I'm going to warn you up front, that this is not going to be a pretty post. I love getting compliments on my nails when they're polished, but honestly I've got a hot mess going on underneath at the moment. As I mentioned in my post for Ulta Bombshell, I had a rather horrible encounter with a file cabinet drawer at work on Monday. I glued everything together at work, but after coming home & soaking off that glue & the polish, this is what I was left with underneath - this is my right middle & pointer fingers(and yes, that's another crack on the opposite side of the middle from the big chunk):
The pointer was literally hanging on by a thread. Although I have fixed worse before, my initial reaction was just to bite the bullet & make the cut ... but then I reconsidered because with the way my camera is set up when I do tutorials, that's the finger that works best for shooting water marbling. Any other finger & my hand tends to block the camera at some point unless I totally contort. I did trim down the middle, but I proceeded to do the mother of all patches on my pointer. I just can't have it that short. The patch has already held for a week, maybe another one or 2 & it will have grown out enough.
Aside from that disaster, I also had an unfortunate accident with a bag of cheese (yes ... cheese) that resulted in this - first pic is from the day of the incident on 6/13, second pic is how far it had grown out by 6/28:
Overall I'm actually wearing patches on 7 nails right now & I'm not too happy about it. Most are just those tiny tears that like to show up at the side, but the other big crack is this one, which I've been growing out for about a month, my left middle:
So, I am stuck between loving my nails at this length, and hating wearing so many patches. And I still have at least one incident a day where I'll do something absolutely clutztastic & think I've either broken another or snapped one totally off. I keep thinking I'll adjust & stop being so clumsy ... but it hasn't happened yet. So there may sadly be a cut coming in my future but as you can see I am fighting for all I'm worth LOL.
On the plus side I've gotten good enough with patches that they're virtually invisible under polish - even frenches as you'll see in a few posts, and they usually last for 2 weeks or longer. But I have on a couple occasions ripped one more even with a patch on, and that's often worse than the initial break because the patch can make your nail more brittle because it's so hard.
On the plus side I've gotten good enough with patches that they're virtually invisible under polish - even frenches as you'll see in a few posts, and they usually last for 2 weeks or longer. But I have on a couple occasions ripped one more even with a patch on, and that's often worse than the initial break because the patch can make your nail more brittle because it's so hard.
Anyway, to end on a not-so horrifying note, here is a pic of my nails naked when they're actually not totally dry from acetone LOL, after fresh patches, and cuticle oil & lotion & all that good stuff:
With all these breaks, I'm not even that worried about the curves anymore, and if I cut them down, that will probably help too. We'll see - I'll keep you posted =) Thanks for reading.
~Colette
Don't do it Colette! You've come this far, let it grow out. I absolutely hate those little tears that show up on the sides. I hate the curves too, but it's worth it for the long nails.
ReplyDeleteMmm,if you can get your nails to grow this long they will grow again :)
ReplyDeleteEven if you shorten them they will still be long :) !!
I would cut them...restarts are usually good things !
I cut my nails from time to time to prevents breaks. I say cut them they will grow back and I think it's good to cut the old nail off so you can have a fresh new set :D
ReplyDeleteIf I get mine really long, I have a harder time with keeping them from breaking. And they don't break at the tips. Oh no...they break deep, down into the nail bed.
ReplyDeleteYou, however, do an expert job of mending. Maybe you could do a tutorial on that. I could use the guidance.
Thanks for posting this! I've used your tutorial on patching and am getting better at it - it takes practice! You are the Queen of Patching!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to look at your patching tut, my nails are always soooo short! They used to be so strong when I was a kid :(
ReplyDeleteOuch... The cheese bag break is bad. Those are painful breaks when they occur in the nail bed.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have had your patience: I would have impulsively cut everything. I always do that. I prefer to start anew but I can understand how frustrating it is when you have very long nails.
How do you repair a badly broken nail?
wow!! im sop glad that u came to manage those breaks...
ReplyDeleteColette, your nails are SO BEAUTIFUL! If you decided to cut down some length, I for one, would not be disappointed. Your naked nail pics from April and May are still lovely, even if they are a little shorter. I think I might even prefer the shorter lengths on you ... :) Good luck with the breaks, and I can totally relate to the klutzy dumb breakage mistakes! My problem is always trying to open the car door when it's still locked, and snapping off my pointers. LOL whoops!
ReplyDeleteJust bite the bullet and cut them. They'll grow back longer and stronger than ever!
ReplyDeleteBesides, your nails look better shorter.
I just found your blog and I am really impressed how nice and long your nails are now, compared to where you started. Your polish designs are also very pretty. I will visit you more often now.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Germany
Awwwwww....what ashamed Colette :(((( your long natural nails look so pretty and healthy. Why do bad things happen to such beautiful gorgeous nails :(((((. Well, its enevitable that natural nails break from time to time and as mentioned you do a fabulous job repaiaring them but its time to trim them a tad. Leave about a 1/8 inch free edge remainig thats a good starting length for the rebuilding proccess...I think, how bout you ? I just stumbled upon your blog and its magnificent Colette, your natural nails are spectacular and you should be very proud of them as not many women can grow and maintain lengths like yours ! Good luck and please continue your quest for strong, long, luxurious, glamour length nails and keep blogging your site is wonderful !
ReplyDeleteEVERYONE - Thanks for the support =) I did cut down the index finger, the rest are still growing out nicely
ReplyDeleteKIMBERLY, JELLYNAT - I do have a tutorial for patching with silk wraps + gel on my YouTube channel =)
they pretty much look flawless with the patches and cuticle oil and all!! i NEED to get these patches! xo
ReplyDeleteWell I just decided to cut mine and they are growing so fast. I wake up in the mornings and am like wow they grew a quarter inch overnight, that can't be. Im so happy too bc mine were like yours I kept patching them but once the patch grew past my nail bed I had another crack so the patches were actually making my nails weak. Now I have fresh strong nails growing and soon they will have that length again.
ReplyDelete