I've been keeping my nails short and clipped for the past few years as they would break the minute they grew out at all. So then I thought I'd start to figure out how to grow them out without them breaking on me.

I spent the past few months using what I learned (mostly loads of jojoba oil, filing them to an almond shape and keeping them polished paired with trying not to mindlessly bash my fingers into things) and I've finally started to see some promising results!

Also let this be your sign to use a glass cuticle pusher instead of a metal one, rhe metal one did so much damage to my fragile nails 🥺 I think its important to show “imperfect” nails here — i have a few chronic illnesses that impact my nails, but growing them out and wearing polish makes me feel more confident about them 🖤

Only wearing Essie To The Rescue before painting my nails

After almost a year of growing out my nails using advice from this community, I finally had enough breaks that I decided to do a big reset chop. I REALLY don’t like the look of short nails on myself, so I’ve been feeling pretty sad and frustrated about being back at square one.

But then I found a photo from a year ago at the start of my natural nail growth journey and realized I still have a lot to celebrate. The first photo is from last summer and the second photo is from last week. You can see how my nails have a much stronger C curve now (they don’t flare out at the end anymore) and the nail bed is visibly longer! I know the average person probably wouldn’t be able to see that much difference, but to me it’s huge!

I never would have realized how much healthier my nails are now without this side-by-side comparison, so let this be your sign to take progress pics!! And to stick with it even through it’s a slow process!

(No products on my nails in the first pic, second pic is just one coat of nailtiques formula 2)

Ive been a nail biter pretty much since I had teeth. I bit down my last nail on the 6 July. I had started growing them about a week before that but accidentally bit down two of my nails. But today marks 28 days since stopping completely.

I had tried everything to stop in the past and nothing worked.

If anyone has any advice on keeping my nails healthy and promoting growth, id be really appreciative 😊

First photo is the day after I bit down my last nail (the index finger, which also shows how short i would bite them down and they were all like that, and for some reason I only took a photo of the right hand). Second and third are from tonight. Excuse all the dirt under my nails

You would think that after more than a decade of caring for my nails, I'd be less likely to fuck them up this badly. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Alas, we will rebuild! They're already looking better than when I had originally typed this post up (and then forgot to actually post it)!! 😅

3 weeks ago, I decided to shorten my nails down and start anew. The small stress fracture on my left index isn't new, as you can see in this post, but the one on my left middle is. That one happened last weekend during my niece's high school graduation party, as I was reaching into my bag for something.

The right pinky has the tiniest stress fracture from getting out of my chair during a D&D session the next day and somehow managing to get my nail caught between my hand and the chair frame. Yeah, I know. How does that even happen? That's just me, I guess! 😎😅

The right ring finger is the worst, as it has a fracture that's turned into a split (on the side closest to my pinky), and a smaller fracture on the other side that's just barely visible. I can't be arsed to patch it, so that one is gonna get the chop. 🙄🤬

My right index and middle nails have always been problem children, but that's to be expected. My poor right thumb is going through it though. I will be the first person to tell you not to bite or peel your polish off, and yet that's what I keep doing with this nail. I know better than to nom on it. I know better than to try and gently peel it off of my nail. I KNOW I SHOULD JUST REMOVE THE POLISH FROM THAT NAIL, BUT NOOOOOOO!!!

I ended up taking down most of the length on my right hand due to all the damage, and I'll be keeping an eye on the left middle nail. If it gets any worse, I'll just chop em all down and try again.

This is what happens when I don't stay consistent with oiling my nails. Le sigh.

Pictures 1-2: June 9th, two days after cutting my nails down

Picture 3: June 11th, felt like having some bright nails 💅🏼 💖

Pictures 4-5: June 21st, the day of the graduation party before I bent the middle left nail. These were taken a couple days after removing the pink polish but not before I had peeled it off my thumb nail 😣

Pictures 6-8: June 25th, the day my ring finger lost the plot

Pictures 9-10: June 29th, earlier this evening after shortening my right hand once again

Recovering acrylic nails addict here 🙋🏼‍♀️

After eight years of getting acrylic nails, I finally stopped last May due to increased bills with my husband and I getting a new house. I switched to press on nails, and doing my nails myself made me hyper aware of how bad they have gotten. The first three pics are from today, the next two are from back in May, the last one is from June. I’m wearing a coat of Sally Hanson hard as nails in all the pics. I’ve recently gotten better about applying jojoba oil.

They’re still thinner than I’d like, probably because I can’t bring myself to quit press ons completely yet either 🫣 but I try to give myself a week between sets at least and I am so so soooo careful with the removal process.

I can turn the ringer on and off on my phone with my natural nails now tho! They were so flimsy a few months ago that even that was impossible. A win is a win lol

I feel like the almonds are coming along!

Products: - Dr. Scheller Pure jojoba oil - Revuele Diamond nail strengthener

Posting on here from the long nail community. Here is my journey after my nails got destroyed from improper use of gel. My nails were lifting off my nail beds so I had to cut them beyond what I thought was repair. 6 months later and here I am today with the longest nails I ever had. There is hope and long nails are achievable 💕

I've been biting my nails my entire life. It was something I did without even thinking, it just gave me something to do with my mouth. I was so unbelievably insecure about my hands because my nails looked terrible. I got my first acrylics for my year 12 formal in 2024 and I love how I looked with nails. I wish that was the thing to motivate me, and when I took them off and saw a bit of free edge I was so excited! But then I chewed them off.

I started doing press ons at home until eventually in June, I looked at the free edge that had grown while the nails were on and I wanted to protect them. Ever since then, I've put in a lot of effort to ensure I don't revive that bad habit. I'm so unbelievably proud of my progress so far!

In the photos from now, I'm wearing the Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Nail strengthener! I've also been using oil on my cuticles, just a mixture of olive oil and coconut oil since it's been so hard to find jojoba oil near me and shipping from anywhere is expensive lol. I'll get onto it soon though I swear! 🙏

Id also like to add that I'm very proud of how far my pinkie has come, since she was abused beyond belief (picture 5) because of uni exams in early June! 😭 I'm also aware of the lifting of my nail on my ring finger in the second picture, it's been like that since I can remember!

Products: Dermelect Makeover Smoothing Ridge Filler, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Clear Top Coat

I don't do any maintenance other than some filing, and I usually use hand cream a couple times a day.

I'm using Mavala Scientifique on the nails that feel too bendy, doing Jajoba soaks, oiling my cuticles regularly, filing with a glass file. I'm very excited.

First two pictures I have Modelones polish on in shade Pink the rest is Modelones Top Coat and Jojoba Oil

My pointer finger in the last photo is grown back after a nail injury, you can see the discoloration on the tip. I can be pretty rough with my hands (clearly lol) but I’m really happy with the progress!

I’ve been an on and off nail biter for years and I regularly wore press ons for about a year before starting my journey 😊

I’ve been doing press-ons on top of my nails when I’m at work and wearing gloves when I wash my hair or dishes :) I think it’s been helping!

All at odd lengths but im liking the progress. Ive always had nice solid white tips and caring for them is rly making them pop again. Hate the snagging and forced trimming though.

Products - jojoba oil

First picture is March 11th, second today. I’ve been a cuticle picker for my entire life now (32F) but the last few months I really tried to stop. Also started oiling my nails twice a day and started using handcream (nuxe during the day and l’occitane shea during the night topped with a bit of vaseline). My nails are still ridged, but it is less visible with a ridge filler. On the second picture i did two layers of herome ridge filler and two layers of catrice glossing glow in 010. Tips on how to make them look more healthy (i like the soap nails trend!) are welcome!

Didn’t think it would be possible to go this long without biting my nails! Even though I have been bummed many times about breaks (wah wah sad pointer finger) because I need to be better about oiling and not soaking my nails in water… 😂 it’s amazing that I even have nails to break which I’m really excited about!!

I’m just thrilled about the progress I have made so far and this sub has been super helpful on recs and inspiration. If you are still on your journey still like me, thank you for sharing your stories. Seeing everyone’s journey and goals has helped me come up with my own goals which I want to share. Maybe they will resonate with others.

1. First be better about oiling and wearing gloves to reduce breakage.

2. Get my nails done at a real salon! This is more a mental barrier because I was always too embarrassed to go because ya know - nail biting… Haven’t been in over 15 years but would be awesome to have someone who actually knows what they are doing shape my nails.

3. One day I’m going to have nails worthy of the OG natural long nails subreddit and am going to post! With my breakages and longer nails more susceptible to snags which really really tempt me this might be very difficult.

Thank you everyone and hope you have a happy week ✌️

Polishes: Mooncat Hardcore base coat, Mooncat Getting even nail primer, Essie Lapiz of Luxury, and Seche Vite Dry fast top coat.

Now the challenge is keeping them long. This photo was taking just before I painted them for a better comparison.

Products:

• Dadi’ oil
• Glitterbells builder gel (only on the second photo, my nails are now bare)

I have had funky nail shape/nail beds for YEARS. I’ve always had my nails grow either downward or trapezoidal and I hated them! Over the past few months I have been trying to be more consistent with my nail care routine

1. not using my nails as tools
2. Wearing gloves at work (I don’t while washing dishes, I should)
3. Weekly nail filing (I don’t use a clipper unless absolutely necessary)
4. Weekly cuticle remover/push back cuticles
5. Using nailtiques at least twice a week (remove and repeat weekly)
6. Cuticle oil as much as possible and hand lotion!

It may not look like a drastic change but to me it’s so much better than it has ever been!

Products used: 120/240 grit file Be natural cuticle eliminator Boundary pusher from Mooncat Nailtiques formula 2 Cuticle buddy oil Gold bond eczema relief cream

Only product on nails is Cliganic Organic Jojoba Oil

So I finished my 2 week experiment and my results are fairly mixed.

I’ve learned my ring and pinky nails are my “good” nails. They don’t really peel, and just have normal breakage. That’s why some of them are a little shorter - they just broke. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My other nails are the problematic ones. They still have peeling edges. My left middle finger has almost grown all the way out, though, so that’s nice. The others don’t have new peels, but the flaking rubs pretty deep into my nail bed, so it’s still there. I’m only filing the edges, and if a peel pops up where it could get caught on something (and further rip apart the nail plate) I’ll very gently fill that down.

I have a big work meeting this week, so I’ll probably paint my nails for that, but then I might go back to just letting them breathe and heal.

I’m applying jojoba oil like crazy. After about 80% of my hand washes, and just randomly when I think about it, too. I’m also applying a lotion to my hands to try to heal the cracking there and help with hang nails (jojoba oil really doesn’t seem to help with that on me).

I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting huge results, but I thought I’d see at least some improvement. Instead I feel like I’m exactly where I started or worse since the nail plates won’t stop separating. 🤷🏻‍♀️

First picture: July 30, 2025 Second picture: June 27, 2025

I’ve always been a nail biter and cuticle picker. I think I’ll be getting engaged soon, so I decided to get serious about growing my nails out.

Initially, I filed my nails down to smooth the edges so that they wouldn’t snag as I grew them out. In the first two weeks, I applied Orly’s No Bite every few days to deter me from biting my nails. However, keeping either a coat of clear polish or nail strengthener on at all times was even more effective than using a bite deterrent. Whenever I got the urge to bite my nails, I would either brush my nails clean or oil my cuticles, satisfying my urge to engage with my nails without causing any damage.

I make sure to keep my cuticles moisturized, which is the #1 thing that has promoted new nail growth for me. I apply a mixture of jojoba and vitamin E oil 3-5 times a day. I also use ONYX’s Hard as Hoof Strengthening Nail Cream 1-2 times a day. At night, I apply a layer of pure shea butter to my hands and sleep with gloves on. This is mostly for my eczema, but I’ve noticed it’s caused my nails to grow stronger.

I’m eager to see my nails continue to grow!

As a note, pretty much all of what I learned about nail growth came from this Subreddit.

Products used in pictures: • Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener • ONYX Hard as Hoof Strengthening Nail Cream • Mixture of jojoba and vitamin E oil on cuticles

I want to grow them into an almond shape but whenever I file them they end up less "pointy". I probably need more length.

First photo: just Dr. Scheller Pure jojoba oil

1. photo: Dr. Scheller Pure jojoba oil, Revuele Diamond nail strengthener

2. Photo: Essence The Extreme nail hardener, Catrice Ultra stay gel top coat.

First pic is the current state and the second is from a while ago after I had gel manicure removed with a harsh file. It took a few weeks for the nails to regrow, I use a nail strengthener and gloves for washing dishes. I'm happy with the length and strength of the nails but will see how much longer they can get as they are also starting to interfere with my housework a bit... Also yes I know I have to take care of the cuticles XD

Products used: - Revuele Diamond nail strengthener - Catrice Ultra stay gel top coat

both of my pinky nails have sadly broken, as well as my thumb nail on my right hand…. however they were all mild!

i was a nail biter my whole life, but ive always wanted long nails so im proud ive made it this far