Repairing damaged nails

[Enhanced-Barbie]

Ok so my natural nails seem to be suffering from a little bit of onycolisis, it's not really bad or anything, but in my attempts to let them heal it seems to be encorouging it to become worse.

So what I have done so far, is putting some of that antibacterial cream (I think its called canasten?) so that I don't get any kind of fungus, and putting solar oil on. I have kept them natural until they are 100% but so far its not happening.

I have read somewhere that tea tree oil was good, so I got a bottle of one that says it is an essential oil blend, is this right? Or am I supposed to get one that is pure or something? I havent tried it yet, and wont until I am sure I have the right one.

Would it be effective to put some of the tea tree oil into some warm water and soak my nails in it and then manicure them gently?

Should I still use the canasten and solar oil? In all honesty Im starting to wonder if the solar oil I have is actually causing the problem, because whenever I use it it gets a little worse, but then I think to myself that that is a silly idea. But I sometimes use the rose oil instead and my eponytrium and nails seem to react better to it.

Any advise is greatly appreciated

 

[grafxgal]

Canasten is an antifungal cream not bacterial, and the chances of getting a fungal infection in your finger nails is rare, it can happen but it is rare.
How short are you keeping the nails? Its best to shorten the nails as much as you can. Someone suggested to do a warm oil soak, might be worth giving it a try, only once a week though.
Oh and I wouldn't use the canasten with the solar oil. Try the solar oil just by itself, and see if that helps. Gently goes with everything, from massaging the oil in to buffing, infact I would most likely not buff at all just to see if that makes a difference aswell. HTh

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

Canasten is an antifungal cream not bacterial, and the chances of getting a fungal infection in your finger nails is rare, it can happen but it is rare.
How short are you keeping the nails? Its best to shorten the nails as much as you can. Someone suggested to do a warm oil soak, might be worth giving it a try, only once a week though.
Oh and I wouldn't use the canasten with the solar oil. Try the solar oil just by itself, and see if that helps. Gently goes with everything, from massaging the oil in to buffing, infact I would most likely not buff at all just to see if that makes a difference aswell. HTh

Thanks heaps for your advise Sheryl, appreciated as always
Oh yup antifungal was what I meant :smack: lol duh
Im keeping them short, just a fraction pasted my finger tips, and I haven't buffed them or anything for ages. Im trying to get them healthy again before I start working on them as usual, but what I have tried so far just doesn't seem to have worked.
I will try the warm oil soak, and since my solar oil is almost run out I will start using my 'seacret' cuticle oil, just so I can keep the products consistent during treatment.

So this is the plan so far:

Warm tea tree oil nail bath once a week and cuticle oil twice a day, with no buffing.

 

[VHunter]

I also wouldn't soak your hands in water. Water will further dehydrate them and rob them of their natural oils.

Keep oiling them.
Keep them short.
Wear gloves whenever possible.


hth's

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

I also wouldn't soak your hands in water. Water will further dehydrate them and rob them of their natural oils.

Keep oiling them.
Keep them short.
Wear gloves whenever possible.


hth's

Thanks for your advise

So if I don't soak in water, how do I get the tea tree oil on? I know I could just rub it on the top, but I thought it would work best if it got under my nails and into the lifted bits too?

They are nice and short, also nice and strong

 

[Bev Rose]

Thanks for your advise

So if I don't soak in water, how do I get the tea tree oil on? I know I could just rub it on the top, but I thought it would work best if it got under my nails and into the lifted bits too?

They are nice and short, also nice and strong

If you have pure tea tree oil, you could add a few drops into your bottle of Solar Oil.

You need to keep the nail free edge as short as possible to as to avoid it having any kind of general pressure on it, like leverage - bending the nail away from the nail bed - then regularly apply your oil.
I would not soak, buff or file it in anyway. Just keep it mega short & oiled.
xxx

 

[NoLimitNails]

How about a clear nno? kept as short as possible.
My pinkie-nails always suffer from a little onycolisis when I don't have anything on them. As soon as it's overlayed, it stops seperating and grows back to normal...

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

How about a clear nno? kept as short as possible.
My pinkie-nails always suffer from a little onycolisis when I don't have anything on them. As soon as it's overlayed, it stops seperating and grows back to normal...

Thats interesting, I have a feeling that mine are reacting to a product I am using on them, so I am trying to keep them as natural as possible until they are fixed then I can hopefully work out what it is by using an elimination process.

 

[NoLimitNails]

Yes then a nno wouldn't be any help:green:
Hope you find out what it is.... by any chance you are not pollen-allergic or allergic to nuts? (have an aunt who's seriously allergic to nuts and cannot use solar oil at all!) but just a thought....

 

[fintouch]

Lavender base by Bio gel is very good just paint it on your nail and let it repair.

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

Hmm no I've never been allergic to anything, always been healthy as, and USUALLY have awesome natural nails (great C-Curves, reasonably long nail beds, strong and never had a problem growing them) but ever since I let students work on them they have been crap (that includes myself when I was a student I guess, although I was always very careful).

I don't know why they keep lifting still though, because I haven't had acrylics on them since around xmas time, and they weren't that bad then, but each of them seem to be having turns at lifting.

I tried soaking them in some warm water with tea tree oil in tonight (I know its taken me ages, but I've been so flat out I havent had time for myself lately), then I gently manicured them, and gave them a buff and some cuticle oil so they are looking alot better, but I'm just hoping that is going to encorouge them to heal, ill try and do it once a week, with cuticle oil twice a day.

It's horrible, I've never ever had problems with my nails before, and all I ever did before was polish and art, no oil or buffing or anything, and they were perfect!

 

[geeg]

You say in your title that your nails are damaged. What kind of damage are we talking about? Overbuffing damage, over filing damage?

If it is filing damage then your nails will have been thinned out in various places and in various degrees of severity. As the damaged part of the nail hits the free edge, this is where the onycholysis will start to happen ... it may ge better for a while as a stronger part of the nail grows into the grooves, only to separate again when a thin part hits the area. It may take months for the last bit of damage to reach the free edge and grow out.

TIME is all you need and patience and daily Solar Oil or your tea tree. You do not need an anti fungicide as well. To get a fungal infection on fingers is quite rare actually.

If the onycholysis has not been caused by damage then I would go see a podiatrist who is the expert and find out what is causing the condition.

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

You say in your title that your nauls are damaged. What kind of damage are we talking about? Overbuffing damage, over filing damage?

If it is filing damage then your nails will have been thinned out in various places and in various degrees of severity. As the damaged part of the nail hits the free edge, this is where the onycholysis will start to happen ... it may ge better for a while as a stronger part of the nail grows into the grooves, only to separate again when a thin part hits the area. It may take months for the last bit of damage to reach the free edge and grow out.

TIME is all you need and patience and daily Solar Oil or your tea tree. You do nopt need an anti fungicide as well. To get a fungal infection on fingers is quite rare actually.

If the onycholysis has not been caused by damage then I would go see a podiatrist who is the expert and find out what is causing the condition.

Thanks for your reply Gigi, that gives me a bit of hope.

But my nails are as thick and strong as they were before I started having acrylics (I only started when I started training) They were thinner and bendy before they started lifting, but now they are very strong as usual. Could that still mean it is caused by damage? They seem to be going through stages, they may look totally healthy and fine, then they will just start lifting. They haven't endured a heavy handed tech since August last year so is it normal for the damage to last this long?

I know that when I had my nails done by my workmate, in January last year, she used tips which were too small (she told me thats what you should do because its more attractive) but I have read that that can cause onycholysis, so could that have caused prehaps permanant damage?

I would have thought that any of those things would have been healed by now, and because its only been recently that it has been a bit worse, I presumed it was something I was doing to my nails now, which is just lightly manicuring with solar oil.

So basically, do you think that any of those things could be the problem now? If not I guess it's off to the dr I go.

 

[geeg]

I would seek some expert advice if I were you.

With a more complete picture now of what has gone on, it does not sound like damage from nail techs. Something else is happening here.

You haven't used a drill to do any 'cleaning' under the free edge have you? Or been poking around under the free edge with an implement or anything? (these 2 things are a number 1 cause of onycholysis by breaking the seal between the free edge and the nailbed).

I wonder if you are doing too much to your nails in the way of kindness and exacerbating the problem when tou should probabaly leave well alone??

Thanks for your reply Gigi, that gives me a bit of hope.

But my nails are as thick and strong as they were before I started having acrylics (I only started when I started training) They were thinner and bendy before they started lifting, but now they are very strong as usual. Could that still mean it is caused by damage? They seem to be going through stages, they may look totally healthy and fine, then they will just start lifting. They haven't endured a heavy handed tech since August last year so is it normal for the damage to last this long?

I know that when I had my nails done by my workmate, in January last year, she used tips which were too small (she told me thats what you should do because its more attractive) but I have read that that can cause onycholysis, so could that have caused prehaps permanant damage?

I would have thought that any of those things would have been healed by now, and because its only been recently that it has been a bit worse, I presumed it was something I was doing to my nails now, which is just lightly manicuring with solar oil.

So basically, do you think that any of those things could be the problem now? If not I guess it's off to the dr I go.

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

I would seek some expert advice if I were you.

With a more complete picture now of what has gone on, it does not sound like damage from nail techs. Something else is happening here.

You haven't used a drill to do any 'cleaning' under the free edge have you? Or been poking around under the free edge with an implement or anything? (these 2 things are a number 1 cause of onycholysis by breaking the seal between the free edge and the nailbed).

I wonder if you are doing too much to your nails in the way of kindness and exacerbating the problem when tou should probabaly leave well alone??

There are definately no drills involved, I have never even touched a drill, or had one used on me. All I have been doing to my nails since the beginning of the year is painting them (probably about twice) and lightly manicured them about 3 times, and thats just using CND cuticle remover, a light buff and solar oil. Most of the time I just leave them alone because I figured that the less I play with them the more they can heal themselves.

Edit: I forgot the canasten cream that I used during those 3ish manis, dont want to sound like a liar lol.

Thanks for your advice Gigi, I think we have worked out that it is something more than what I origionally thought, so I will see someone about it when I can.

 

[geeg]

There are definately no drills involved, I have never even touched a drill, or had one used on me. All I have been doing to my nails since the beginning of the year is painting them (probably about twice) and lightly manicured them about 3 times, and thats just using CND cuticle remover, a light buff and solar oil. Most of the time I just leave them alone because I figured that the less I play with them the more they can heal themselves.

Thanks for your advice Gigi, I think we have worked out that it is something more than what I origionally thought, so I will see someone about it when I can.

Just trying to cover all the bases :lol: you never know unless you ask right?

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

Just trying to cover all the bases :lol: you never know unless you ask right?

Let us know how you get on.

Of course, the questions definately narrowed things down

I will definately let you know how I get on.

This better not mean I can't have acrylic nails though, I've hated not having them for so long and have been looking forward to my nails getting better so I can put a set on again lol. Ah well, we shall see