Alright so…I feel a little vain I must admit. I have had nail tips for years, and after making the decision to come off them for a few months, I’ve decided to go back and get them again.
Do we have anyone else here who seems to have that same addiction?
I had them for prom, and then went to a horse show the next day and got one ripped off by a young horse, taking my real nail with it. I never had them done again. Same reason I no longer have a belly button ring. One of the balls got hung up in my saddle as I was dismounting. Horse spooked and went one way, I went the other. Three stitches and a huge scar later, I don’t even wear earrings anymore.
I DO like to get the manicure that uses gel (I have no idea what it’s called), but just puts it on your regular nail. No tips or anything like that. It lasts about 2-3 weeks before I have to get it re-done.
ME!!! I have terrible nails- brittle, soft, peeling all the time. They never look nice. I have tried various things- the gel color nails, true “liquid gel” nails that are similar to acrylics, and acrylics. Sometimes I get tips and do French, sometimes I use the gel color over the acrylics. Acrylics are the cheapest and easist for me so I usually get those- usually $25-30 every 2 weeks. I hate spending time getting my nails done but they have been able to withstand barn chores and working with horses, plus my hands look so much nicer for my professional job too.
Don’t feel vein- you are just taking care of yourself in the same manner people get hair cut & colored. I do my hair and nails and that is it- no spas, massages, etc for me. Everyone should do a little something for themselves. Nice hands are sure better to look at than ragged ones too!
I have really gross nails - they flake and have ridges that collect dirt, they break constantly and look ragged and generally ugly. I had gel nails but found that they broke constantly and I was spending a fortune fixing them. I switched to acrylic and found them much better (and cheaper). Supposedly you can get fungal infections but I never had a problem.
Shellac is a great alternative - cheap and less upkeep.
Shellac! That’s what I get!
I used to! I have terrible nails and friends convinced me to go with them to try acrylic nails. I had them for about 3 years (until a fungal infection made me give them a break). Animals loved the good scratching that only fake nails can give. I never had an issue riding horses with them, though. If anything, they might snap one off under a glove while riding or wear through the tips of cloth gloves more easily.
What are shellac nails? Never heard of that.
Me! I too have thin, easy to split/break natural nails and went to gel nails 7 years ago. Used to wear them pretty long until I busted a couple while jumping so now wear them fairly short. Had tried recently to go without them as the appts to get them redone are a pain to accomodate when very busy, but hated my own nails again so much, that I had them put back on. They’re much stronger than my natural nails and look so much neater and more elegant, but yes, it’s a right bitch when you do pop one. Keeping them a reasonable length seems to be key.
Add me to the crappy nails club! I have always had really soft nails that tended to crack, peel and break. Add to that being a nail-biter and having giant man hands, made my hands UUUUUU-GLY! I got gel nails 7 years ago, and I have had them ever since! I am fortunate that I went to high-school with the girl who did mine for grad, and I have been going to her ever since, so I get a “long time client/friends discount”.
She does do mine a little bit thicker than an average client because I am so hard on them. I used to get them fairly short, but now they are quite long and I can’t even remember the last time I broke a nail!
It does take some getting used to, but it’s fairly easy to adapt. I think what makes mine more durable is getting the gel done a wee bit thicker, managing the length, and getting them re-done very regularly. They tend to break more often when they are overgrown vs just long as they aren’t anchored on as well by that point and the leverage is greater on the tip.
[QUOTE=Denzel;7387424]
…getting them re-done very regularly. They tend to break more often when they are overgrown vs just long as they aren’t anchored on as well by that point and the leverage is greater on the tip.[/QUOTE]
This and very true. Since I’m always time starved it seems, I now keep mine shorter because I’m usually later getting them redone than I should be and that is when it’s much easier to pop one.
I am a lifelong nail biter and I think a lifetime of nail biting has caused my nails to be soft and to break easily. I have a job in PR/Communications and I think the bitten nails look very unprofessional, especially because I talk with my hands. I have acrylic nails and I keep them short and as natural looking as possible. They do make my fingers look less filthy after spending the day at the barn.
[QUOTE=arabiansrock;7387391]
What are shellac nails? Never heard of that.[/QUOTE]
It’s not really a type of artificial nail, but more of the material used on your natural nail. It’s a type of nail polish that hardens with UV light. It doesn’t chip as easily as regular polish and the manicures last 10 days - 2 weeks in my experience. The colors are limited but I prefer this type of manicure over gel or acrylic. The preparation doesn’t do a huge amount of damage to your nail, but removing the polish requires soaking the nail in pure acetone for several minutes.
[QUOTE=BetterOffRed;7387513]
I am a lifelong nail biter and I think a lifetime of nail biting has caused my nails to be soft and to break easily. I have a job in PR/Communications and I think the bitten nails look very unprofessional, especially because I talk with my hands. I have acrylic nails and I keep them short and as natural looking as possible. They do make my fingers look less filthy after spending the day at the barn.[/QUOTE]
I agree about them not looking professional. I used to kill my nails - not biting, but just picking and peeling to the point I almost didn’t have any nails at all. Finally got sick of it and overcame that compulsion, grew them out recently, and now they’re starting to look really good. Not as brittle as I thought they’d be, but I also used a hardener for the last few months and that has been a huge help in getting length on them without getting them all torn up. Thinking about getting a shellac to top everything off, we’ll see.
Before I grew them out though, I had acrylics/gel for awhile. Dropped those after a couple of years because I was sick of being treated like a freak at nail salons (due to my uber short nails). So I learned to do my own, and with a $5 box of grocery store glue-on nails and some professional glue, got everything looking pretty. They honestly looked better than the acrylics w/gel that I used to get, because the plastic nails didn’t stand out so high and look obvious, and they’d last for quite awhile when applied correctly with quality glue. And if they popped off it never took the real nail with it, no big deal, just plop a new one on when I get home.
But it’s way nicer having real and decent looking nails now. 
I’ve had acrylics for going on 7 years now. I keep them short and maintain them. The key is to have a great nail technician. The guy I go to now is awesome. Its one thing I do that makes me feel feminine…and the BF loves them, especially when I scratch his back.
For strengthening nails, I swear by: http://hoofalive.com/
Honestly! For some reason, the last few years, winters have gotten so dry, my cuticles crack at the drop of a hat. :no: I rub this in at bedtime, put socks over my hands (DH finally nagged me into plain cotton gloves: http://www.drugstore.com/walgreens-100-cotton-gloves-medium/qxp369804?catid=184296), and it helps tremendously! I’ve had the same 4 oz jar for years, and that’s with handing out to friends along the way.
I gave some to a friend who had tried absolutely everything and it worked miracles on her nails.
Just a thought . . .
I haven’t seen my real nails since 2001 or so.
I get a form of acrylic, then airbrushed french, then gel (the stuff that is cooked on by UV light) over the top. I keep them very short, get compliments constantly, and rarely break. But OMG when they do break its agony. My nail guy could always tell when the horse I leased was going through one of those phases where he stopped at the jumps a lot. It destroyed my thumb nails. He would always have to repair them and would mutter something about “that horse”. God only knows what he said about him in Vietnamese. LOL
[QUOTE=Denzel;7387424]
… but now they are quite long and I can’t even remember the last time I broke a nail!..[/QUOTE]
Now that I jinxed myself, I popped the corner off of a thumb doing up my horse’s open fronts last night! Luckily, that corner had lifted for some odd reason and I didn’t even notice until several minutes later when I looked at my hand!
We all have crappy natural nails because we are HORSE OWNERS! :lol:
Mine always have dirt under them, my hands are always dry and chapped, hangnail/ragged cuticles, you name it.
Look at what our hands deal with!
I used to get mine done, but I too hated taking the time to get them filled, and then if you wait too long they look like crap, and then I realized that $60 a month I was spending on nails could buy horse items!
I use custom nail solutions. They are custom fitted, glue on nails. They stay on anywhere from 1-4 weeks (depending on how fast your nails grow) and you can re-do them at home. They are guaranteed never to chip or break, and you can paint them, wrap them, use shallack or gel polishes, etc. I love them and they pay for themselves compared to acryllics that constantly have to be maintained.
I am amazed at those of you who are able maintain your nails and keep horses. I used to have great nails but simply don’t bother with them any longer. Like Suckerforhorses, my nails are always chipped, dirty and my hands chapped from barn work and riding. Occasionally, I forget to take a nail brush to them before going to court and it is so embarrassing!
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