Going from Brittle to Strong Nails (Nail Biter Perspective)

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while now. In my early teens I never used to give a damn about how my nails looked. I was a nail biter for so many years – let me think… maybe 8 years I believe. Almost everyone in my family shared this bad habit with picking and biting their nails. I would bite my nails when I was bored, stressed, worried and more. But for the last four years I’ve managed to stop this bad habit and I’m so happy I did. So, let me share my tips with you on how I got strong & long nails, especially from a ex-nail biter perspective.

Keep your fingers out your mouth!

If you put your fingers in your mouth, you’ll most likely bite your nails. So, keep them out! I know this is the hardest part, but this is the major first step. If you don’t have the will power to go cold turkey, you can actually get a quite cool product. It’s a polish you apply to your nails, that has a yucky taste to it. Whenever you put your finger in your mouth, you’ll immediately stop as the taste is quite bad. I did try this out and it was effective. The only problem is you won’t be able to eat with your fingers as the taste will transfer to your mouth. I eat lots of things with my fingers, so I went cold turkey and left the yucky polish on my shelf. Lots of brands makes such product, but the one I tried was by Mavala.

Oil them up

I never knew applying oils to my nails could make such a big difference. Honestly I feel the oil keeps my cuticles and my nails moisturized. You know how your nails can “peel”, where they get split into layers if that makes sense. Well the oil helps me prevent just that and I can see the difference when I skip this part. Now the question is what oil should you get? My answer to that is it doesn’t matter… Well in my opinion it doesn’t. I switch out my oils constantly and I don’t need to purchase any fancy, expensive oil. I just use whatever I have on hand – Almond, Argan, Jojoba oil… Whatever you prefer.

The miracle worker

I already know how many nail hardeners that are out there and let me tell I’ve tried a bunch. I’ve also even tried DIY home remedies, which haven’t worked for me either. The one I’ve tried that has been amazing has been this one by Quimica Alemana. It’s from Colombia and is the best nail hardener I’ve ever tried. But there is a twist with this one…

It’s quite strong! You have to be very cautious when you’re using this for the first few times. You only need a very thin layer and I only recommend doing one layer. I did a slightly thick layer the first time and within 15 minutes by nail beds felt sore, even the next day they felt sore. I’m not trying to scare anyone off with this product, because it’s been doing wonders for my nails, I’m just telling you to be cautious when using this and maybe even skip it if your nails are very damaged or sensitive. I buy mine on ebay on this link here.

Be consistent!

I think most of you probably think of this step as obvious. But it’s an important step, that is worth the mention. Being consistent with this nail care routine have done wonders for my nails. If I don’t take care of my nails properly, I start noticing that they don’t look as “polished” as usual and I also notice them getting more brittle and are more prone to breakage.

Show love

Try just taking out 10-15 minutes out of your schedule and give your nails a pamper session. If your nails are getting too long, for your own liking, cut them down a bit, push back your cuticles, maybe apply a rich, hydrating hand cream. Taking care of your nails doesn’t have to consume much more time then 15 minutes a week, unless you want it to.

Patience is key

The process from going from weak & soft nails to achieving strong nails takes time! Sometimes we can get very eager and get frustrated when we don’t get fast results. Your nails will probably break several times as they won’t grow strong immediately. In my experience my nails would get long quite fast, but they were so soft and of course, they would break and chip. So, just be patient.

These are the key steps that I’ve incorporated to my nail routine to getting the strong and long nails I have today. I’m sure there are other tips as well that some people can recommend, but these are just the ones that have worked well for me and that doesn’t require me to spend a bunch of money. Do let me know if you have other great tips that have worked for you.

– Noreen