nails...

[nannon]

ok have finally come to the decision to have my acrylic nails taken off after 3 years!! Please can someone reccomend a good nail strengthner/hardner please? I need my nails to look OK ish in about three weeks!! Can't really spend more thann �20 though...
Thanks!

[Sasha13]

Some people may disagree with me, but here's what I'd do (went through a phase of having acrylic/gel nails a while ago). Have them taken off professionally - under no circumstances try to do it yourself (which I think your question implied anyway!). Get a bottle of hand and nail moisturiser and a good cuticle oil and use once a day, massaging into cuticles and nails. I wouldn't bother with any hardeners as it will be good to let your nails breathe after being covered in acrylic for 3 yrs!

[nannon]

do you think? I am just worreid about them being sore - they go paper thin dont they? i know what you mean about letting them breathe though...sometimes they justfeelall grubby and yucky when i really think about it!!! URGH!!!!!
Thanks

[Sasha13]

It depends on the type of acrylic that they use (although acrylic is a little harsher than gel). They shouldn't be sore if you have them taken off professionally - that only happens if part of the nail surface is taken off with the acrylic nail - which also accounts for them going paper thin.

[nannon]

oh ok - what were yours like when they were taken off? Did they make them look nice? Did they cut them really short? The one i have on at the momnet are gel - one fell off the other day and it wasnt too bad underneath - just a bit flaky and the end was very soft!

[Sasha13]

Yeah, the ends might be soft a bit. They didn't do a lot to my nail after they removed mine, so I recommend filing them down so they're quite short otherwise they're likely to split. Looking flaky is normal, although again, having them taken off professionally should minimise this (it happens then the gel nail comes off taking part of the natural nail with it) and the moisturiser should combat it. Also, the ends of the nail should harden a little after a couple of hours so it's worth waiting a little while before filing your natural nails to see how short you should file them.

[nannon]

cool - thanks ever so much for your advice - not so scared to have them taken off now!!!! Going to go tomorrow after work - cant believe i have to pau �10 just to have them taken off mind!!!
Thanks again!

[tiggertan]

Hiya, try Mavala on your nails. It soaks in so they will be able to breath. Just use it once a week, brilliant stuff!

[Sharrazan]

Best product I have used in many, many years is Revlon nail hardener/strenghthener. Around about � 8.00 I think Small blue square type bottle with a white top. Absolutely fantastic product. Told my ex boss about this product after she had removed acrylic nails, and it worked a treat. Keep using it on a regular basis. Hope this is of help.