Taking a break :(

I know I've just started out, but I seriously need to take a break and give my nails time to heal and grow. Five weeks ago I removed acrylics which I had worn for about 3 years, at least! I did my own acrylics and NEVER used a drill but it was still damaging. As you'll see in the pictures below, there is a noticeable difference from my thin damaged nail to my new healthy growth.

I have tried many things to try to get my nails strong but nothing is working. I know I just need to wait for all my new growth to come in. I have been taking 5000mcg tablets of Biotin twice a day since the beginning and it is helping a lot. I think my nails are growing out pretty fast. And there is a sizable difference in thickness. If you could feel my nails there are huge ridges where my old nail meets my new nail. Anyone that's had acrylics knows what I'm talking about. I'm super excited about that!! I know my new nails will be strong and healthy.

You can see here how much new growth I've had. The pink at the front is where I previously had acrylics. The white at the backs is all my new growth!

(sorry these pictures were taken with my cell phone)

This is the worst my nails have been since taking off the acrylics. I first tried Duri Rejuvacote but I got that horrible burning sensation and couldn't continue. Then I tried Salon Sciences Starting Over After Artificials. It made my nails very weak and bendy and they still are. And because they are so bendy they've started to split :( In the pictures you'll see I'm holding Nail Magic. I just started wearing this on Sunday 11-11-12. These pictures were taking on Monday. I've added a new coat each day so now I have 3 coats on. I'm not seeing any change. They are still very weak and bending. I believe this is not the original formula of the Nail Magic. This is Nail Magic Botanical Strengthener with Horsetail. I read a lot of reviews of people saying the original one burned them so I wasn't going to go anywhere near that one! 

It is impossible to keep my nails at even lengths right now because they are constantly breaking and splitting. So I have decided to take a break from having pretty polished nails because lets face it, nothing I wear right now is going to look it's best. I am just going to keep them short to hopefully prevent any further damage. I am going to nourish them as much as I can and they'll be ready in no time! I think in another month and a half to two months they will be all grown out and then I will be able to grow them to a nice length and shape them how I want. Until then please bare with me and stick around. I promise I will be back with greatness! I might be updating periodically with more pictures to show my growth and if I find something that really works to make them strong in the meantime I will let you know. 

If you have any tips I am willing to hear them all! Just leave a comment on this post! I know there are good things out there and not everything works for everybody but I am getting tired of spending money on stuff that isn't working that lots of people rave about. So I'm just going to wait it out. But if you have any natural remedies that don't cost lots of $$$ please let me know.

Thanks for reading, I know it was a lot but I wanted to make sure to explain everything. Hopefully I see you all soon!!

xo, Colleen

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