Why do some polishes leave nails hard & clean/others fragile & stained?!

[finchesca]

Hi

I have naturally very strong and healthy nails. I almost never use nail polish only because this almost always guarantees to turn them into soft pathetic nails which break if you look at them sideways, with gross browny-yellow stains wherever the nail polish touched. It also chips off stupidly fast on my hands, so there's no point.

So, I don't bother using nail polish anywhere except on Summer-time toe nails. Still, when I take it off in Winter so they can recover, they are a disgustingly flaky, soft, yellow-brown mess. Totally gross.

The one exception to this was the time I got my finger nails done professionally. She did all kinds of things to them then used OPI nail colour. It stayed chip-free for a long time and when I took it off my nails were still strong and clean. So I bought some OPI nail polish, including base coat and top coat...

Same icky result. Severely weakened nails and yellow stains!

So what did my manicurist do that prevented the stains and weakening?!

(I can't afford the time or money to have my nails done professionally every week, so I must find good products to use at home.)

Thank you!

 

[RachaelDB]

Im sure a nail tech will possible tell me im wrong but ..
Avoid dark color nail polish. A base coat is a good idea and can prevent staining. If you have the patience, wait for your nails to grow out--usually four to six months. Check the ingredients in nail polish and avoid colors with formaldehyde.

and make sure you leave a gap only small between cuticle and polish and apply cuticle oil

Thats the only thing i can say