticipation of getting my ring on Wednesday I cut them very short on Friday so by then they will be a decent length (and for the wedding we are going to this weekend they will look like the picture and I will withstand the nails until the day after the wedding then cut them really short again) and I will go get a mani/pedi in the morning. Another thing that you could try is letting them be short and finding a polish color that looks good on short nails, I like Chanel Vamp, or Essie Wicked, but if you are looking for pale, I think Essie Ballet Slipper looks good on short nails and long nails.

 

[belle]

if i don''t give my nails attention daily, they get very unsightly.

first of all, if you don''t have an orangestick, get one. use it daily, as often as you can to ''train'' your cuticles back. if you need to, buy some cuticle remover.
to strengthen your nails, put on one coat of clear polish a day for about a week. at the end of the week, remove the polish and start the cycle again. also, be sure to moisturize. especially at night. lanolin works really good. one brand of lanolin that is easy to find is lansinoh. you can get it in the baby section of most department stores.
with a little tlc, your nails will be looking nice and healthy and strong.

 

[velouriaL]

Thanks guys! These suggestions really do help, but I don''t think I''m going to be able to stop biting my nails anytime soon... I''ve tried everything (rewards, dark polish, gross tasting stuff) so many times! I even bite them in my sleep! I''ve tried wearing socks on my hands to prevent that, but they always come off... So, as bad as it sounds, I really am just looking for a quick fix.

I sometimes do paint them a dark color, and that does look nice, but I chomp on one, and then have to strip the rest of my color from the other nails. Gross, I know... but I can''t help myself!

The acrylic powder sounds good... do you think it could be used to lengthen my nail SLIGHTLY? Would I be able to do this myself or would I have to go to a nail place?

 

[MissAva]

The only issue with the acrylic is that it ruins you nails, they will gorw but they will be thin and birttle. They will break once you stop maintaing them.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Date: 7/11/2005 6:15:30 PM
Author: velouriaL
Thanks guys! These suggestions really do help, but I don''t think I''m going to be able to stop biting my nails anytime soon...

I read a suggestion that if you absolutely cannot control the urge to bite your nails, then allow yourself 1 finger to chew on (usually on your right hand as it''s your left hand that will be photographed more anyway!!!)...this will allow you to slowly have your other fingers heal in time for the wedding (using all the products/techniques suggested here) and still give you a way to wean yourself off instead of the "cold turkey" path...

 

[youngster]

Instead of acrylic, how about silk overlays? A small piece of white silk is glued on to each nail. It is buffed and polished. Every two weeks or so you go in for a fill with another small piece of silk. It makes your nails super, super, super strong. Polish lasts for a good long time. Every six months or so, you need to soak all the built up silk off your nails and start over, so that your nails don''t get too thick looking. (I also don''t think you could bite them any longer. You''d break a tooth!)

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Date: 7/11/2005 6:47:38 PM
Author: youngster
Instead of acrylic, how about silk overlays? A small piece of white silk is glued on to each nail. It is buffed and polished. Every two weeks or so you go in for a fill with another small piece of silk. It makes your nails super, super, super strong. Polish lasts for a good long time. Every six months or so, you need to soak all the built up silk off your nails and start over, so that your nails don''t get too thick looking. (I also don''t think you could bite them any longer. You''d break a tooth!)

I did this (aka Silk Wraps) and they ruined my nails as if they were acrylics. It took over 6 months before I could get my nails not be to thin and rigidity again. There is a "nail polish" type product on www.ulta.com that''s called "No More Wraps." It''s a base coat with silk fibers in it that will make your nails hard and allows you to get your nails back on the right track...I love this product!!

 

[Blue824]

Date: 7/11/2005 6:47:38 PM
Author: youngster
Instead of acrylic, how about silk overlays? A small piece of white silk is glued on to each nail. It is buffed and polished. Every two weeks or so you go in for a fill with another small piece of silk. It makes your nails super, super, super strong. Polish lasts for a good long time. Every six months or so, you need to soak all the built up silk off your nails and start over, so that your nails don''t get too thick looking. (I also don''t think you could bite them any longer. You''d break a tooth!)

My manicurist does this when I break a nail and it works out well..and as soon as that part is off she removes the silk and I''ve never had any problem. My nails are pretty strong so its a rarity, but it works out really well! I''d definitely say it is worth a try.

 

[dazedland]

If you know when you are going to get it you could get a french manicure and take the pictures before you bite your nails. I think the french manicures make nails appear longer.

 

[Mara]

I have shorter nail beds too, but thankfully my fingers are longer so the two together look okay.

Funny thing is that my left hand index nail bed is nice and long and the rest are shorter. Darn!

Anyhow, don't put acrylics or anything on your nails if you really want them to be stronger naturally. That's how the nails get thin and brittle...or so I have heard. It took my nails years to recover from fake nails in my late teens and early 20s!

I also have spotty success with strong nails of my own. Sometimes I can grow them like weeds and they are very strong. Other times they peel and I can't keep them strong for the life of me.

I always keep a coat of nail polish on or three...that definitely tends to help them stay stronger. If I don't have something on, then bare nails normally will tear or peel for me.

I like Sally Hansen products for strengthening, also there is this one product that actually has like 'threads' of fabric or something in the polish, it's hard to explain but it basically acts as a fabric or something on your nail. It could be something similar to silk threads. But in reality alot of these products don't strengthen the actual nail, they just provide protection for your nail so that they can get strong and healthy on their own and stay protected underneath the layer of polish or silk or whatever.

I have found that lots of calcium really helps keep my nails strong, aka cheese and milk.

Anyhow, STOP BITING THEM. That's the first thing. I bit my nails a LONG time ago for a few years and then got fake nails to stop the habit, gross chomping on a fake nail. And it worked. So maybe you should think about getting fakies for a while to break the habit, THEN doing the natural nail strengthening thing. Just a thought.

Then again I will say that alot of times I don't like fake nails on people who have shorter fingers or short nail beds. aka I didn't really like them on my hands with my shorter nail beds. I think they call attention to the things you may be wanting to hide by getting fake nails. I find that now a very short thin line of nail showing, filed straight with edges rounded, and polished with clear or a pale pink or something is the ultimate in making my hands look nice long term and it flatters my hand shape and nail bed shape. Sometimes I grow them a bit longer but then the maintenance gets tough at times.

Hope this helps...good luck!

Oh and edited to add, like someone else noted, you cannot 'create' the perfect nails that you see elsewhere. You have to work with what you have, your shape of hands, length of fingers, nail bed length etc. You can't really create that much more nail bed than what shows...maybe a tiny bit more with some cuticle attention and pushing them back but you won't magically get long nail beds. I wish!

 

[velouriaL]

Sigh... I guess as with *everything* there are no quick, easy fixes. Oh well. Thanks for the input (and the reality check)! I guess I''ll probably just have to go with the short, clear polish, neatly filed, stubby nailbeds look. I can TRY not to bite them, but I dunno...

I''m pretty weak!

 

[Mara]

Don''t they also have nail polish for nail biters, aka stuff that tastes gross? Maybe try that! I am SO glad I broke that habit when I did...

...little did I know back then!

 

[MrsFrk]

My best friend was a nail biter when we were little.
I remember her mom painting that bitter stuff on her fingers to break her of the habit. She would immediately start chomping away. I would ask "doesn''t that stuff taste bad?" and she would always say "yeah, but it rubs off eventually."
So much for that!

I have naturally very strong nails, but very short nail beds. I really like the look of short (just past the fingertips) groomed nails painted red. Keep the cuticles moisturized (the new growth comes from the cuticle, that''s the area to take special care of)- I rub Solar Oil into my cuticles every night before bed, push them back every day to prevent tearing and hangnails.

Gel nails are a consideration, since you''re such a biter. They too take a while to recover from once you grow them out, but they seem to be less damaging than acrylics, since the nail bed is not abraded before application.
My sister''s MIL is a manicurist, and she only does gels. Basically, she paints on a clear gel (she can do a permanent french also) and then the gel is cured under a UV light.
To my eyes, they look more natural than most acrylics- thinner and clear and shiny. They might work for you, if you can find someone who does them. A lot of places do acrylic with a gel overlay, which is not the same. The gel is trickier to work with compared to the powder/liquid type acrylic.

 

[hlmr]

My suggestion is to get fake nails put on pronto, even if you have tried this in the past (I don't know what is in vogue these days with fake nails).

It doesn't matter if it destroys your nails right now as you are destroying them by biting them! You first need to break the habit - that is first and foremost and calls for drastic measures. Go to a recommended nail salon and ask them to help you out. After having fake nails for several months (and not biting), you may be ready to try your own fragile nails and nurse them back to health with all the wonderful products mentioned.

Good luck!

Heather

edited to add: I just reread this thread and noticed that Mara also went this route - I really think it is the only way to go - to break the habit first because who wants to bite fake nails??

 

[Blue824]

The acrylics is how my best friend stopped her nail biting habits too. She didn''t have them put on long they were shorter, and looked very natural. It does take some upkeep but it worked for her. After you stop the habit, your nails will be weaker where the acrylics were applied, but use strengthening treatments and regular care of your nails and you should be fine when it grows out. Good luck, either way that ring will look beautiful on your hand!!!

 

[saturn]

I tried acrylics, but I started biting again as soon as they were off!
You might be surprised at how your willpower improves now that you know the ring is on its way. Like I said, nothing ever worked for me before, but the motivation to have nice hands for a ring did the trick.
And for the night-time nail biting, try putting masking or scotch tape over your nails. It''s a lot harder to remove in your sleep!
You might try acrylics or gels for the time being, just as a quick-fix.
My grandma always swore by unflavored gelatin for nail strengthening. You drink one packet, dissolved in fruit juice every day, and your nails will get longer and stronger. Not a quick fix, but I just remembered that.

 

[lilyinct]

I would caution against putting on fake nails....I couldn''t grow out my nails last summer- they were peeling, soft, etc.... so I had silk wrap nails put on...and it was the worst thing I did. Those suckers were expensive, it was a pain to go to the salon for hours every other week....and then, the hospital I work for banned fake nails for infection reasons, so I had them removed.

And what a disaster my nails were when they were removed. Thin as paper, soft as butter, and it was so painful putting nail polish on them because they were so thin.

Finally, almost a year later, I have nails again. I tried Nailtiques, Solar Oil, that Neutogena stuff- but the only things that worked for me were Sally Hanson products....the only thing is that they seem to stop being so effective after 2-3 weeks, so I have 3 different "strength" polishes that I rotate.

Good luck!

 

[Morticia]

First - Don''t put fakes on. That stuff is not good for your nails and will only make them weaker.

I was a biter forever. My mom told me I started doing it at age 3 and she tried everything to get me to stop....

Gross.

Anyway, I started using Neutrogena Nail enhancer and it has really helped my nails grow. You use it only once a day and it dries immediately. It''s not a polish but a thin liquid, that supposedly, applies vitamins to your nails. I love it.

The only thing - it doesn''t come in colors. The have pearl sheen and buff.

Try it but you have to be diligent about putting it on once a day!

 

[Sundial]

I agree with AChiOmega''s suggestion of weaning yourself off the nail biting by allowing yourself to only bite one or two nails while the others grow out. I used to be a nail biter and then I limited myself to only my pinky fingers. My other nails grew out so nicely that it finally made it easier to stop chewing those two. I also highly recommend NailTek. That stuff really helps strengthen your nails!

 

[twinkletoes]

well, i still stand on my suggestion to get acrylic or gel put on your natural nails! LOL

they haven''t ruined my nails. but then again, my nails have always been on the thin/brittle side so they always chip and won''t grow out on their own anyways.

if you go the gel/acrylic route just be sure not to rip off the nails yourself if you want to remove them. soak them in acetone (you can find ones formulated specifically for removing acrylics at the drugstore) until they become goopy and gently buff off. then gently buff your own nails and apply 2-3 coats of a nail strengthener like OPI''s Nail Envy.

 

[velouriaL]

Okay, so I bought some cuticle remover and an orange stick. I wanted to get the neutrogena nail enhancer, but they didn''t have it at the two drug stores closest to my house. I think that will be good product for me as it''s not really a polish and I tend to strip the polish off my nails with my teeth--again, gross, I know, but I just can''t really help myself!

I have been trying to bite them lately, having my wisdom teeth removed recently does seem to be helping a little bit.

 

[ame]

That stuff actually kind of comes off in the shower. I bought the shimmery one and it has yet to really grow on me.

I used to get gel overlays and loved them, just got sick of the upkeep. I found NAILENE TITANIUM STRENGTH at Walgreens one day and tried it out, best strengthener ever. I was able to grow my horribly abused nails out really quickly. My nails still grow like weeds and I barely use that stuff anymore.

It''s really quite cheap and was worht it considering I paid out the nose for the Nailtiques stuff.

 

[day_lily_me]

I bit my nails all my life until I was in my 30''s. Finally somehow I managed to quit biting them but they were in horrible shape. I had bitten them until they bled and then I would peel them back layer by layer with my teeth. Just horrible!!!! But as my 25th anniversary approached and I decided to reward myself with a 3 carat diamond, I knew I couldn''t have a diamond that like and let anybody take an even long distant glance at my nails. I decided to go for the acrylics. I went and talked to a salon and showed them my nails. I do not wear my nails long and I get only the overlay - not the tips. I get what they call around here the ''solar pink and white'' and since I wear them short (I do a lot of typing and gardening) they look very natural. Do I like the upkeep? NO!!!! But I would rather go through with the upkeep than not have decent looking nails. My nails don''t look nearly as good as most people''s since my nails beds are short and flat - not the round pretty shape that most people have. Still that ring and diamond was my incentive and now - 14 years later - I''m still at it. I did quit biting them but without the overlay, my nails are paper thin and very brittle. But they would be that way whether I''d had the overlays or not. That''s just the way my natural nails are. Good luck. Let your ring be your inspiration!