So I got a LOT of comments about the length (and color stainage) of my nails and I thought I would share my "secrets". First off is what I'm sure people are lost curious about which is what nail strengthener I use, which is Forta by Nail Factory. I SWEAR by this stuff. I've tried several throughout the years including OPI nail envy, Orly Nailtrition, nutrinail products, nail armor and so on and then I tried Forta and have been using it for almost a decade now. I've tried a few other odd ones through our the years but I ALWAYS come back to it. Because it has never let me down.
Now the other stuff. Nail care. I use nail/cuticle oils. I started off with Virgin Coconut oil which I still fall back in from time to time because I love the smell and honestly, you could probably just use coconut oil as the nail oil and be fine, BUT I like using a mix of oils with Jojoba (which is closest to your skins natural sebum), vitamin E, Sweet Almond oil, black castor oil, avocado oil, walnut oil and good ole olive oil. Now I will sometimes lightly buff the surface if I find any peeling and it sometimes help remove some of the staining but not much and I'm not willing to ruin the integrity of my nails just to make them look better.
For nail/cuticle creams, I use plain ivory Shea butter which can help with splitting and peeling and I've been loving this Badger cuticle oil which has a bunch of good stuff in it like bee propolis, ginger oil, chamomile and a few other oils. It also has Shea butter in it. I also like using coco butter from time to time if I have it (it smells like chocolate). If you are vegan/plant based, you can stick with oils and butters and that will work just fine.
Routine; so a couple times a week, I change my polish which involves maintenance; remove polish, wash hands, file/shape, wash again because I can't stand the feeling of nail dust in me 🤢 and then the oils/creams and pushing back the cuticles. Then I paint.
Polish Routine;I start with the nail strengthener, then 2-3 coats of my chosen polish, and then my top coat, which I always go with Salon Perfect because it's the most cost affective, dries pretty fast and lasts long enough for me. ALWAYS WAIT FOR YOUR POLISHES TO DRY COMPLETELY BETWEEN EACH COAT. Something to note is prior to painting, depending on the state of my nails, I also asses my nails for any damage which brings me too 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁
Nail Repair- for nail cracks, I use the silk wrap method with involves nail silks, gel resin and am activator to speed the drying process. I shared what I use but I think they switched up some things in the kitchen because now it's just nail glue instead of resin (I prefer resin because the glue just cracks). This is just what I do. If I have more than 2 broken nails, I just chop them all down and start them over.
I hope this was helpful and answers any questions you might have 🥰 happy growing 💅🏽
by No_Scholar6340