Nail Polish Addicts Anonymous

HanSpan

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

Right. I'm either going to cry or scream. Cry probably...

Can anyone help? I just don't know what else I can do.

Picture to show you how hideous they look and how badly I need help.

Sorry I've no advice, just sympathy. Yyou poor thing - they look like one slight accident and its going to really hurt Hope someone comes along with help that fixes it for you.

HanSpan

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

Can anyone help me with recommending a ridge filler? My Mum's nails are badly ridged and she'd love them to look nice. So far I have only found a Superdrug own one or one in Boots called 'Save the Nail' which I've never heard of before. Are either of those any good?

I've got a sort of anti recomendation. I bought the buyapowa Seche vite ridge filler & top coat combo and, whilst I love the top coat, the ridge filler isn't really doing it for me. It does fill the ridges somewhat but it also seems to interfere with the polish, particularly up by the cuticles, and seems to be causing faster peeling of my polish. Not a good thing at all!

freyasmum

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

Can anyone help me with recommending a ridge filler? My Mum's nails are badly ridged and she'd love them to look nice. So far I have only found a Superdrug own one or one in Boots called 'Save the Nail' which I've never heard of before. Are either of those any good?

Found it!

Ridges can be caused by trauma (generally one big ridge, and on whichever nail was damaged, or illness (generally if it's visible on all nailplates). I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to remove them completely, but you can lessen their appearance.

They may be buffed with a HIGH grit file - a few times with a cushioned 240/1200 grit file should be sufficient. Remember not to go over an area too many times as you are removing part of the plate. And, depending on the severity of the ridges, don't try to buff all the way so that the ridges disappear completely - just enough to lessen their appearance.

Again, I find CND ridge out to be more than adequate for most people. Perhaps two coats of that and a topcoat if she doesn't want to have colour on all the time.

HanSpan

freyasmum wrote: »

My personal preference is solar oil. It may seem more expensive that a little bottle of whatever the local chemist sells, but it is worth every penny. It's like a little miracle in a bottle. It will also take care of the pterygium that you have on your middle finger, which will be painful if you don't sort it out.

Is the pterygium the bit where the skin is seemingly a bit fused with the nail? I get that - where the cuticle seems to merge into the nail, and I'm forever trying to disengage them and generally just making it hurt, as well as looking a mess! Is this solar oil the answer do you think? My cuticles are constantly a disaster so I'm willing to give it a go.

HanSpan

I've finally added some pictures to an album on facebook that (I think) I've made public. I have more recent pictures to sort and crop and add but I had promised to cheer someone with pictures of my total ineptitude in stamping (can't remember who) so here you go!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245234825585534.50644.100002970554293&type=3

freyasmum

HanSpan wrote: »

Is the pterygium the bit where the skin is seemingly a bit fused with the nail? I get that - where the cuticle seems to merge into the nail, and I'm forever trying to disengage them and generally just making it hurt, as well as looking a mess! Is this solar oil the answer do you think? My cuticles are constantly a disaster so I'm willing to give it a go.

Yep, that's it.

Definitely. I'm not just saying this because I retail it; I only retail it because it actually works. It will keep the skin soft and conditioned and will allow the skin to be moved gently.

When the eponychium (the bit that everyone thinks it cuticle) is healthy, it is able to roll up and off the nail but when it is dry and toughened, the cuticle (the little white bit that grows up your nailplate) keeps a tight hold to it and drags it up over the nailplate. This in turn, thickens the eponychium and fuses it tighter to the nailplate.

You need to keep with it but you will be able to see the difference quickly - within two to three weeks. Once you've used the oil a few times, you may want to try gently - that is the keyword here - pushing back the skin but, whatever you do, don't force it. Let the oil do the work.

Like I said above, if you can stretch to it, the cuticle eraser will also help to remove the overgrowth and keep your nails healthy, but the solar oil is really the best product to get started with.

I'm afraid I can't help you with where to find the cheapest - it'll be a case of looking around to find the best price for yourselves but please do try it


It's also good on burns (non broken skin, obviously :eek:), insect bites, operation scars, as a moisturiser. Like I said, miracle in a bottle

VALM

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

I've tried:
Mavala - that blue liquid
OPI - recommended by everyone but did nothing for me
Avon strong results
Avon peeling and brittleness solver
Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails
Something else I can't remember and have thrown the bottle away..

I also was advised to use cuticle oil several times a day for 3 months. Well 3 months is up and nothing has changed. It is hard to do it several times a day though because I literally don't stop all day at work and it's not something I can do during work time.

*sigh*

starrystarry wrote: »

Good, you've not tried Nailtiques yet, all is not lost

Folk are going to start thinking I'm on commission from Nailtiques, I recommend it so often, but I promise I'm not. It's just my hero product. Your middle and index finger nails look just like mine used to before I discovered Nailtiques.

You need Formula 2. Here's a link to it on Amazon but shop around, you might well find it cheaper elswhere... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nailtiques-Nail-Protein-Formula/dp/B0034EA3BU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1CGBI9Q14ELD1&colid=2L1U1JAN5VWHQ

That's only a small bottle but it would be enough for you to see if it works. Put a coat of it on each day for a week or so, then take it all off an start again. You should see a difference within a couple of weeks. After 2 or 3 weeks of this, just start using it as a base coat under your polish. A bottle lasts me ages and my nails never peel anymore. HTH x

Hi There Goes Trouble. I don't know what to suggest formula wise as I use OPI Nail Envy and it works for me however I also use the Leighton Denny crystal nail file in conjunction with Nail Envy and my nails have never been better. I've recommended it to other people who've also had the same results.

I can't vouch for the product myself but on QVC they sell a product called ProStrong which treats peeling nails. Might be worth having a go and exercising the 30 day Money Back guarantee if it idoesn't work.

freyasmum wrote: »

That is a sign of a nail that needs oil (well, they all do, but this type is in particular need!).

You see, your nails are made up of 100-150 or so different layers of flattened, keratinised cells with some little channels inside. Some of these little channels carry water, the others oil.
When your hands are in water, touching paper, etc it's easy to remove these essential oils and they must be replaced.

My personal preference is solar oil. It may seem more expensive that a little bottle of whatever the local chemist sells, but it is worth every penny. It's like a little miracle in a bottle. It will also take care of the pterygium that you have on your middle finger, which will be painful if you don't sort it out.

I'd recommend that you oil at LEAST twice a day and more when you remember it.

The basics of nail care are what we call 'care, condition, coat'. So, care for them - as you are doing by wearing gloves and keeping them nicely filed; condition them with the solar oil and (if you can stretch to it) some of the CND cuticle eraser - it's like the shampoo and conditioner of the nail world. The AHA remover gently sloughs off the dead cuticle from the nail plate and the solar oil replaces and conditions the plate; and coat - keeping them coated keeps them protected. There is no need to worry about nails 'breathing', or having a rest. It's actually better for them to be covered.

I hope that helps a little


Now, I saw a post on ridged nails.... :think:

Thanks for this great advice. I'm using OPI Avoplex oil at the mo and am not overly impressed. Will give the CND one a go when it runs out.

MulberryPeony

ProStrong works for my nails when they get like that every time. You've just reminded me to use it again! The only other thing that works is salt water from a marine fish tank but that's not clinically proven in any way lol.

Oils wise... I'm not a huge fan personally. I've used Avoplex, solar oil and currently Decleor and they all seem much of a muchness to me (and none of them helped with my peeling). I much prefer balms/creams that keep the moisture in. Sally Hansen used to do a great little apricot coloured pot and things like Liz Earle superbalm were great but I've just started on some L'Occitane cuticle cream. Oh, I didn't much like Lush's Cuticle Butter for some reason.

HanSpan

freyasmum wrote: »

Like I said above, if you can stretch to it, the cuticle eraser will also help to remove the overgrowth and keep your nails healthy, but the solar oil is really the best product to get started with.

Thanks for the advice and info. I've not had much luck with oil in the past but have ordered a little bottle from ebay and will give it a go. Only £2.50 so not too painful to trial it.
CND cuticle remover - there seems to be two options, a blue tube and a bigger white bottle - are they both equally good or is one better? They are both a bit steep so I'm loath to just order and wing it!

chickien_2

Wow, loving all the pictures, seriously jealous of some of those hauls!

Well I tried the whole newspaper print on polish technique, it didn't go well, I must be doing something wrong, it seemed to be so faint and the alcohol seems to affect the polish and make it patchy I might try again in the future, but after several failed attempts am a bit disheartened!

It's seems a day of disappointment was in order, cause I managed to pick up a grey (OPI My Pointe Exactly), not realising it was a jelly. Now I've been after jellies for a long time for sandwiches, but grey really wasn't a top colour on my list. HanSpan, I totally agree with you, the colours in this collection are so sheer, I've got 5 layers of it on at the mo, with a glitter layer in the middle and you can still see my nail underneath! After googling it for ideas, it seems it's a big hit with a lot of other nail addicts, so maybe it with grow on me, but at the moment it's just a bit.....meh!