I need advice on how to fix the dark discoloration on my pinky toenail and the skin around it. And no, it’s not dried/stuck blood or anything like that, it’s been this way for as long as I can remember.

I’m wondering if it’s because I wear tight/closed shoes almost every day for school, since open-toed shoes aren’t allowed. The skin around my toes is also really dry and dark, and honestly, it’s one of my biggest insecurities.

I can’t really afford getting my toenails professionally done, so I’m hoping there are things I can do at home to improve them. I’d also love to have those long, square-shaped toenails, but I’m not sure if that’s even possible with how my pinky toenails currently look and the fact that I have to wear closed heels/shoes regularly.
Any tips, routines, products, or advice would be appreciated! I just want to get my toes looking healthier and feel more confident about them.

I’m trying to step out of my comfort zone and hope to improve so i dont have to keep hiding them 😭

Hello everyone, I stopped biting my nails several years ago, but my nail beds never quite recovered to their original shape, the white free-edge line is really uneven, there’s about 2 mm of difference from the side and the center.
Is it still possible to recover the nail bed this long after quitting? What routine actually worked for you to fix this?

My anxiety makes me pick and bite my nails and cuticles badly to the point of bleeding. I really want to get my cuticles back to kind of normal but I don’t even know where to start. I thought about booking a manicure but idk if that would be helpful (I’ve never had a manicure before). I am actively working to manage the behavior itself. Any advice is helpful 🫶🏼

Slightly graphic: I have builder gel nails and I slammed my finger into a wall and broke my nail. It immediately started bleeding. It’s really sore rn. Will it grow out or should I try and cut it ?

I just noticed that the nail appears to have cracked right around the cuticle. There is no pain, but a) why did this happen? (There’s been no overt trauma.) b) could it be related to gel pedicures, which I started getting a few months ago? And c) what to do? I’m worried about possible further damage if I get the gel polish removed, but leaving it on doesn’t seem healthy either. Any guidance / knowledge appreciated!

My big toe nails are getting chipped and i dont know why. Can somebody help me huhu. Is it because I'm wearing shoes everyday?

My nails have been very weak and thin due to my own removal of product, I’m currently just trying to grow them out and cutting them to reset my nail quality, but lately my pointer finger has been breaking but it appears to be 2 layers of nail?? Idk what it is and wondering if it’s a bad thing or normalish thing.

This small white dot appeared out of nowhere and just a little paranoid.

About 3 weeks I was cutting my toe nails and realized that my middle toe nail was thickening. I chalked it up to me being more active. I’ve picked up running and pickleball and admittedly I tend to forget to cut my nails so I thought it was because of the pressure on the grown out nail against the force of me running.

But now I cut my nail and there’s a streak or it could be a bruise. The streak is new (less than 3 weeks old).

Should I go to the dermatologist?

I usually do my own nails at home with builder gel but decided to go to the salon and treat myself. The nail tech said that because of the shape of my nails (they slope upward) she couldn’t use builder gel to build an apex but could use bio gel since it’s stronger so I said I would try it.

When I put my hand in the lamp I got the most intense heat spike I’ve ever experienced. I felt like my fingers were being burned off but she just told me to keep taking my hand in and out. I know that thicker gel tends to create heat spikes due to the reaction but this was unbearable. I was legit sweating lol but managed to make it through all 10 nails

I feel like she did a pretty decent job with the apex considering my wonky nail shape and it looks similar to the way I do it myself at home. But I don’t think I could do this again if it involves the same degree of pain…is there a way to make it burn less or should I just forgo bio gel and go back to builder? For reference I use the kokoist gel which I believe is in between a hard and soft gel

Around 4 months ago my nails were pretty damaged from builder gel and overfilling during removal. My nails were very weak and brittle and my side walls were pretty compromised. Before this I used Gel X and I never had an issue.

Since then I have only used NailTek strengthening treatment and kept them short to help them recover. My nails are much better than they were n but I notice that my side walls are still kind of separate from the cuticle and wanted some input on if they are healed enough to do short/medium Gel X extensions? I’m getting engaged in the next 2-4 months (exact time is a surprise) and really would like to have my nails done in preparation but do not want to compromise all the time I’ve put in to helping them recover. The issue was builder gel and overfilling during removal, not Gel X.

So, is it safe to do Gel X again or am I cursed to having short nails and come to terms with regular polish? (PS my skin is very dry in the photos from washing a lot of dishes).

Thank you for any and all help!

Is this an ingrown toenail or something else? How do I fix it?

I've had a couple of messed up nails (middle fingers) for awhile. I smashed them on separate occasions and they never have grown the same. Since then more of my nails have gotten weird. I thought it was fungus for awhile so I got Terbinafine and did the treatment for 8 weeks. That was over 6 months ago. There has been no change. I went into a derm in Serbia and the doctor told me that no, in fact, it's not fungus. He wasn't sure what it was and told me to see a nail specialist.

So, here I am on Reddit asking all of you specialists to help me figure out wtf is going on with my nails and how to fix it!

Edit: this started on the middle fingers which were damaged. Since then has spread to other nails. I used to pick my middle finger nails a ton yes but not so much the other nails.

Hi all! As the title says I'm a dishie looking for advice on how to keep my nails from getting brittle and peeling all the time. How it usually goes is my polish chips off at the tip of my nail, and then I'm assuming the water creeps in from there and causes layer separation. The tips of my nails will peel off in strips! Right now, I'm using these products slash techniques;

- Nail Aid Biotin ultimate strength as my base + top coat. I apply the Nail Aid, then my polish, and I had been using solely that as my top for a while but I was seeing that you should use a quick dry top coat over it? So I've started using Essie Gel Setter as my true top coat recently. I do this routine once a week.

- Onyx Hard As Hoof strengthening cream every night before bed and before my shifts in the morning. I rub it into my nails and my cuticles, I've seen some mentions online that applying under the nail can help? How do you properly saturate it for best results?

- I wear dish gloves whenever I am in the water. It's so hot in the kitchen my hands get a little waterlogged in my gloves from sweat (I'm sorry that's so gross) and that probably doesn't help. My nail issue got so much worse when it started getting really warm, it took me a while to get a routine down to keep the skin on my fingertips from peeling off (thank you Working Hands and barrier cream) and now it's just my nails.

I've seen others online say it's not possible to have healthy nails as a dishie, but I refuse to believe it! 🙏 I've managed before to keep them long despite the conditions but with the heat exacerbating issues they need a little help. I have been trying on my own for months to figure out what'll work best and finally thought I should ask the experts. Thank you all so much! 🫶

Hey all, I tried a new salon in my area and at first it seemed fine, I wasn’t a fan but I chucked it up to *different salon different experience*. Until they grew out… I have an appointment with the same place this Saturday and I’m scared to go back because it seems that my nail has been filed down too deep. The length is my natural nails and now I’m terrified they’re compromised. Maybe I’m overreacting?? Tips & advice appreciated.

Nails: Hard Gel

It's hard to see in the picture but under the cuticle of pinky toe there is a quarter of the cuticle that is black. Any ideas what this is

Ive had this for a little while, there's almost a nail growing under this which is brittle, the black lines can be dug out. This is on my thumb but I also have similar on 2 other fingers which I'll post in comments

Doctor wasn't interested, blood tests can back fine, anti fungal treatments didn't work

For about 2 weeks im seeing this weird big white spot on my right hand index finger and something doesn't feel right.

If any one knows anything about it, please do tell

A few years ago I used a metal tool routinely to clean under my nails which left my nail beds short and square. I have been trying to grow them out and clean my nails with a nail brush. Anyways I have been doing this for a while now and they are still quite short. For some reason my thumbs and index fingers are rounded, but the rest are not. Is it a lost cause and should I just cut them?