topic Re: Nail help needed in Beauty

Nail help needed

ItsME — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:11:26 GMT

HI. I started swimming a couple of months ago, and am now having problems with my nails being soft and breaking. I'm very, very allergic to many things, and can't wear nail polish, but am hoping some of you might have ideas of what I can do to condition them and them them deal with the chlorine. I already take Lessman's HSN.

Thanks!

Re: Nail help needed

qualitygal — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:14:30 GMT

You'd have to research this stuff and see if you can use this but I still, get the nail conditioner from the Q called, TIPS. Best stuff ever for me. Used it for years now.

Re: Nail help needed

CritterKeeper — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:17:38 GMT

Nailtiques had been my saving grace. My nails were breaking and splitting terribly. I started using nailtiques formula 2 and they are so much better. I apply it once a week. It's a bit pricey, but worth it.

Also applying coconut oil after your shower/bath helps with moisture.

I also take biotin suppliments (due to thining hair) but it seemed to help my nails, as well.

Good luck! :-)

Re: Nail help needed

ChynnaBlue — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:39:26 GMT

Normally I'd recommend Nailtiques, but that's a treatment polish, so if you can't use polish, that won't work for you.

Unfortunately, a nail's worst enemy is water, even without chlorine. Water alone weakens nails. You might want to try rubbing a cuticle oil into the nail and cuticles before AND after you swim, as well as before bed. That may help prevent some of the damage.

You might also look into Dermanail, a treatment that isn't a polish and goes directly on the nail plate. It takes months to really show effect, but it might help. I would use that at night before bed and before using the cuticle oil again. You can buy Dermanail from Amazon.

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 20:03:26 GMT

Thanks! i remember TIPS from a long time ago. I'll check it out.

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 20:04:58 GMT

Thanks @CritterKeeper. I'll look into both, but the oil might be a better bet with my sensitivities. I can only imagine how bad my nails would be now if I wasn't taking Lessman's HSN!

Re: Nail help needed

tedEbear — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 20:07:30 GMT

You might try KNOX gelatin, in the baking section. It has been used for years as a nail and hair growth help, along with all types of baking.----------tedEbear

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 20:09:14 GMT

@ChynnaBlue, thank you. I'll check out teh Dermanail. The water isn't so great for hair either! I got back into the pool because I hurt my back a couple of months ago. It's great for the body, just not the exterior! I've been doing the breaststroke to preserve my hair, but yesterday I just wet my hair down with tap water first, and went for a real swim. It was so great! I'll probably end up pretreating my hair in some way, as well as my nails. It just can't be too obvious to those around me, or I'll be banned from the pool.

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 20:10:25 GMT

@tedEbear, I remember KNOX! Haven't thought about it in years. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

Re: Nail help needed

emma bunting — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 22:23:55 GMT

Try applyng Solar Oil a few times a day to your nails and cuticles. I swear by this stuff!

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 02:34:15 GMT

@emma bunting... I never heard about Solar OIl. I'll check it out. Thanks!

Re: Nail help needed

juperier — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 06:26:11 GMT

@ItsME A few thoughts I had from what knowledge I already and a a bit of VERY surface level research:

First, allergies are to a specific ingredient or ingredients in a product (not the actual brand)
The strengtheners/hardeners such as Nailtiques 2 can be helpful, but there is some overlap of ingredients with those frequently found in regular nail polish. Also, using them excessively or for too long a period can make your nails too hard and brittle resulting in peeling and/or breakage once the free edge when the nail plate grows past the end of the nail bed.
I've found that Solar Oil works very well on my nails. However, it does contain almond oil. From a very brief online search, it appears that applying almond oil to the skin may not always be an issue for those with nut allergies. But I'd certainly check that out with your physician or allergist.
A well-formulated nail oil product is probably the best you can do since you can't protect your nails with polish. Personally, I'd avoid all the lovely scents that they are now available in tho. Fragrances could easily be the cause of a reaction.
Bottom line is that you need to check the ingredients of any product you decide to try and follow the product instructions. If the product is designed to only go on the nails, then avoid getting it on the surrounding skin (that's one cause of development of sensitivities, or allergies, even for those of us who are not particularly sensitive).

Re: Nail help needed

ChynnaBlue — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 14:18:25 GMT

@ItsME wrote:
@ChynnaBlue, thank you. I'll check out teh Dermanail. The water isn't so great for hair either! I got back into the pool because I hurt my back a couple of months ago. It's great for the body, just not the exterior! I've been doing the breaststroke to preserve my hair, but yesterday I just wet my hair down with tap water first, and went for a real swim. It was so great! I'll probably end up pretreating my hair in some way, as well as my nails. It just can't be too obvious to those around me, or I'll be banned from the pool.

Do you wear a swim cap? I know no one likes them, but they do help. You can pretreat your hair, put it up in the cap, and hopefully prevent more damage.

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 15:01:53 GMT

@juperier Thank you so much for your thoughtful answer!

Nut allergies run in my family.... Several people are severly allergic. I don't have an allergy to them, but they do give me migraines. I could probably use the oil, but may stay away from it out of caution.

Fragrances are also bad for me. I stay away from most of them.

This is probably going to be hit or miss, and will take some time to figure out. I'll start by using some EVOO and jojoba oils that I have in the house while I try to figure it out.

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 15:07:07 GMT

@ChynnaBlue wrote:
Do you wear a swim cap? I know no one likes them, but they do help. You can pretreat your hair, put it up in the cap, and hopefully prevent more damage.

I don't, but I'm considering it. I have Kendi oil, which I pretreated with today. Not obvious to the people in the pool, but hopefully helping to protect my hair!

Re: Nail help needed

Fressa — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 15:07:26 GMT

I've had that problem and have very sensitive skin and a ton of allergies. Here's what works for me:

T.I.P.S. ---cuticile oil but you rub it all around and over your nail. Restores your nail

A.S.K.--nail polish conditioning remover. This does not dry out your nail bed. If you use any polish, or treatment getl that needs removed this works great.

Perfect Forumul nail gel- one or two coats to protect and restore your nails. This really worked for me. It's not like a polish but a treatment. It lasts and lasts.

Pro Strong nail polish and/or nail treamtment line-- This line has both the polish and a variety of treatments for specifics problems. You just brush on your treatment and it is absorbed into your nail. Nothing eles is needed. There are quite a few to choose from on QVC and the Pro Strong website. I used the nail strengthener and saw results. The kits are nice to try a few of the products to see what is specific tor your needs.

If I had to pick two items it would be the TIPS and Pro Strong nail strengther. (The nail strenthener is not a polish or oil. It looks like water but it's not)

Make sure you have a good crystal nail file. This really makes a difference once you start to get some growth in your nails.

Re: Nail help needed

juperier — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 15:28:28 GMT

@ItsME I wrote a couple of fairly long posts regarding the info in Doug Schoon's recent subscription video regarding various oils used in cosmetics over in "Nail polish threads."

You're looking for posts 2665 and 2667. This link is to the start of the thread. (I have things configured so that way more than the normal number of messages show up on each page, thus don't think linking to the page the posts are on would work.)

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 19:00:46 GMT

@Fressa Thank you so much! I'll do have a crystal file, and will check into the products. I appreciate your help.

Re: Nail help needed

ItsME — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 19:02:16 GMT

@juperier Thanks again! I really appreciate your time and knowledge! ...And I have a lot of research to do!

Re: Nail help needed

juperier — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 11:50:56 GMT

@ItsME I enjoy sharing what I've learned. It's kind of sad, but there is a great deal of partially true and even very inaccurate and outdated info being shared as fact. I feel very lucky to have come in contact with Doug Schoon. He has not only the background education, but the ability to analyze, interpret and apply information.

You might find this article interesting:

http://www.hooked-on-nails.com/avoidingskinallergies.html

Some examples of false "facts":

http://www.nailcarehq.com/huffington-post-false-nail-info/

If you want to explore nail info in depth, you might want to check out the textbook Doug wrote: Nail Structure and Product Chemistry, Second Edition. Unfortunately, as a textbook, it's on the pricey side. So maybe check out your local library?