Professional Nail technician here: There are several different types of "Gel Nails" THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME! ***ASK YOUR SALON WHAT BRAND THEY'RE USING ON YOU!!! The GENUINE CND SHELLAC BRAND does NOT -EVER- need to be filed off ever! The other brands such as Gelish, Axxium, etc are TOTALLY DIFFERENT! They are true Gels, so with this product, the entire natural nail bed needs to be filed on top of the nail and the surface etched (taken off) = nail damage for the product to attach properly. The new nail growth at the cuticle also needs to be filed for adhesion EACH TIME A NEW MANICURE IS PERFORMED WITH THOSE TRUE GEL PRODUCTS. Also, with each new manicure, the top coat seal needs to be filed off (yet again) -off the top of the nails to allow the acetone to penetrate and take the gel off. Remember, every time you file off a layer of the top of your nails, you're making them thinner and thinner. PEOPLE WONDER WHY THEIR NAILS ARE BEING DAMAGED? True Gels are just as damaging as Acrylic Nails. Many nail technicians/salons call anything "Shellac". KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING! ONLY THE CND SHELLAC BRAND is a true non-nail damage soak off gel-hybrid.(Hybrid means: Not a true gel, not a polish). Your nail technician should use nothing stronger than a WOOD (not metal) cuticle stick to scrape off any remaining soft gel during the removal process -after the 10 min Acetone removal process. NO FILING!!! NO FILING!!! If any filing is necessary, it is NOT the Shellac brand! I also would like to make another BIG caution as well... I myself am very cautious regarding products unregulated and coming from China. I only buy CND BRAND SHELLAC, & CND lamps and bulbs from an authorized Creative Nail Design (CND) distributor. If a salon buys a knock-off or other manufactured nail lamp from China, with no regulation, health importation checks, or company quality control, how do you know how much UV strength is actually being emitted from those bulbs? How do you know what is in that polish? How about the ingredients? How do you know if ingredients in a non-CND product are coming from Japan (radiation)? I personally would NEVER fool around with my own health or the health of my clients by buying knock-off products for this item. It's not worth the few dollars per item to save. I am not against buying knock-off's in some situations, but I do not buy knock-off's from the internet etc. for anything I put on my body or face that can be absorbed, or ingested. You just don't know what's in them.

Graywings, I stopped the Evista because I do not like taking medicines. My primary insisted and I have taken it for about 3 or 4 years. She retired and I have told my new doctor that I don't want to take it. I am also doing more weight-bearing exercises. She agreed that we can give this a try, pending the outcome of my next bone density test in about a year. We'll see. Java, I don't think it is psoriatic arthritis. I have read about that and it is talking about separation from the nail bed and such. While protein and calcium probably have something to do with it, I think the main cause is probably chemicals from over polishing and dryness. It seems like I was removing and reapplying polish 2 or 3 times a week this winter. Then when the technician buffed my nails paper thin, it was really bad. Some of that polish was off by the next morning. Oakley and Peegee, with that overpriced kit I bought at the mall kiosk was a buffer. It is incredible how much my nails are shining. I keep using the oil that came with it. There is also a hand cream that I left in Florida for my friend to bring up as it was over 3 ounces. I will get that next week. I agree with all above who said I need to lay off the polish. Now that is killing me as I do not like my nails without it, but I know I need to stop at least until I get this mess grown out. Thanks again for all of your replies.

Thank you for posting about this, joanne_fla!!! First, olejoyful, I believe that ingesting knox gelatin completely improved my nails. I used it for that *many* years ago!!! I was a kid who bit my nails. My neighbor kept giving me knox gelatin, saying it would make me stop biting them. She'd add it to orange juice or whatever. I not only stopped biting my nails, I had fingernails that all other women envied. Everyone asked if they were real. Fastforward: I completely abuse my hands and nails. I use my nails as tools both in the garden and in the house, and have hands in water too much, so there has been constant nail damage. I've used this Nailtiques Formula 2 for just over a week, and have forgotten to apply it some of those days, but my nails look and feel great! Excellent product. Thanks again!

Well, tryed the peanut butter with no luck and couldn't find the goop stuff so decided to 'carefully' try the polish remover so put a little on a q-tip, held my breath, and did a little spot and it came off so carefully done the rest(size of a quarter), then immediately rubbed on some of my eye makeup remover with aloe vera jell & wiped that off real quick. I also tryed the 'eye sweep' stuff by itself too but it didn't take the polish off, but thought since it was gentle enough for the eye area it should be ok for my jacket! lol. I am sooo happy & also learned my lesson with the nail polish!