u/balladriess

Hello Everyone! I am making a new and improved repost of my previous post as I did not explain everything clearly or include an adequate amount of background information. I also wanted to acknowledge that I did take advice from the previous commenters, so thank you to those who responded kindly and offered advice.

I am still very new to getting my nails done as I’ve only had them done a total of 3 times in the past 3ish years with the last two being in December 2025 and March 2026 with two separate techs. Prior to this, I was a chronic/anxious nail biter so it took me years to finally kick the habit. I’ve tried regular polish in the past but despise doing it as I am too impatient and a perfectionist so I end up removing it or smudging it.

I noticed that my previous nail tech did not properly soak off my gel polish during removal, she even mentioned it during the soak off that they were not reacting correctly/couldn’t remember what base she used. There was still leftover gel remaining on parts of my nails, and I also think the e-file/dremel may have been overused during the removal process.

For context I am including…
- Pictures of nails immediately after the nail appointment with Nail+Aid Sapphire Strength applied on-top and untrimmed.
- Pictures of nails trimmed, oiled with bliss kiss nail oil, and treated with daily CND RescueRxx

At this point I’m mainly looking for advice on…
- How to safely care for my nails while they recover.
- What to watch out for with future nail techs, so that I have the best experience I can get.

I also want to politely ask for kindness in responses. I know there are things I should’ve known or asked about sooner, but I genuinely am inexperienced with nail services and I’m trying to learn. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help educate me.

Me and my partner just moved in together and we are attempting to do the slow introduction method but we are hitting a stand still due to the fact at his resident cat (pic 1)is much older than my baby girl (pic 2) and doesn’t explore at all. The lack of exploration being likely due to her anxiety caused by her hyperthyroidism because she is like this whether or my cat was there. My kitty is more willing to explore but I just don’t know what do since I don’t think it is necessarily fair to lock his cat away since she is the resident and it’s her territory.

Please give suggestions or ideas!!

Hello!

I am a previous nail biter who has now reformed and has been working on building the strength in my natural nails. I only utilize gel polish to aid in protecting my nails, and this after removing the gel polish from my natural nails.

They are fairly weak minus my left thumb (picture included of just that one) which doesn’t bend like the rest of them.

Looking for any assistance! I have bought the butter London nail file, pusher, and cuticle remover. I also have hard as hoof nail lotion, and that nail growth pen from TikTok.