Nail strength?

Yes, it does! But you have to rub it into your nails daily until they begin to get stronger, then cut back to once a week or so.

Yes, it does! But you have to rub it into your nails daily until they begin to get stronger, then cut back to once a week or so.

Ah, cool. I'll have to try and find it somewhere.

I appreciate the help, everyone. :)

I guess I am odd. I dont like fingerpicking with my nails. I prefer all my nails short and I pick with the small bit of fatty flesh on the side of my thumb and top of my fingers. When my thumb nail gets a little long it bothers me cause it hangs on the strings.

Geoo

Nope..your not odd...I feel the same way. If my nails get the slightest length to them, the snag strings, which drives me nuts. I have kept my nails short my entire life, so if they grow past a certain point, it just feels strange.....

I slap on a couple of layers of clear nail varnish before I go and do guitar exams or gigs, just in case.

Best,

A :-)

I slap on a couple of layers of clear nail varnish before I go and do guitar exams or gigs, just in case.

Best,

A :-)

i've heard of other people doing this too...

or what about getting an acrylic or fiberglass overlay at a manicurist or nail bar? :wink:

it's expensive though and you need to keep it up.... but if you don't mind the time and the money... why not....

I remember hearing a while back that Paul McCartney gets those acrylic nails done to strengthen them...too much work for me though, and my nails grow like crazy anyway.

Back on topic, I'm actually just trying to grow my nails for the first time - long nail-biting habit :oops: - so this thread will be some help if/when I actually grow some. :)

I had the same problem up until I decided to stop just to grow mine out for the guitar. I'm wondering if that nail biting history is what made my nails so fragile. *shrug*

Back on topic, I'm actually just trying to grow my nails for the first time - long nail-biting habit :oops: - so this thread will be some help if/when I actually grow some. :)

I had the same problem up until I decided to stop just to grow mine out for the guitar. I'm wondering if that nail biting history is what made my nails so fragile. *shrug*

i'm afraid so.... i'm really prone to biting my nails... and bit them all through childhood which definitely made them "thinner".... it also shortens the nail bed... but i'm not nearly so bad now and the nail beds have lengthened....

look after the nail from the cutical with the best quality strengtheners you can buy... nails grow from the cuticle so strenthening them as they grow is important and i find keeping a layer of varnish on helps and carrying a file around everywhere with me so i'm not tempted to bite if i break or snag one...

Well, watching mine grow - for the first time in over twenty years :o - it looks like they're going to be a bit thin.

So I think I'll be taking your advice Amira.

On a positive note, isn't it great that the guitar has the power to stop a 20-year-old habit? 8)

The horse hoof cream sounds good, my aunty owns a sheep station so I'll ask her if she's got some or where you get it here. (she's got a horse or two I think) :)
I just bought a hand cream, Dr Le Winn's, it's got aloe vera, elastin, vitamins A,B,D & E, it's supposed to strengthen the nails, after a few days they do feel a bit stronger.
Silica and iron in the diet are supposed to help also - I was recently diagnosed with iron deficient anemia and the nails were flaking badly, now after a few weeks of the iron tablet (containing ferrous sulphate and vit c for better absorption) they have stopped flaking. It's best to have a blood test to make sure as you can take too much iron and then it's toxic to the system. :)
Ah, also I had to cut down on tea drinking ( :cry: ) because it's supposed to hinder iron absorption.

Violet Davis said:

"Ah, also I had to cut down on tea drinking because it's supposed to hinder iron absorption."

Now that is what I call a real dilemma - stop drinking tea or have healthy nails - how can I possibly choose? IMPOSSIBLE!!!

:( :( :(

Vic

I would advise against nail picking for reliabilities sake. I used to do it a bit, but I found that when I broke a nail I freaked and couldnt play right. Anything that makes my playing unreliable is bad, so I started going back to just skin picking and it doesnt sound EXACTLY The same but it always sounds like it should. Also, try some Elixer nanoweb strings, they have a coating that makes them much softer on your hands, it might help. Plus they sound reaaaly good.

Hi Vic, It's ok if you drink the tea away from meals, which's not too bad, but I certainly miss that cuppa after dinner and lunch, but there's no way I'm giving up my morning cuppa!

I found out where to get some of the filly cream, I just hope Elektra won't say "So sue me" if those of us who are using it start winnying and galloping about the place! :lol:

I just got a magazine that tells how to put on acrylic nails do it yourself, so I'm going to try them on just my right hand, if you do them yourself with a kit , they last a week, then you can take them off with acetone, then give them a few days rest before applying them again. Black nail polish works well if you don't want to look girlie. :) (you've got to put nail polish on them otherwise they look unnatural because they don't have moons)

I've been putting on fake nails every second day and had to stop because it made them weaker, so I had to stop doing it so I could play guitar :D