Hi all,
I've been having some fingernail-related problems lately. To keep a long story short, all of my right hand nails are much shorter than I'm used to. I'm fine with the nails on my index and middle fingers, but the one on my ring finger keeps getting roughed up by the strings. I've been sanding it back to smoothness every time, but it's already really short as it is, and it's just getting worse.
I'm thinking of switching to acrylic nails for now, but I have some concerns. See, my job during the school year is in food services (I make sandwiches!) and the supervisors don't look kindly on people wearing nail polish. I'm assuming that they'd feel the same way about artificial nails, so I'd need to get rid of them by September. Would it be possible to put on some acrylic nails for the month of August so I can grow out my natural nails somewhat, then take them off once they're long enough to play with?
Also, the ones I've seen Don Ross using in his videos are really fake looking. Is it possible to find ones that are less obtrusive?
Thanks
EDIT: Alternatively, can anyone recommend some good nail strengthening products?
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I'm not a finger style guy though I'll sometimes do a little bit of hybrid picking. However, I took a fingerstyle course once through one of the local community colleges and my right hand nails weren't holding up. I did a bit of looking around and I found "Nutra Nail - Calcium Nail Builder". I got it in a local drug store in the ladies cosmetics section right beside the nail polish. There must be a bunch of similar products.
It helped a lot. You brush it on like nail polish but it doesn't sit on the surface but is absorbed into the nail. I would do it every night for a couple of weeks and then I dropped down to twice a week.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
Another solution is the aLaska finger and thumb picks http://www.alaskapik.com/ . I have not used them so I can't give you a review. Perhaps someone else can chime in on these picks.
I once heard that taking gelatin capsules or eating a lot of Jello would strengthen nails. But I talked to a pharmacist and he told me gelatin wouldn't really work and that just taking a multivitamin would help strengthen them. He said the protein is what makes them stronger. I started taking a multivitamin 2 years ago and my nails are surprisingly strong.
I absolutely despise the Laska Piks. And they require good sturdy nails, longer than I can wear in my work, for the edges of the picks to catch under. They're really nail extensions. There are lots of better finger picks. My current favorites are Ernie Ball's "Picky Picky" Picks, which are old fashioned nickel silver picks with very sharp tips. There's a steep learning curve to using finger picks of any sort.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."