Hi Goddesses
A totally different kind of post for you today :)
The last few weeks have been very frustrating for me. It seems I have gone from robust nail health to break after break after break, and my everlasting nail split is back with a vengeance. Not only that, when my nails have broken, they have well and truly broken. Salvagable length? Oh no no no no no no! Below the quick. Owch and WTF!? Lol.
Before we get into what's gone wrong, let's survey the damage. I am a rare blogger in that I use both paws for my manis. I find it saves me time. It also means that usually, I can hide breaks from my readers, because if I get a break on one hand, I sill have a good one left. Make sense?
Anyway, on my left hand, the index finger has, over the last 3 years, had a split in it that will NOT grow out. It'll be fine, and then all of a sudden, a crack like an underwater chasm will open and travel down to below the quick.
You can see in the photo how low the damage goes. There is no hiding it, or working round it, but if you've spotted a weird nail shape recently on the left paw, that'll be why. I've done silk wraps in the past, and I'm currently trying Orly's Nail Rescue to try and help it grow out.
Then there's its next door neighbour, the middle left. No sooner had I done my amazing rose mani, than my nail broke. Cos of the art, I didn't realise how low the break was - not until I'd trimmed the nail and realised there was still a massive flappy bit! Grrrr. Below the quick. Nice. No manis for lefty for a while.
So the right hand then. Oh, except a couple of weeks ago, I managed to grate a great big chunk off it when I was making cucumber salad. Grated? Yup. The kitchen is a deadly place for my nails, but the exent of the break was worrying. Rather than a chip, a slope with the incline of an Alp developed. Yup, bottom edge of it WELL below the quick, no hope but plasters. Not even nail glue helped this bugger!
So what the hell is going on ? Well, my nails seem to be helpless all of a sudden, chained to a track and waiting for the train to decimate them. They are peeling more, chipping more (don't even get me started about how they are refusing to be square and knocking little triangles off the sides every chance they get) .... so what's the deal?
Well, I've always had peely nails, and for 18 months, I used OPI Nail Envy religiously. RELIGIOUSLY. Every single mani. My nails grew stronger, and after many months, even the everlasting split got bored and healed itself. Lately however, as a glitter whore, I've been obsessed with PVA glue and peeling off my glitters every night, and THAT I think, is where the damage has been done.
I'm not actually blaming the PVA, although I was always worried whether it would harm the nail in the way that peeling off normally applied polish could (for the record, I really don't think it does, as it doesn't fluff up the nail surface when you peel it off). However, by enslaving myself to the PVA I accidentally stopped feeding my nails the Nail Envy, and now, admittedly 5-ish months later, I'm seeing the results.
My nails are pretty much how they used to be before I became a polishaholic. Whereas until recently they felt tough as granite if you pressed on them, now they feel bendier, less hardcore. They keep peeling, every day there's a nick, and as I mentioned above, they despise the square shape I'm trying to get them in, so they're using this current disaster to chip their sides off.
So my nails are now on intensive therapy :) Back to the Nail Envy, and I'm also trying Duri Rejuvacote. Hopefully in a few weeks they'll be stronger.
I'm not sure I can totally ditch the PVA though. I have sooooo many glitters, and this last week, when I have absolutely avoided the PVA has reminded me of the hell that is glitter removal.
So, there's my cautionary tale. If you have issues with your nails, beware changing your nail care routine too much. Admittedly, I'm sure you won't be PVA-ing everyday (or more, at the weekend) as I was, but if you know your nails are a mess without a certain product - DON'T DITCH THAT PRODUCT.
Me, meanwhile, well it's all crafty photo angles and 4-finger right hand manis lol.
Enjoy - and take care of your nails! xx
