long time wearers of gel or acyrilic nails

AmanitaM

moneylover wrote: »

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Have had recommendations for 10-15 miles away, too far though

I travelled a bit further than that to mine. The good ones are worth it considering the potential damage a bad one can do.

moneylover

interesting post about not using handcreams with AHAs etc - had just bought the night hand cream from Boots no7 which is full of the stuff - will have to keep it away from nails
from those people on here who are experts, any suggestions re handream - cheap or expensive!
Also, what does the cuticle oil do - just soften the cuticles - not strengthen the naail in any way?
I have loved this thread thanks everyone for advice

freyasmum

moneylover wrote: »

Freyasmum
I have been re reading your post and it answers questions that basically I have asked of people for years. I think it should be a sticky on this board. I am going to pass it on to several peoople I know at work who also struggle with their nails.
I want to comment and ask a little bit more but its nearly 2am....so I will post again in the next day or so
Two immediate question though- if its down to the matrix and this makes complete sense (I have my mothers nails- all ten of them) I can see how covering the nail can help but what does the cuticle oil do since it cannot soak into the nail? I think someone may have explained that but I have forgotten and I do like to know why I am doing something or why something happens, which is why your posting is such a blessing.
Secondly, I was using for a while a hardener that was helpful a bit. I think it was Sally Hansens Miracle cure but am not sure as have used so many and I got the whitening, flaking on the nails and they felt a little bit like sandpaper similaar to the poster above. It didnt notice with the hardener on but I stopped using it as I thought of it as damage. It disappeared quite quickly it didnt have to grow out. So was that actually not harmful?
Nailtieques 2 which I use now doesnt have that effect and does help but my nails still 'catch' all the time and soon break once they get beyond a little bit of white at the top of the nail.

Aww, I'm glad you found the info useful

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the thread - I've been so busy with work that my friends have had to make an appointment with me to see me

To explain how/what the (solar) oil does, we'll need to get down to a molecular level. Imagine, if you will, a big box full of basketballs - these represent the size of the molecules of the nail, and also of the l&p/gel coatings - and then imagine pouring a little bag of ball bearings (solar oil) into the bigger box. The miniscule solar oil molecules reptate down through the nail plate/coatings in the same way that the ball bearings would through the basketballs.

There are various little channels through the nail plate, some water-loving, others which carry the oil. Every single time you wash your hands with soap and water, you remove these natural oils and dehydrate the nail plate. If it helps, think of your hair: you wouldn't wash it three times a day with soap and water and then not use conditioner, you would try to replace as much of the lost oil as possible. Your hair/nails are composed of the same protein..

Also, if you're thinking about having a coating applied, the solar oil will firstly help to plasticise it and will then help to improve the longevity by keeping the nail nice and flexible; it won't let the plastic dry out and become brittle - it's a bit like leaving a plastic toy out in the sun for a while, it becomes much more prone to shattering. So it will help prevent breakages which will cost more money at your maintenance appointments.


I'm not 100% sure of the formula of every nail strengthener/hardener out there, however many of them use formaldehyde which actually make the nail become brittle and, again, prone to shattering. Without seeing what you're describing, it's difficult to say for 100% certainty but it does sound like dehydration. It's not harmful, but using your oil would certainly have helped prevent it - and I mean regularly, not just every third day or so

What you're describing with the nailtiques sounds like it's making your nails become brittle. I'd recommend the oil, and finding another nail strengthener - or having a coating applied.

freyasmum

Lucy_Lastic wrote: »

Freyasmum,

Thank you for such a comprehensive answer! Seems that the people I have been going to don't know what they are doing!

To remove the gel my nails were soaked in acetone (or the salon version) in a bowl for well over 10 minutes. One of the girls actually told me that sometimes it can take as long as 40 minutes!

My friend had pads soaked in acetone applied and wrapped in foil. She had the same result as me - white flaky nails. Neither of us ever had our nails buffed.

I use cuticle oil every night, my friend never does.

I also tried Minx on my toe nails without success. As soon as I wore my sandals the little toe minx came off (twice). Is is only good for flip flop wearers? Is is better for fingers than toes?

Proper protocol for shellac removal is to use the supplied remover (which is the finest grade acetone that you can get - I've heard of some using industrial grade acetone from a hardware store :eek:) and then wrap the nails up in the CND wraps. It will come off perfectly after 10 minutes. There is no way that CND shellac will take 40 minutes to remove!?

However, if I had a pound for every time some halfwit thought they could get away with cutting corners! :wall:

Because shellac is so well publicised, people have jumped on the bandwagon and are selling their own gel polishes (which shellac is not) as shellac. Or, worse still, they use fake products!

Finally, because shellac is so incredibly easy to apply, you only need to have a manicure certificate to purchase it. Taking the courses that are available is NOT mandatory. Therefore, we have loads of people that just don't bother - even though the classes explain the exact application/removal techniques. We then have x amount of people who don't have a clue how to do the service properly, or who think they can get away with misleading the public.

A good way of telling how long minx will last is to see how long regular polish stays on the nails. It will give, at an absolute maximum, a week on the fingernails but could last until it grows out on the toenails. Again, it depends on exactly how the nail plate has been prepped before application.

freyasmum

moneylover wrote: »

interesting post about not using handcreams with AHAs etc - had just bought the night hand cream from Boots no7 which is full of the stuff - will have to keep it away from nails
from those people on here who are experts, any suggestions re handream - cheap or expensive!
Also, what does the cuticle oil do - just soften the cuticles - not strengthen the naail in any way?
I have loved this thread thanks everyone for advice

The handcreams with AHAs are fine - they're just there to exfoliate. It's the mineral oils you need to avoid (Sue, I'm sorry! It was quite late when I posted that Nevertheless, the lanolin is not really a skin-friendly ingredient.) as they don't actually moisturise. They lubricate and provide a barrier, but they don't moisturise.

The solar oil, as well as replacing the natural oils lost can help shrink back any eponychium (the bit that everyone thinks is cuticle) that has grown up the nail plate a bit.

On the cuticle/eponychium note - never, ever let anyone cut your 'cuticles' :eek: The eponychium is the living tissue that surrounds the nail plate; it's there as a seal to prevent any nasties getting into the matrix, so if you cut it you can introduce infection - not to mention that it will grow back thicken and callused in order to provide the protection that has been removed. The cuticle, on the other hand, is the dead, white tissue that is pulled up the nail plate by the nail cells as the grow up from the matrix - THIS should be removed or the coatings won't adhere, but not with nippers. You only need a tiny dab of cuticle remover and a cuticle pusher/curette. No cutting required. I think I already said that but it's late - and it's a piece of info more than worth repeating

freyasmum

oopsadaisydoddle wrote: »

Freya'smum - great post but I disagree with the bit about nails needing to rest. I'm not saying everyone is the same but Ive found my nails seem much stronger if I leave them natural for 24 after removal of shellac. I'm not saying this is the shellac though, more the acetone used to remove.

The thing to remember is that, were it to really be bad for the nails we wouldn't remove and reapply straight away in the salon. We would advise a few days off, etc. Afterall, a good technician is there to enhance and protect the nails, not chop them up and ruin them. It'd be bad for business

Your nails seem stronger after a little while because they have completely dried out, they've gone back to their normal state. However, by the time that we are ready to reapply the shellac, after we've done our pep/etc, the nails have also returned to normal. So, yes, it is true that nails seem a bit softer after having had their coating removed but this is, as you say, due to the soaking in solvents (bear in mind here that water is a solvent, so soaking in water does just as much softening as the soaking in acetone does.). It is why I don't soak in water during normal manicures for more than 2 minutes or so - and I wouldn't do it at all, but some of the elder clients don't feel like they've had a mani otherwise!

The cuticle pusher, even if plastic can still do a slight damage to the surface of the nail plate. Because it's in a softer state than normal, it's much easier to rough it up and remove cells that shouldn't be removed.

AmanitaM wrote: »

I travelled a bit further than that to mine. The good ones are worth it considering the potential damage a bad one can do.

Couldn't agree with this more.

Honestly, a good tech is more than worth her weight in gold.

moneylover

Freyasmum you are a miracle!!!! This is a bible on nailcare you are providing!
At the moment one little question - am using the oil but should it go all over nail - and what to do about poor unprotected backs of nails?
I actually think the nailtiquies is the best thing of all that I have used so far, it was the previous Sally H stuff that had adverse effect. But, will have my holiday, we are going to South Africa lucky us and then think about what to do next. Will pack the oil!!
Thanks again!