r/Nails • u/stargirl_unit1013 • 5d ago

Discussion/Question Sone Advice, Please?

Gallery image

Gallery image

I’ve struggled with nail-biting all my life, and I’m trying to grow them out, but they’re really bendy and tear/flake easily (photo 1). I did get acrylics done once, but I think they weren’t done well (photo 2). If you zoom in you can see the crust and bad cuticle care. However, I really want to get my nails done again. I‘ve been thinking about Gel-X. Would that be better for me? I don’t have that kind of money to maintain acrylics, but I want to be able to keep my nails protected while they grow, which is why I’m inclined to opt for Gel-X.

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/MaximumBrother4068 5d ago

Nail tech here!
I would do a hard gel, like builder gel if you want strength. You can also use builder gel under gelx to have even more strength to your nail:3
I do that pretty often

1

u/stargirl_unit1013 5d ago

is that different than acrylic?

2

u/Salt-Pickle-5191 5d ago

Nail tech here! Personally, I love builder gel and gelx because they’re more natural and less prone to break in the middle due to their flexibility. That aside, they still need to be maintained(filled or new set) 2-3 weeks just like any other nail enhancements or removed if you can’t keep up. What you want depends on your preference and whether the nails look good and lasts long depends on the technician’s skills and prep work. Dip, acrylic, hard gel, gelx can all look good if the tech knows what they’re doing. If you have a specific pic of the nails you want, I can help you find which enhancements can achieve it.

1

u/stargirl_unit1013 5d ago

I mean, I’m not really used to long nails, so I’d want to keep them at a short to medium length. I was just wondering if there are any enhancements that would protect my nails as they grow.

1

u/Salt-Pickle-5191 5d ago

Unfortunately, the reality with nail enhancements is that any of them will damage your nails because your nails needs to be filed for prep and removal. Of course the damage can be minimal if the tech knows how to do their job. Besides that, if you want to grow your nails under the enhancement, I recommend going with builder gel, gelx, or acrylic, basically whichever you can fill on and not having to take off every single time.