Visible Monday: Winning the Battle with My Weak Nails

Two months without peeling my nail polish off! This is OPI  in "Manicurist of Seville"

I love pretty fingernails.  But for years I didn't have them.

As a kid and as a teenager, I bit my nails incessantly.  Well, finally one day I decided I was going to stop biting my nails.  It wasn't as hard as I had expected. Once I made the decision not to bite them, they grew.

And I would be delighted...finally able to apply pretty polish to my nails!  But guess what? The biting-the-nail habit turned into something arguably just as bad or worse: peeling off the polish.

Sometimes I would only have the polish on for a couple of hours and I would already be peeling and picking it off.  Yes, obviously I have issues.

I tried fake nails a few times, but my budget never really allows for them on a regular basis, and they left my real nails more unhealthy than ever.

A terrible habit!

The peeling-off habit was very damaging to my nails, too.  I read or heard somewhere that when you peel off the polish, you also strip off essential oils that your nails need to be strong and healthy.

I believe it.  My nails were flimsy.  I already take a B-vitamin supplement that is supposed to help hair and nails, so that should have been covered.

5 weeks without peeling off my nail polish!

My big decision

I don't know what prompted it, but one day last summer I decided I wasn't going to peel off my nail polish anymore.

It was a habit of long standing that I figured wasn't going to be easy.  But for the last couple of years, I've committed to trying to be the best woman-of-a-certain-age that I can be.  And having ragged, ugly fingernails just didn't jibe with that commitment.

So, on July 28th, I wrote this on Facebook:

"OK, FB friends, you are my witnesses: I hearby determine to break the appalling habit of peeling off my nail polish! If you see me doing it, you have my permission to slap me hard across the face!"

Since I made that decision, I haven't peeled my nail polish once--even though the temptation was strong at times.  And my nails have benefited immensely!

One of the first things I did was go and get a professional manicure to send me off on a good path.  Since then, I've had frequent polish changes at the nail salon (they're very cheap), and I'm learning to give myself a good home manicure.

A pretty color from Essie

They're no longer flimsy.  I've only had one beginning of a crack, and I fixed it with a remedy someone gave me on Facebook (maybe I'll talk about that in a future post...it's pretty genius.)

It's been over two months since I made my decision.  Who knows if I've permanently conquered the habit?  But so far, so good...and I'm so enjoying having pretty nails, I never want to go back!

Getting daring and experimenting with purple!

Note: When I went public with my shameful peeling habit, I found out that lots of women do the same thing!  It's compulsive.  Have you ever had the problem?  I'd love to know...share in my comments!

Also, a reminder: Just 5 days left in my Soft Surroundings give-away of this beautiful top...go here to enter for your chance to win!

I'm participating in Visible Monday, hosted by Not Dead Yet Style!  Click the icon for more info....