Can we talk being natural and having pretty polished nails...Can you maintain both?

Are you able to keep up with your hair care regimen AND pretty polished nails?

I confess. I'm a lazy lurker of the Nail Fanatic sub-forum. I heart the nails of you divas on the board.:lovedrool: But the hair section is where I live and breath so I'm here with a half hair half nail topic.

Since I've gone natural, there isn't a moment that goes by that I'm not in my hair twisting, banding, unraveling or dipping my fingers in oils, shea butters, leave-ins or cowashing. When I was relaxed I wasn't in my hiar that often, so keeping polish on my nails was a breeze.

I don't like acrylics, so I tried the gel manicures for a couple months and while they were gorgeous, I pledge to N-E-V-E-R do the gel ever again. That thing butchered my poor nails.

So, just curious, do you find yourself able to keep up with your natural hair care needs and keep up with beautifully polished nails at the same time. Spill the beans divas!

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..............n/m

Re: Can we talk being natural and having pretty polished nails...Can you maintain bot

Yes! Hair, nails and makeup.

For me its a matter of having a routine that works for me. I narrow my hair care down to washing (twice a week), DC, protein, LOC, M & S daily, and wearing it in a bun 80% of the time so it doesn't take a lot of time.

Re: Can we talk being natural and having pretty polished nails...Can you maintain bot

Yes. It takes a good top coat to keep them up.

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lol, I hear you...Girl, Im in my hair all day every day. I know I'd be polishing ever second.

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BlaqBella said:

Yes. It takes a good top coat to keep them up.

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Oh!? A good top coat can preserve the polish longer?

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I prefer my natural looking nails so I don't polish often. I keep them shaped and filed, and the cuticles conditioned. The most I'll do is a clear or nude top coat if I'm feeling fancy

I was my hair once a week and polish one or two times a week. I keep my nails polished

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Smiley79 said:

Oh!? A good top coat can preserve the polish longer?

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Yes. I polish once a week, most weeks, on the weekend. And sometimes I re-apply the topcoat mid-week. Seche vite, out the door, et. Two good ones I find at sallys.

ETA: Of course it can be time consuming. I have to let each coat dry well, including base coat. For some reason my nails take forever drying, but the topcoat helps the last coat dry completely most times. You could also try the spray that sallys has for quicker drying time.

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I wash my hair once a week and usually do my nails after wash day. I love polish, so my nails are always painted. I maintain my manicure by wearing gloves to clean and wash dishes. There are a few natural nail fanatics on the board.

ETA: I use Seche vite quick dry topcoat.

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I keep my nails polished. A good topcoat makes all the difference. My polish usually doesn't chip and will stay nice for a full week. Once I got in the routine of polishing my nails every week it just became another part of my "me" time.

I second the out the door and seche vite topcoat recommendations

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My nails stay polished because I have a schedule. I do my hair once a week and polish the day after. i.e. hair Friday, polish Saturday. I always remove my polish before doing my hair.

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Hmmm, so this thread is boiling down to me having to snap out of my laziness. :scratchch You all have your regimen down packed! Keep the motivation coming please.

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I feel like I am in my hair more as a natural, but really wanting to do more with my nails lately (other than keeping them trimmed so no little breaks can rip through my precious curls). I can co-sign on the Seche Vite as a good top coat, but I am itching to try the new Orly base coat and/or top coat to see how that works out. I cowash every other day or so, then air dry in braids( shampoo and DC once a week). I am striving to step up the rest of my beauty game.

It's all about the nail polish you use. Not all nail polishes are equal. I find that using my Growth Spurt from Sally's as a base coat then putting my normal base coat over it and doing whatever design I had in mind helps the polish to last 3-4 days or more if I refresh the top coat. I use only China Glaze now and I'm in my head everyday. It took me months before I found that doing the above mentioned elongated the time between redos.

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The only problem I have is being too lazy to do my nails every week. Before I start a wash day, I remove my polish. I just have a fear of some chipping and ending up over part of my hair.

As others have mentioned, base coat and top coat are definites. Almost all my polish is China Glaze with a couple of Finger Paints and Zoya. Wet N Wild may have cute colors and be on sale at CVS, but that's not going to work for more than a couple of days without chipping.

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Im so excited to start building up nail care regimen. I didnt realize that there were things I could do to extend the wear of my polish. I think great nails goes hand in hand with great hair, even if it's just clear polish but color is more my thing.

Make sure you're using a good base coat and top coat! Also, wrapping the tips helps. Someone else mentioned using gloves when cleaning which helps. Some fanatics use gloves when they wash their hair as well.

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I do because I use gloves to do my hair find this solution here on LHCF years ago!

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my hair regimine is pretty simple. i cowash and apply leave in at night. in the a.m. i sprits with water and use Eco styler or KCCC. i don't really touch my hair after that.

now my nails, i'm lucky if i can make it 3 days without changing colors. i'm getting better. i kept my red polish on all week. i tend to change my nails to fit my moof and what i wear. i also like to dabble in nail art, so there has to be a balance between the nail bling and hair.

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I think that will be me....every three days because I'm always dabbing in products and hair.

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Yes it's possible to have pretty polished nails while being natural. And guess what...I do my nails two times a month (a beautician does it to be more exact): I fell in love with "permanent lac" (from AmericanNails). It lasts forever and can bear impacts, housework, hair handling without fading or damaging (the only "problem" that is not one actually, is the fact that when nails grow, it shows).

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Re: Can we talk being natural and having pretty polished nails...Can you maintain bot

Smiley79. Why do you say gels tore your nails up?

As a nail tech that teaches nail technology I'm curious.

I use Gels every other month or I may use it for a couple of months since it lasts so long. I use Gelish it lasts and looks good at least 2 weeks and then I soak it off using the cotton balls & foil method . I let it completely soak off, no prying , scraping or picking off. My nails grow well but they grow like weeds when I use gel. In my business I find that the people that have told me that gels ruin their nails don't remove it properly. They sit & bite it or peel it off like some do regular polish which is not good either. Then they tell me the gel tore their nails up. I'm NOT saying you did that just curious as to why it didn't work for you. Was it the brand you were using ? The techs application technique ? Buffing is not necessary.

I also agree with those that say a good top and base coat are the trick too. With regular polish I use Rejuvacote as a base and top coat. I sometimes use Out the door , but with the Rejuvacote I can get 2 wks of wear with regular polish. I also do a lot of housework and cooking and I don't wear gloves. I try to but I just can't get into the habit. I need to try harder, cause I'm not getting any younger.

msdeevee said:

Smiley79. Why do you say gels tore your nails up? As a nail tech that teaches nail technology I'm curious. I use Gels every other month or I may use it for a couple of months since it lasts so long. I use Gelish it lasts and looks good at least 2 weeks and then I soak it off using the cotton balls & foil method . I let it completely soak off, no prying , scraping or picking off. My nails grow well but they grow like weeds when I use gel. In my business I find that the people that have told me that gels ruin their nails don't remove it properly. They sit & bite it or peel it off like some do regular polish which is not good either. Then they tell me the gel tore their nails up. I'm NOT saying you did that just curious as to why it didn't work for you. Was it the brand you were using ? The techs application technique ? Buffing is not necessary. I also agree with those that say a good top and base coat are the trick too. With regular polish I use Rejuvacote as a base and top coat. I sometimes use Out the door , but with the Rejuvacote I can get 2 wks of wear with regular polish. I also do a lot of housework and cooking and I don't wear gloves. I try to but I just can't get into the habit. I need to try harder, cause I'm not getting any younger.

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Hey, I'll respond as gels didn't agree with my nails either. I had gotten them done last summer for a good 2-3 months and my nails were incredibly dry afterwards. I went to a good nail salon that pretty much specializes in gel nails, they don't do acrylic or anything like that only regular manis and gel nails. I had them removed with the foil technique, the process was never abrasive at all. When I stopped with the gel nails my own nails had a different feel to them. Not like the feeling when I remove acrylic and my nail bed is sensitive and raw. The gel just made my own nail incredibly dry and didn't feel right. I already hv brittle type nails. A friend of mine with nails like talons experienced the same thing with gel manicures and two of my coworkers all shared a similar experience as well. I think they are a far better alternative to acrylics but it didn't work out well for me. I'd get them again for an event like my wedding or something like that.

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I wear disposable vinyl gloves. Vinyl is slippy and doesn't grip your hair.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

Re: Can we talk being natural and having pretty polished nails...Can you maintain bot

Hi msdeevee

Well, where do I begin? The first week that I got the gel manicure, I noticed my nails started to break along the sides. Every few days I lost a nail, and that is unusual for me because I naturally have strong and long nails that do not break often. But nails were so pretty that I ignored things and still kept doing it. But the nails breaking continued. Plus I noticed the nails were much thinner now and they looked scaly once the polish was off…like scales or layers of my nails would flake or peel off. I also noticed the technique that was used for my gel manicure…it was a VERY ABRASIVE process; lots of scraping and manipulating of my nails to achieve that gorgeous finish and let’s not mention the fiasco scraping when they took off the gel for my return visits. (I have never had a gel manicure prior to this so I don’t know if that is the standard technique or if there are other methods; nonetheless, that was my experience.) So after rockin’ them for a while, I had enough. I took it off and got a regular manicure. I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I SAW MY NAILS. I almost had nothing. They were thin, sensitive and frail. It has been about a month or so now and I have been nursing my nails back to health, they still aren’t 100% yet but they’re getting better. Also, you can see the trace line mark on my nails as they are growing out, of where the last gel was done on my nails. I do remember a nail tech telling me that this gel technique is hit or miss. He said that ‘he sees some customers who’s nails have no bad reaction to it, and others who’s nails don’t do well with it’; then he told me ‘overall, his personal opinion is that it’s way better than the effects of acrylics on nails’ and ‘he wouldn’t recommend that for me especially since I had such nice nails already.’ He said “save your nails and just try the gel to see how your nails react to it.” I didn’t end up going to him for the gel manicure, I went somewhere else closer to me at the time, but like he said, now I know. My experience is no thank you to gel, my past experiences are no thank you to acrylics. So now, I’m just gonna rock my nails like I’m rockin’ my hair…All natural! I have to admit, I really enjoyed the gel manicure while I had it; my nails were GORGEOUS! And I'm a "Suzie Homemaker Girlie-Girl" kinda chick, I'm always cooking, cleaning, doing craft projects around the apt or just doing things with my hair and skin, so my hands are always busy in something, and despite all that, my gel manicure lasted 2 weeks on my nails beautifully! I sure will miss that.

Now I gotta learn patience and do my own nails. You know which sub-forum I'll be hanging at now.

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Brittster said:

Hey, I'll respond as gels didn't agree with my nails either. I had gotten them done last summer for a good 2-3 months and my nails were incredibly dry afterwards. I went to a good nail salon that pretty much specializes in gel nails, they don't do acrylic or anything like that only regular manis and gel nails. I had them removed with the foil technique, the process was never abrasive at all. When I stopped with the gel nails my own nails had a different feel to them. Not like the feeling when I remove acrylic and my nail bed is sensitive and raw. The gel just made my own nail incredibly dry and didn't feel right. I already hv brittle type nails. A friend of mine with nails like talons experienced the same thing with gel manicures and two of my coworkers all shared a similar experience as well. I think they are a far better alternative to acrylics but it didn't work out well for me. I'd get them again for an event like my wedding or something like that.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

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Brittster
I agree 100%...it's hard to describe...your nails just aren't the same after. And funny thing is that YEARS ago, when I wore acylics for a couple years, I didn't notice the results were as bad on my nails as the gel experience. So it really shows that everyone is different, what works for one may not suit the other. And I also agree, that I don't ban gel manicures, but I probably would do it for a special occasion only once in a blue moon, but definitely not as a back to back service because my nails can't handle it.

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Naturelie said:

Yes it's possible to have pretty polished nails while being natural. And guess what...I do my nails two times a month (a beautician does it to be more exact): I fell in love with "permanent lac" (from AmericanNails). It lasts forever and can bear impacts, housework, hair handling without fading or damaging (the only "problem" that is not one actually, is the fact that when nails grow, it shows).

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Naturelie
Tell me more. Is it a gel manicure?

Re: Can we talk being natural and having pretty polished nails...Can you maintain bot

@ Smiley79 Thank you for your response. I see and understand with you and Brittster.

I see you both had different application and removal processes but the same results almost.
I can see why yours was a bad result because your application technique and removal was harshly done . maybe different brands are applied differently because there is no scraping or filing before doing the brand I use of course you start with clean lint free nails but then just a ph binder is used before applying the foundation gel. When time to remove we just sit with the foil & cotton ball method until all the gel is dissolved about 15 minutes , there may be little tiny bits left that you can just gently scrape off with a finger or soft cuticle stick no digging or scraping. So I can understand why you had a problem and I'm sorry they jacked your nails up. Your taking care of them so it will get better. I recommend Rejuvacote to everyone that's nursing their nails back to health and oil massages around the cuticles every day to keep the nails moist and bendable. You know what I mean .

They are chemicals so I guess some like Brittster can have it done the right way but still have a bad result.

I only use gels on my own nails for a month or 2 at a time and then I go back to regular polish for 2-3 months . As much as I love them I wouldn't use it regularly. Mostly because of the curing method. I use an led light which is supposed to be safer than the other lamp but I believe when anything is artificial be wise.

Thank you again for answering.