Operation Nails SOS - The Results

About five months ago I started to trial a nail strengthener, nail/cuticle oil and hand cream to see if I could repair my badly damaged nails and restore them to a healthy condition. Over this time I think I've given them a fair chance to work and have really put them to the test given the previous state of my nails. You can see the original post here and an update after the first week here, but here's a reminder of what they looked like back in February...

And here are my nails now...



I will be posting this Nails of the Day shortly...

You can find the OPI Kiss Me On My Tulips post here from June

As you can see I had an issue with weak, brittle nails that easily split and peeled, and I suffered with a problem of my thumb nails breaking very far down the nail on a regular basis. It may have taken longer than I expected to get results but its been well worth it in the end.

In my quest for the perfect nail I was testing the following products; Duri Rejuvacote nail strengthener, Elemis Exotic Frangipani Moisture Melt and finally, Aveeno hand cream.

The Verdict
In short, I absolutely love all of these products. Independently they are fantastic - from smell, texture to functionality.

Aveeno hand cream - as far as hand creams go, this ticks the boxes for me. Non-greasy,  rich enough to tackle my dry skin but quickly absorbed and light feeling. It is paraben free and unscented but still manages to smell nice. This is a great drugstore product (retails for around £5 for 75ml) but there is currently an offer on at Boots for £3.40. I would definitely repurchase.

Elemis Exotic Frangipani Moisture Melt - This is a multifunctional oil that I was told was great on nails and cuticles and this really feels like an indulgent home treatment product. You need to warm the bottle (not directly) in order to melt the oil - hence the name - and I do this by standing it in a small bowl of boiling water for about 30 seconds. The result, a warm, fabulous smelling oil - think sweet almond and vanilla massage oil - that when rubbed over nails and cuticles really moisturises and softens and helps manage the hard skin (that i bite from time to time) around my nails. This is an expensive product to just use as a nail treatment - retails at £29.70 for 100ml, however as this can be used for body and hair as well it is a good investment. If the price tag still seems too high, then you could always do what I did and get a smaller bottle as part of the regular offers that Elemis run such as pick five travel size products when you buy two full size.

Duri Rejuvacote - I think the most important thing I have to say about this product is that IT ACTUALLY WORKS. My nail health as improved vastly over the course of this trial and I now experience zero splitting or peeling. Obviously I still have some breakages, but my nails are no longer dry and brittle. I went for a manicure recently and even the beautician I see regularly comented how good my nails looked! The downside to the product is that it does peel off quite easily = after applying a coat every day or most days, once it starts to peel it looks really bad, but I would say this is a small price to pay for overall improved nails. Unfortunately the nail treatment has to be applied to completely dry nails meaning that it does not bind with the nail if you use hand cream or an oil at the same time, so its best to have a morning and evening routine so you can use all the products. Also the bottle went a bit gunky before I'd completely finished it so it was too thick to apply, however I will be repurchasing this product. If you were only going to buy one product out of the three I would recommend it to be this one - I bought mine off Amazon for about £10.

I am so happy, however I do still suffer with the severe breakage of my thumb nails only. As previously mentioned, this happens very far down the nail and is very painful and has occured twice since I started using these products.

So what next?
I will be repurchasing Duri Rejuvacote to continue looking after my nails, but first I am going to try another product. The lovely team over at Mavala, a beauty company that specialises in nail care, hosted a live Q and A session on Twitter (@MavalaUK) where you could pose your nail problems to their expert team. I contacted them with a question about my thumb nail breaking issue and they explained that I may have damaged the nail matrix (where the nail cells are formed) which means it has a weak point. This damage can be permanent but they suggested I try their Nailactan product which works on the matrix to produce healthier cells. They have sent me a sample which I am going to use until it runs out and of course I will report back! In the meantime if you wish to find out more about Mavala products you can visit their website http://www.mavala.co.uk/

Have you tried any of these products or which ones do you use in your nail care routine?

Lindsey

Operation Nails SOS - Week 1 Update

A full week has passed since I began an attempt to rescue the condition of my nails and as promised here is an update. You can see how bad they were a week ago in my initial Operation Nail SOS post.

Just to recap the products and routine I have been using:

• Duri Rejuvacote - apply a new layer over the existing layer daily for 7 days
• Elemis Frangipani Monoi oil - rub into cuticles twice daily (morning and evening) 
• Aveeno hand cream - use in the morning after I have showered and applied the oil

I have managed to stick to this apart from not using the oil twice a day everyday but just once. I've actually found the whole routine quite therapeutic in a silly kind of way - just by taking 5 minutes to stop and do it has been relaxing rather than doing everything at 100 miles per hour like normal.

During the last two days, the layers of nail varnish began to crack and peel, and despite relayering each day by the end of the week it was definitely ready to come off as you can see from the pictures below - not a great look. Interestingly where it was cracking is usually where my nails may have split (particularly the thumb nails) so maybe the varnish was providing a protective layer.

Left Hand before I removed 7 days varnish application

Once I took the varnish off I noticed that I did still have some poor condition - a few tips were peeling, and yesterday I did manage to partially break one nail. I think maybe my expectations were quite high if I thought I was going to get perfection in a week, however, given the state of my hands last week there has been a good improvement.


Left Hand nail condition starting to improve



Right Hand nail condition - middle nail broke yesterday, thumb nail still weak from breakage last week


The directions on the Rejuvacote state that after a week/as your nails improve you can cut down applications to every other day or couple of days. At the moment its difficult to say whether I would have had the same results with any clear varnish, but as this product is recommended for use to improve nail condition particularly after removal of acrylics and gets great reviews I think I would like to continue using it. I don't want to run before I can walk so I am going to restart my routine and use everyday for another week so I can really make a fair assessment as to whether this varnish has improved my nail condition. I will also make sure I use the nail oil twice as day as originally planned.

Lets hope for more significant results next week!

Lindsey

Operation Nails SOS

I'd love to be able to share some Nail of the Day posts but the recent extreme cold has left me with really bad nail condition. Unless I'm taking extra care every day, I suffer with flaking nails and my thumb nails have a tendency to split very far down (see the second picture)

I realise these photos are nearly as offensive as that fungal nail advert that used to be on TV, so if you're of a delicate disposition I would look away now...

To support me in my quest for perfect nails I am going to use the following product regime:

Duri Rejuvacote Nail Strengthener

After mentioning my nail issues the other week, a colleague at work recommended this product. The marketing spiel states when used as a basecoat to start and then 3-4 times a week over your polish, this product aims to build up the layers of your nail. Duri Rejuvacote claims that when used correctly and consistently, it has an impressive success rate of 99%, and has such a large and loyal following including celebrity fans include Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jessica Simpson, Kate Beckinsale, Cheryl Cole and Rachel Stevens.

Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil

I've had this product in my beauty collection for a while now and never seemed to get round to using it. However, following the recent launch of Elemis' new Pro-Collagen Hand and Nail Cream, they have released the Anti-Aging Perfect Hands Kit that includes this product. At the Elemis counter they advised me that as well as being great for the face or hair, the Frangipani Monoi oil is perfect to be used as a nail and cuticle oil so I have decided to incorporate it into my nail rescue regime.

Aveeno Hand Cream

I'm quite fussy about hand cream but this one claims "to moisturise for 24 hours, forming a protective glove and last through hand washing". It is also fragrance and paraben free so thought I'd give this one a try.

I will apply a new layer of the Duri Rejuvacote daily for 7 days over the existing layer, use the Elemis Frangipani Monoi oil twice daily (morning and evening) and use the Aveeno hand cream in the morning after I have showered and applied the oil. 

I'll come back in a week and let you know how I'm getting on...

Lindsey