Getting off to a good start!

Achieving damage-free nails

The fastest way to achieve long, strong, naturally beautiful nails is to start with nails that are damage-free.  Start by shortening your nails using clippers or nail scissors to remove all visible damage and then file all exposed nail edges smooth.  Your nail is dead tissue, therefore it cannot repair itself.  Damage in your nail will always “run” further down into the nail.  The longer the nail is, the faster the damage runs.  It is better to lose all damaged length now, at the beginning, so that you are starting with healthy tissue.  Attempting to preserve any of your nail’s length that has damage in it will lead to disappointment and delayed results due to constant breakage.

If the damage is below where it can be cut out, i.e. if it runs into the pink “quick” area of your nail bed, keep that nail as short as possible and maintain regular filing until all the damage has grown out.  When there is no damage left, THEN allow your nails to grow in length.

Regularly check all exposed edges of your nails by running the edge of one nail over the edges of your other nails.  Feel and look for any “nicks”, “catches”, roughness or damage on the exposed edges of your nails.  Immediately file smooth any damage found in order to prevent further “running” of the damage into your healthy nail tissue.

Never buff, shine or file the top surface of your nails, as such actions irritate the cuticles and remove the hardest, protective layer on the top of the nails.  Bear in mind that the outer, or top surface layer of your nail, is denser.  It is designed to be tougher in order to protect the inner layers.  Buffing, shining or filing this protective layer away will leave the nail unprotected.  Exposing unprotected layers of nail tissue to the environment weakens the nail structure, leading to damage and breakage.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for taking the time to read this post.  Lisa