# What would you do? File them or down or keep them till it grows back?



## trincess (Jul 9, 2009)

Hello dear nail-lovers, I have a question for you. My nails have been very strong from the beginning, and they don't bend. I don't have proper maintenance products for this situation in my country, everything available is for the weak and splitting nails. Since they don't grow very quickly, I've been extra cautious about my nails, but sadly they break at the point they don't bend, and most of the time I don't even see why, because I try so hard not to walk my hands flying around, hitting things. Today the nail of my ringfinger suddenly broke =( It made me so sad because - as you all know - it'll be a lot of work to have it at my desired length again, maybe 3 weeks. So my question is: would you file all your nails down in the same situation, or would you keep them till the broken one grows back? I just don't have the guts to file them all down, it feel like all my efforts thus far will be in vain.







pic:


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## fillintheblank (Jul 9, 2009)

Aww I'm sorry, that kind of thing happens to me ALL the time, where just one or two will break. My index finger's nail just broke and I can't bring myself to cut all the rest for one nail! I just painted my nails a sheer neutral color to hopefully make it less noticeable and I'm just going to wait until it grows out. Sometimes instead of cutting them, I'll just file them down a tiny bit so the break is less obvious.


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## malaviKat (Jul 9, 2009)

I'd file them down (personally)...but that's only because I like symmetry. I feel your pain. I have a few months worth of growth (small trims every so often to keep them neat) on my hands that amount to just under a centimetre in length and my thumb just started splitting on the weekend. Bye bye lovely manicure! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




(One thing I've read is to make sure you dry your hands properly every time you wash them. Water makes nails more susceptible to breakage; even if you're careful not to smash them into things, they will have a tendency to split. I'm notorious for letting my hands air dry...go figure.)


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## ginger9 (Jul 9, 2009)

Personally I like to keep all my nails relatively uniform so I will file/trim to simliar length if I get a break. I've grown to know the limits of my nails over the years so I'm sporting a shorter nail to avoid the heartache of having a break when I've taken weeks to grown them long.


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## gildedangel (Jul 9, 2009)

I have had a similar situation recently. I wasn't paying attention to my filing and then I filed one of my nails down way too far. I personally am still growing my nails out so I just keep them at the uneven lengths since the long ones are still not where I want them to be. You could also try to get some sort of a growth serum to help the shorter nail grow faster to catch up with the rest of your nails. HTH!


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## trincess (Jul 9, 2009)

Thank you for the support, guys! <3
I think I'm going to file the rest down a bit, and try a growth serum... I've been working on them for 4 months now & I can't let the others go =) They've already been broken a gazillion times, but it was never my ring finger... It let me down!


 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *malaviKat* 

 
_
(One thing I've read is to make sure you dry your hands properly every time you wash them. Water makes nails more susceptible to breakage; even if you're careful not to smash them into things, they will have a tendency to split. I'm notorious for letting my hands air dry...go figure.)_

 
Really? I didn't know that! The breakage happened _right_ after the shower, maybe that's why!


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## kaliraksha (Jul 9, 2009)

For me, that's close enough especially from a distance... it might drive me a little nuts... but I would keep the one nail shorter until its long enough to file them all down to a length that will still be long.


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## trincess (Jul 9, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *kaliraksha* 

 
_For me, that's close enough especially from a distance... it might drive me a little nuts... but I would keep the one nail shorter until its long enough to file them all down to a length that will still be long._

 
It's driving me nuts, too! It feels like having two pinkies on one hand =D But I'm going to be patient, no need to go super-short for just one nail... (having said that, I pray for my other nails to stay as they are =)


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## Stephy171 (Jul 9, 2009)

ughh i hate when this happens lukily there isnt that much of a difference so i wouldnt cut them all down... I HATE THAT lmaoo... so i'll tell you one of us spanish peoples tricks lol.... sounds gross but really works.... your nails grow long fast and stong....

take a clove of garlic and put it into clear nailpolishh.... im sure we're not the only people who do it!!!


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## dirtball (Aug 17, 2009)

mmm garlic fingers.

i might file the rest slightly shorter, but not as short as the broken one. just to ease the fury you get every time you notice the broken one. my pinky nail broke off as short as it could possibly go. short enough that it hurts when you touch the tip of the nail. OUCH. i like to konad my nails as tacky as possible so its really obvious though. chg for audrey with konad leopard print and a little bit of gold flakes on top of some haha. its so obvious, that im not even going to bother cutting the rest shorter because youll still be able to tell that the pinky is shortest. i have a better chance of hiding my pinky. the bright side is, its on my scissor hand, not my hair holding hand, or else all my clients would see it during their bang trims! they always comment on my nails.


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## prettypearl20 (Aug 17, 2009)

My toe nails did this earlier this summer. Both of my big toe nails were PERFECT!! Somehow, the left one split down the middle???!!! I shaped up the nail but left the other one alone. I eventually filed down the good one a little because it looked really bad!!


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