We’re stepping into my favorite arena of the beauty world today…NAILS!
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’ve been on my #OperationNailGrowth grind in an effort to whip my nails back into shape after a couple months of nubby little beds! My nail care routine has been pretty legit recently; I’ve been using some new products + techniques to stimulate growth…and they’re working!
I could talk about nails all day, but I whittled this post down to my most important care tips of the moment!
Check them out. –>
- Diet.
Not to beat a dead horse, as I’m sure you’ve heard this time + time again, but eating right + staying hydrated is not only important for your nails, but your overall health as well. Maintaining a balanced diet filled with lots of protein, fruits, and veggies is key. And of course, water! Lot’s + lots of water. Seriously. Drink water all freaking day!
2. Round ’em up.
This is a personal preference, but one that proves time and time again to be most effective for me when trying to grow longer nails. In my experience, round nails are far more durable than a set square ones. I swear, the corners on a square nail are begging to be broken. When my nails are very short [like so short it’s impossible for them to break any shorter], I’ll opt for a square look, but when they begin to grow, I prefer them to be round or almond. 🙂
![Rounded up [no pun intended] ;) some of my favorite round manis!](https://i0.wp.com/amanda-bella.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/round-nails.jpg?ssl=1)
I cannot stress how freakishly careful I am 24/7. I try to remember to be gentle when opening doors or cabinets, turning on the shower, picking up boxes, cleaning or organizing…when doing annnnything! I never not do something because I’m scared to break a nail [I don’t want to be that girl] I just do things more delicately lol. And gloves! Always wear gloves when doing dishes!! Your nails are jewels, not tools. 😉 
4. Gimmie the juice!
Moisturizing is incredibly important. I leave moisturizer + cuticle oil everywhere + always have it on hand if I leave the house! Keeping your nails and nail beds hydrated not only keeps the nail strong, but the cuticles healthy as well. It doesn’t matter if your nails are long, short, polished or naked…as long as they’re clean + you keep them moisturized, they will look great! Tip: make it a habit to moisturize right after you wash your hands or get out of the shower.
5. Vitamins.
I have taken vitamins on and off for years, but only recently began sticking to it! My boyfriends Aunt is a nail tech, and happens to have some of the longest + strongest nails I’ve ever seen! We got to chatting a few weeks ago about vitamins + she had some seriously convincing reviews on two different kinds. So naturally, I immediately went to pick them up!
- The first was biotin! I had never taken a straight Biotin pill before, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt! You can take this particular vitamin up to 5x a day. Click here to order!
- The second was this collagen beauty builder…essentially a hair, skin, and nails vitamin. After hearing about the magic it worked for not only her nails, but her hair, I could not wait to start swallowing these suckers. You can take 3 pills up to twice a day. These can be found exclusively at Bed Bath & Beyond or online. Click here to order!
After using both for 2+weeks now, I can certainly say that I’ve noticed a bit of a difference! No negative effects whatsoever, but I’m curious to see how they continue to work for me!
6. Gel.
The jury is out on gel manicures nowadays. I used to be a huge advocate, but there are a lot of mixed feelings about their pro’s/con’s lately. The UV light + acetone removal process raise concerns for many.
I haven’t abandoned my gel mani’s completely, but I do take some precautions. To combat the negative effects, I try to make each manicure last for at least 2 weeks. If I experience any lifting, I’ll buff the edges of the gel down + then paint over the gel with a regular polish to extend the life of the mani + keep my acetone usage to a minimum.
Example:
Another tip is to take an old pair of gloves, cut the finger tips off, and wear them when you’re using the UV light! Just make sure the gloves don’t shed after you snip them [I made that mistake once. Mani = ruined].
For me, a gel manicure is a surefire way to keep my nails from breaking, in turn, helping them to grow. 🙂
If you’re in the process of trying to grow your nails out, I hope that these tips help you a little bit. Let me know if you give any of them a try!
Do you have your own tricks for growing long + strong nails? I’d love to hear them!
XOXO
biotin helps with hair growth as well! i’ve been taking biotin for almost a year now, i love that ish!
awesome tips though, i don’t take care of my nails much, only because i don’t really paint them or get them done too often…but i probably should!
Yay! I’m so glad you’ve had a positive experience with Biotin! So far so good, I’m really excited to see how it continues to work!! 🙂
Great info! Thanks!
Thank you so much! XO 🙂
Great tips Amanda. I naturally have good nail growth so they get pretty long but they’re not the strongest nails. I tried gel and shellac when I was going on vacation and both times they damaged my nails. So I just stick to regular polish. I do most of the tips that you suggested including wearing gloves while washing dishes. I’m wondering now if I should round out my nails instead of keeping them square. Hmm. Something to think about. Loved the post. xx
Ahh – gel is the biggest blessing/curse ever. I really do swear by round nails – they are much more durable and can withstand a hit or two! 😉 My squares are alwaysss letting me down lol.
You nailed them all 😉 haha totally realized it after I typed it.:) Before I had kids my nails grew like nobody’s business, but since then it doesn’t seem to matter how healthy I am (I am a food and fitness fanatic!), or how careful I am I just can’t grow them. I don’t paint my nails, or get manicures, I never have. I think my biggest problem lies in the massive amount of time I have my hands in water. I wash dishes by hand about 5 times a day, am a constant hand washer, and clean the bathroom several times a week. I just can NOT wear gloves when I wash dishes. It really drives me crazy! Long nails aren’t great when you have kids anyways because someone inevitably ends up getting scratched, but to always have them breaking is so annoying! I guess if it was that annoying I’d use gloves. 😉 I just find that it takes so much extra time when using gloves because they are sloppy and I already have terrible sensation in my hands where I drop stuff all the time. Suggestions?! (What do you think about the “hard as nails” polish?)
You are too funny! Gloves are such a pain to wear, I really cannot stand the feeling, BUT they definitely save my mani’s! My Mom has very similar nails to yours, at least it sounds that way! She really can’t grow them, she’s always doing some kind of manual work, and on top of that, just does not have the time or energy to take care of them. So, that’s where I come in LOL! I do her nails every week and about 2 weeks ago we actually started using Sally Hansen’s Maximum Strength polish! It has been working wonders for her! It can be used as a base coat, or on it’s own – it does apply bit streaky, so we always apply a color + top coat over. But she has had really great feedback! I also rounded her nails too — huge difference!! 😉
Hmmm may have to give that a try. What do you charge?! lol 😉 Yes, long gone are the “desk job” hands I had in my 20s (I hate saying that it sounds so old lol) but I do keep them rounded and I might have to try some of the Sally. 🙂
Hahaha aw, I’d love to do your nails! Give the Sally’s a try! My only gripe is that it can be a bit streaky if you’re not great at applying polish [my Mom loves to use it, but has trouble actually painting it on herself]. It’s not a huge deal because it does dry matte, and it’s meant to be built upon or painted over. So, aside from that, it has been working well for her! 🙂 Here’s a direct link to it! –> http://www.target.com/p/sally-hansen-nail-treatment/-/A-14404910?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Health%2BBeauty%2BShopping&adgroup=SC_Health%2BBeauty&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9003451&gclid=CjwKEAjwpfC5BRCT1sKW2qzwqE0SJABkKFKRg6P_S3B2TCiXIdMWst5em-p0cG5lZyhIYZr1QGQW0BoC2xHw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
As of today I have started wearing gloves to do dishes and clean the bathroom. I hate dish gloves, but remembered I have a box of surgical gloves that I use to dye my hair and chop onions. lol (The smell on my hands gags me lol) So, I am keeping a pair in the kitchen. My hands will thank you. 😉
Hahahaha YAY!!! Big day – I am so proud of you!!!!! :):)
And yay for round nails!! 😉 My faveee!
LOVE these tips! I literally have the frailest nails on the planet its no joke so I am definitely going to be using your tips! BTW I found a alternative to gel called dipping its supposed to be a million times better for your nails. My friend from Nashville was telling me all about it but I haven’t heard of it yet from any of our nail salons here in Manhattan, but lucky enough I did my research and found one whole place in NYC that does dipping, but I am def going to make an appointment soon because it apparently lasts for like a month!
Oh my gosh, yes! I briefly heard about dipping not long ago!! I’d definitely be open to trying an alternative to gel! If you book an appointment, you MUST let me know how it goes!!!! 🙂
Your nails always look so cute!! I like to keep mine short because I’m a total germ freak and get anxiety when stuff gets underneath them. I definitely understand what you mean with the rounded shape, though. I reallyyyy like the way square nails look, but I can never wear it unless I have acrylics (barely ever) because they break so easily and snag on everythingggg!!! Biotin has helped me so much!! I take two 1,000 mcg pills a day and it helps with my hair, skin, and nails. If I even miss one day of it, I can notice a difference in my skin immediately. It’s such a lifesaver!!
Oh that makes me so happy to hear!!!! I am loving the Biotin so far, and cannot wait to see how they continue to work for me. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to hop on this particular vitamin train lol!
Great tips! I m terrible for not using gloves when I do the dishes 😕 Need to make a mental not of it! Xx
Ahh yes, you must! Makes such a difference! 🙂
Whilst I do use gel on an on/off basis my tip is to just keep em painted in some way. My nails are incredibly brittle and flexible a day without polish on is just guaranteed to see them all break, if I keep them painted with normal or gel polish I rarely see a break! I do find the nails seem to grow more noticeably with gel but always tend to feel weaker and worse for wear after!
I totally hear you on this! Naked nails are guaranteed to break on me, so they’re usually always painted with something. When I need to grow them out, I usually cave to gel and within 3-4 weeks they’re exactly where I want them. I do like to take long breaks between gel mani sprees though. Having them constantly gelled [is that a word?!] 100% takes a toll. Definitely a tricky situation, I just try to do as little damage as possible! I literally laugh at the amount of time/energy we spend caring for our dead cells LOL.
Great post & I look forward to reading more from you in the future!
https://jaycolby.com/
Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂
Nail envy over here. My nails are such a mess these days! I had fake ones and I haven’t found a good tech since I moved. I’ve had so many break and fall off. I took all of them off and tried just painting my regular nails, but that didn’t work either. My nails won’t keep polish on them. I painted them, hit my finger on something, and then entire nail of polish popped off. It was like there had never been any polish there. I don’t know what to do. I can’t stand having bare nails. Major first world problems over here!
Girl, I completelyyyyyyy understand!! Give yourself a little time to whip them back into shape. Sometimes nails just do not want to cooperate. I’ve had weeks where I can’t hold a polish to save my life and then weeks when my nails are so damn fab, I just want to take pictures of them all day everyday! The struggle can be reallll!!! They’ll come back to ya! 🙂
I caved and had them put back on. I’m weak and I missed my almond shape.
I will not judge. I completely understand. I’m literally a vitamin swallowing/cuticle oiling nazi lately. Just hoping these things grow before my eyes LOL!
Great tips. I will try for myself as well ☺
Sabrina || http://www.OrganicIsBeautiful.com
Yay, so glad that you enjoyed. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂