Dear Madame Patriot,

My hands are a mess. I try time and time again to treat myself to a nice manicure each week, but after a day or two my polish starts to chip and peel! When I do take the polish off, I can’t help but to pick at my nails, so they end up splitting and cracking. I can’t afford to go to the nail salon, so I need some solutions to help me without breaking the bank. Please help me!

Sincerely,

Foul Fingertips

Dear Foul,

There are many reasons why you could be suffering from weak and brittle nails. The first would be because you are wetting and drying your nails too often. This problem is sometimes worse in the wintertime when the air is dry. Try to wear rubber gloves when doing the dishes or when your nails are submerged in water to avoid splitting. Stress could also be causing the nails to be weak, so take a warm bath, get a massage, and do whatever you can to get rid of those nerves! You can also try to use a repairing treatment on your nails. One of my personal favorites is the Nail Tek II Intensive Therapy treatment. You can use this treatment as a base coat under your nail polish. It will seal the layers of your nail together while strengthening and thickening the surface. As for the constant peeling of the actual nail polish, it might be time to buy new polish. Old or cheap nail polish renders a less than perfect result. Polish will not stay on for the desired amount of time. Although they are not as cheap as the drug store products, brands like Essie and OPI are definitely worth the investment. With nail polish, it’s more about quality over quantity, so be sure to invest in a few nice colors to compliment your nails! One of the most crucial steps in creating a lasting at-home manicure that people often leave out is the application of a base and top coat. A base coat is essential in smoothing the surface of the nail to ensure an even coat of colored polish. My go-to is Essie’s First Base base coat. It has rubberized adhesives in it to bond the polish to the surface of the nail. A top coat is just as important because it seals in whatever color you have painted on top of the base coat. Essie also makes a top coat called Good to Go which is awesome because it dries in a matter of seconds and makes the nails super shiny. If you follow all of these steps, your nails should be back to normal in no time! Good luck.

Sincerely,

Madame Patriot