Shredding nails

[RyanT]

@Kimela, no she says it's not gel nails. It's some kind of acrylic coating that is really hard.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I get my nails done monthly and the technician uses No Chip OPI Enamel on my hands and regular OPI polish on my toes and they both hold up very well; even on liveaboard trips when I am diving a lot!

She does a nice Dive Flag design on my ring fingers and big toes before I leave on vacation!

That's remarkable. I always had the OPI polish but it wasn't until switching to the gel that things improved.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'll be looking that up. If it's gel, it's not for me. But if it's not, and it holds up, I'll be intrigued ...

@tridacna - my husband has the same problem, but he doesn't seem to be as bothered by it as me!

@RyanT - I'm guessing she gets gel nails. Been there, done that. But thanks.

Oddly, I don't have a problem with my toenails. You'd think that the time in boots would really wreck the nails, but it doesn't. My toenails hold up just fine - and I do them myself. I'm not sure why fingernails won't hold up.

Toes aren't pulling on the wetsuit etc.

I've had my baby toenail fall completely off a couple of times on longer trips. Weird sensation. Shiver

For clarity, when I say gel polish, it's a kind of nail polish but not gel nails.

 

[tridacna]

I think that @Kimela should experiment on her next trip. Acrylic on left toes; Polish only on right toes. Or even better: Different brands on each toe. Top coats on polish. Be creative. Report back please!

 

[chillyinCanada]

I think that @Kimela should experiment on her next trip. Acrylic on left toes; Polish only on right toes. Or even better: Different brands on each toe. Top coats on polish. Be creative. Report back please!

Her toenail polish isn't the issue.

I'd place a small wager that people wearing polish but not a wetsuit don't have the same problem as those that do wear a wetsuit.

 

[tridacna]

Her toenail polish isn't the issue.

I'd place a small wager that people wearing polish but not a wetsuit don't have the same problem as those that do wear a wetsuit.

I wear lycra socks under my wetsuit. Do you think that the wetsuit is abrading her toenails? If so, socks might be a possible solution.

 

[Kimela]

I wear lycra socks under my wetsuit. Do you think that the wetsuit is abrading her toenails? If so, socks might be a possible solution.

I wear lycra socks. At the end of the trip I have little chips on toenails here and there. I usually take some extra polish for touch-ups but I've begun to care less and less over time. But the finger nails are a problem because they 'show' more and they catch on things as they shred. Today I applied some OPI Natural Nail base coat to see if that might help. A friend recommended Orly Bonder, but I don't know if I'll get that before I travel next (next Wednesday). I figure the OPI can't hurt, right?

 

[Kimela]

For clarity, when I say gel polish, it's a kind of nail polish but not gel nails

I got something like that once. It was 'activated' by the sun. It only worked 'ok' - not the same as the stuff applied at the salon.

 

[KathyV]

That's remarkable. I always had the OPI polish but it wasn't until switching to the gel that things improved.

I usually wear a lycra diveskin on my body but I always wear neoprene booties on my feet and I usually don't have any problems with my nails.

Maybe the No Chip OPI that the technician uses on my fingers is a gel, it has to cure in LED light between coats; does that make it a gel polish? I have to soak my hands for awhile to get the No Chip off my hands but it doesn't harm my finger nails. The matching OPI polish that she uses on my feet doesn't have to cure in LED light and it comes off pretty easily.

I also take a daily multivitamin pill (Centrum Silver for Women over 50) and a Calcium and Vitamin D bone supplement, but I don't know if they has any benefit on nails.

Once on a dive trip an older diver with awful-looking feet decided that he liked my dive flag nail polish so much that he tried to do it himself - it wasn't a pretty sight, see the attached photo!

 

[chillyinCanada]

I usually wear a lycra diveskin on my body but I always wear neoprene booties on my feet and I usually don't have any problems with my nails.

Maybe the No Chip OPI that the technician uses on my fingers is a gel, it has to cure in LED light between coats; does that make it a gel polish? I have to soak my hands for awhile to get the No Chip off my hands but it doesn't harm my finger nails. The matching OPI polish that she uses on my feet doesn't have to cure in LED light and it comes off pretty easily.

I also take a daily multivitamin pill (Centrum Silver for Women over 50) and a Calcium and Vitamin D bone supplement, but I don't know if they has any benefit on nails.

Once on a dive trip an older diver with awful-looking feet decided that he liked my dive flag nail polish so much that he tried to do it himself - it wasn't a pretty sight, see the attached photo!

Whoa, that's gnarly.