Do Nails Really Need to Breathe?
I’m sure we’ve all heard someone say, or have even said ourselves, that we need to give our nails a break and let them “breathe”. Why is this, and is this something we even need to do?
Quick answer - No. There is no reason to do this. First off, nails don’t breathe. They do not have lungs. They are made of a protein, keratin, like your hair. Once you are able to see your nail, what you are seeing are all dead cells. The living cells are back in the matrix, hidden from view.
Then why have we been told to let our nails breathe? Well, part of this I believe is just being naive and trying to make sense of what one may be experiencing. If you’re not a nail tech, you probably haven’t taken a deep dive into the workings and anatomy of the nail. You’ve probably gotten distracted by all that damn glitter and colorful polish laying around. So then when nails become stained from having constant polish on them or perhaps have become thin or brittle after wearing enhancements, it’s natural for a person to think that they need to give their nails a break, a breather (even if it’s just metaphorical), if you will. And then after a few months, nails look improved which just proved your course of action to be correct…or did it?
Well, not exactly. What you are seeing is just new, dead nail. You’ve let the stains, thin or rough bits grow out and off. Stains are nothing bad healthwise for your nails. Red or dark polishes and gels will leave stains if the base coat was skipped. Don’t skip your base coat! Same with color acrylics. Put down a very thin clear or nude layer then add the color on top to keep from staining that grippy nail plate you just roughed up to hold on tight to the enhancement. Sure, the nail stain won’t hurt you, it just will not look as nice if next week you want to go sheer pink or french. But in the grand scheme of things, no harm, no foul.
But what about those thin or brittle nails? Did those get better after the breather? Possibly, but here is where you may want a bit more caution. If your nails appear healthier after taking a break, you need to evaluate your nail tech and the products being used. What exactly then should you be evaluating?
Does your nail tech burn you with the electric file or hand file? Granted, once in awhile, it may happen, but is this happening every time you get your nails done because it definitely shouldn’t be. The bits being used may be dull, the efile may be running at an inappropriate speed or your nail tech may just not be skilled enough with the tool they are using. Either way, this leads to nail damage and needs to be avoided.
Are you getting “rings of fire” during your service? These are those red rings that may appear close to the base of your nail when you are getting a fill and burn like hell. You’ll usually also see dips and ridges. If you can count your fills by counting these rings, RUN to another nail tech. You are not a tree! Don’t be counting the age of your set by the rings you see.
Are you constantly getting your nails soaked in acetone? This is common for dip nails, gel polish, new set of acrylic for whatever reason, etc. Soaking in acetone should be avoided when possible. This is because acetone is incredibly drying to the nails. The one thing you can do for your nails, besides eating healthy, is to provide your nails with the proper moisture content. This is why cuticle oil and wearing gloves when cleaning is so important. Dry nails are brittle nails. The more acetone they absorb, the more brittle they become. Every once in awhile is fine. And if you are soaking in acetone rarely and notice that they seem weaker right after a soak, don’t fret yet. It can take nails up to 24 hours to bounce back. But the more often you do this, the harder it is for them to get back to their original state. Again, base layers are your friend here. Apply that thin base layer and file only down to that, not the natural nail, when removing dip, gel polish and acrylic enhancements. However, there are times when your tech may need to do a soak, like when switching products or line of products, but the thinner they are filed before the soak, the less time you will need in the acetone for removal.
What is in the products that your tech is putting on your nails? Do the products contain harsh solvents? Drying is again the issue here, not nail enhancements in general, but possibly a specific nail product. A lot of times I’ll hear people say that they stopped getting dip or gel polish because it was making their nails weak, thinking it was just the product in general, as a whole. This can especially be a problem with dip, since it is traditionally applied with a resin (nail glue) and then soaked off two or three weeks later, applied again, and it just keeps repeating. First, dip is not healthier than any other enhancement, no matter what the marketing execs want to tell you. Your nails are dead, remember? Putting finely ground acrylic powder and pigments on them will not change that. However, you may find that resin drying. If you really want dip nails, ask if they will apply it with a soft gel instead. When removing, your tech can then just file down to the clear base layer and apply again. Or, just get a gel overlay or extensions to begin with. Then we have lots of gel polishes that are really more like hybrids with nail lacquers and contain a lot of solvents. Again, over time, you may find these drying. If so, find a salon that carries true gels, not hybrids, or at least has a line of true gel polishes to choose from.
Did the tech tell you to remove the product to let them “breathe” but then followed up the removal with more product? If they did breathe, how would that even work? They get one gasp and then that’s it?! Sometimes, it’s just marketing. The salon may want to sell you on more services or cover their tracks from inferior products that have begun to change to an unsightly color or that simply just do not hold up as long as they should in the first place.
I hope this helps to clear up the misconception about nails needing to breathe. It’s really just evaluating the nail salon, nail tech, products and how services are decided. And to avoid any confusion since I have mentioned dry and brittle nails throughout this blog post, that was only in reference to these circumstances. There are other reasons why nails may be dry or brittle. If you suspect your nail condition may be due to anything deeper than what is mentioned in this post, please be sure to see your healthcare provider. And no, your nail tech is not your nail specific healthcare provider. That is beyond our scope of practice.
