Hi Everyone..i found this site looking for information on artifical nails and nurses.So,iam a brand new member.
I do home health and have had artifical nails on for 18yrs .Dec.30th i was told i was to take them off...so i contacted a nail tech and told her my situation and she (as well as one other salon) told me they were putting a gel(like a hard nail polish) over many of the nurses who had to take their nails off....so this is what i did.
On Jan.11th while talking to one of my supervisors about some paperwork,,i was reminded i had to take my nails off,,i said these are my own nails with a gel hardner over my nails..she said she would have to check that out...i tried to also with infection control but they never called me back.
When i returned to work 2 days later,,instead of telling me what they found out,i was written up,and told i could not work that day and was sent home.Iam very angry :angryfire
I took the gel off,and now my nails are sore ,hands look ugly,i cant peel an orange,scratch..nothing.Iam feeling very helpless and down.
Has anyone else experienced this when taking off their nails and how did you handle it? Are we not able to even have a gel temporarily over our thin weakened nails,,till the new stronger nails appears?
Please help as iam writing a rebuttal to this written warning.Thanks
I've always had mine short, natural or acrylics, mostly because I starting taking piano lessons when I was 6. And no, keeping them short doesn't prevent them from being brittle. Or from peeling or splitting. I often wonder if it's something hereditary because neither of my sisters or my mom have great looking natural nails either. Mom was able to grow hers long, but then one or another would crack in the center and she'd have to cut them all back short again and start all over. It's kind of like people who grew nice straight perfectly aligned teeth; they don't always appreciate those who weren't that fortunate. In this case, however, the method of improving the appearance is now outlawed for some of us. And there are others who preach to us about what we should be doing. Hey, just tell me how to acquire strong, attractive natural nails that do not split and peel and I'm there. But please don't assume that I'm lazy about my hand and nail care, or that I eat poorly, or that I could do it if I really wanted to do it. Stevielynn, that last part was not directed at your question, which I considered to be one asked out of true curiosity. There are others who make these rather condescending assumptions without truly considering there might be information they are unaware of.
splitting, brittle and fragile nails, these can be indications of nutritional deficiency, such as vitamin c, vitamin b, iron, zinc and poor circulation. loss of water content caused by hands constantly being in detergent filled water, then dried. always wear rubber gloves. cold temperatures and psoriasis is also a cause of the above complaint.
Eat more gelatin, its made from protiens or keratin that your nails need. I don't know if this is true or not, but I think jello is made from horse hooves or similar. Thats what I heard or read a long time ago, lol, might be a wives tale.
I can understand your angry at whomever was harsh and unbending with you. A previous person wrote about diet which I agree may make significant changes. I had some nail problems a few years ago, they break easily and for some reason all developed ridges. I used almond oil followed by lubriderm lotion and the ridges disappeared, and my nails became stronger! I found it at a nutrition store. Good Luck.
There are some guys who man a kiosk at our local mall who sell these square blocks of wood with 4 different types of filing paper. One takes the ridges right off. The last one makes your nails shine and it looks like you polished them with clear polish. They also give you an oil to use. I gave the kit to my mil and she loves it - always had those ridges and now doesn't.
Could you please be more specific about what kind of diet lapse would cause the peeling, splitting nails and the dry, cracked and bleeding fingers and cuticles. It's not something that started right after my acrylics came off: they've always been that way. Would sure like to know how to improve it. I use massive amounts of lotions, cuticle creams, oils, and at best, it feels and looks better for 30 minutes.
Try Aquaphor ointment by Eucerine. Rub into nails (hands and feet too!) every night before bed and use on your hands and nails periodically throughout the day between handwashing. Works like a charm in no time! :)
i agree with you that Blackbird was a little bit judgemental in their comment..the state of my nails is not all about diet,,its about having acrylics on for 18 yrs.Also,i dont consider myself lazy bacause i wore them,,i happened to like them very much and my hands and nails always looked nice and the polish never chipped.
Also,i hope nail techs are trained in more then just one thing,,just doing acrylics and not knowing how to do gel sounds not to experienced,,one type may not work for a person,so i would hope my nail tech would be knowledgeable enough to be able to try something else that may work for me.
Anyway the artificial nails are gone and i hate the ways my hands and nails look and feel.With time,iam sure they will improve with proper diet ,and hand care.My nails are not brittle,Steph,,i dont have any nails at all.lol,they are paper thin,maybe that was directed to tntrn?
Thanks to Nesher,sjt9721 and upriver Rn ,for all your helpful suggestions,,i will get my sad looking nails looking good for sure!
i had artificial nails a long time ago and got a fungus that i thought i would never get rid of...i was not not working at that time..i know nurses who work with LLOONNGG nails...i don't know if i could or not...i have not tried the falsies since i had the fungus but i know that the nails techs are better than they use to be
Dont misunderstand, I think long nails can be very attractive, just not on someone about to change a dressing on my surgery wound, ulcer dressing and god forbid pubic shave :)
i agree with you that Blackbird was a little bit judgemental in their comment..the state of my nails is not all about diet,,its about having acrylics on for 18 yrs.Also,i dont consider myself lazy bacause i wore them,,i happened to like them very much and my hands and nails always looked nice and the polish never chipped.
Also,i hope nail techs are trained in more then just one thing,,just doing acrylics and not knowing how to do gel sounds not to experienced,,one type may not work for a person,so i would hope my nail tech would be knowledgeable enough to be able to try something else that may work for me.
Anyway the artificial nails are gone and i hate the ways my hands and nails look and feel.With time,iam sure they will improve with proper diet ,and hand care.My nails are not brittle,Steph,,i dont have any nails at all.lol,they are paper thin,maybe that was directed to tntrn?
Thanks to Nesher,sjt9721 and upriver Rn ,for all your helpful suggestions,,i will get my sad looking nails looking good for sure!
Lady Sapphire :)
Ouch!! No nails at all - paper thin? Gosh I'm sorry - that must hurt.
Dont misunderstand, I think long nails can be very attractive, just not on someone about to change a dressing on my surgery wound, ulcer dressing and god forbid pubic shave :)
x x x
I wear gloves,and my nails were not long and i dont do the shaves,,i do home health..lol so dont worry,,change lots of wound drssings though.I dont like my hands and nails since my acrylics came off,,maybe i do need to change professions.Ha!ha!
I too use to work for an agency and am very surprised that they wrote you up. I use to have artifical nails and then continued with the overlay method for several years. When I returned to the clinical setting I gave up the nails because of the high risk of infection. I found a wonderful product called
Nail tech II. It is a clear top coat. It is protein based. Yes my nails looked terrible they where very brittle and paper thin, but by the second month of use, my nails became hard and healthy again. They grew and broke several times but finally they stopped braking. I also tried something I read in a magazine, using olive oil on my around the cuticles 1-2xweek.
Another tip is to keep them at a reasonable length.That was 2 years ago and I must tell you, it is so good to go to the nail shop for a wonderful manicure once a month instead of every two weeks now when I look at nails I am so happy because they where in such bad shape, I love that they are healthy, natural and all mine. Today, They grow so rapidly that I have to cut them down frequently. It will take sometime. My nails where also discolored. But in time it will fade with proper care. You really did the right thing.
Good Luck.
Hi Everyone..i found this site looking for information on artifical nails and nurses.So,iam a brand new member.
I do home health and have had artifical nails on for 18yrs .Dec.30th i was told i was to take them off...so i contacted a nail tech and told her my situation and she (as well as one other salon) told me they were putting a gel(like a hard nail polish) over many of the nurses who had to take their nails off....so this is what i did.
On Jan.11th while talking to one of my supervisors about some paperwork,,i was reminded i had to take my nails off,,i said these are my own nails with a gel hardner over my nails..she said she would have to check that out...i tried to also with infection control but they never called me back.
When i returned to work 2 days later,,instead of telling me what they found out,i was written up,and told i could not work that day and was sent home.Iam very angry :angryfire
I took the gel off,and now my nails are sore ,hands look ugly,i cant peel an orange,scratch..nothing.Iam feeling very helpless and down.
Has anyone else experienced this when taking off their nails and how did you handle it? Are we not able to even have a gel temporarily over our thin weakened nails,,till the new stronger nails appears?
Please help as iam writing a rebuttal to this written warning.Thanks
tntrn, ASN, RN
1,340 Posts
I've always had mine short, natural or acrylics, mostly because I starting taking piano lessons when I was 6. And no, keeping them short doesn't prevent them from being brittle. Or from peeling or splitting. I often wonder if it's something hereditary because neither of my sisters or my mom have great looking natural nails either. Mom was able to grow hers long, but then one or another would crack in the center and she'd have to cut them all back short again and start all over. It's kind of like people who grew nice straight perfectly aligned teeth; they don't always appreciate those who weren't that fortunate. In this case, however, the method of improving the appearance is now outlawed for some of us. And there are others who preach to us about what we should be doing. Hey, just tell me how to acquire strong, attractive natural nails that do not split and peel and I'm there. But please don't assume that I'm lazy about my hand and nail care, or that I eat poorly, or that I could do it if I really wanted to do it. Stevielynn, that last part was not directed at your question, which I considered to be one asked out of true curiosity. There are others who make these rather condescending assumptions without truly considering there might be information they are unaware of.