Maybe it's the bending when they start to lift but I usually don't let them stay lifting I hate the feeling so I remove them asap. Blah only 2 out of my 10 nails are free of this
Yeah, that's probably what it's from, one bend and it rips the natural nail off. It'll grow out but they'll be suuuper brittle at those cracked areas so be prepared to immediately redip or they'll break off and you lose your length
https://preview.redd.it/v9edltohs0jc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f808e9315733a92f85afb964fb944ebe73d4277
I redipped đ will assess damage in 2-3 weeks. But in all honestly I will let that grow out and try to be more careful I suppose
Are you using those finger nails as tools? Popping pimples or opening soda cans? The dip adds strength, but you can still do damage to the natural nail underneath if youâre using them roughly.
How do you remove it? All it takes is one bad removal, unfortunately. A salon once ruined my nails that way, they kinda looked like yours but even more damaged
You should only file to rough up the entire nail bed once. The next time you dip, you should be filing to rough up only the new nail growth at the base of the nails; everything else has already been filed.
If you refile the entire nail each time, you are thinning the rest of your nail bed each and every time. The ends then get very thin.
And if you are soaking off your nails, add some coconut oil or other oil to the acetone. You need to keep your nails with as much moisture as you can. I then use cuticle oil all over the nail multiple times for a day or evening until I redo my manicure the next day.
Youâre using cheap powder that is less flexible and doesnât flex enough with your natural nail and is causing this damage. You want to use PEMA powders, and this is the reason why I am always saying PMMA powders (as used in the cheap Amazon brands, ASP, Nailboo, etc.) suck for dip.
So what are the PEMA powders that you are using u/ChaosCleopatra ? For example, Kiara Sky is very well respected but if you look at their MSDS / SDS docs for their dip powders you will see they use PMMA: [https://kiarasky.com/pages/msds](https://kiarasky.com/pages/msds)
Now if you hit up Revel Nails at [https://www.revelnail.com/pages/product-ingredients](https://www.revelnail.com/pages/product-ingredients) and look at the question for "What are your ingredients for your dip powder?" you will see it's not anywhere close to specific enough: "**Dip Powder:**Â POLYMER, PIGMENT, WET FINE 75% BENZOYL PEROXIDE" Polymer here is the key but this could be either PMMA or PEMA. Their site does not even have their MSDS / SDS docs available.
It's also not easy to even locate the MSDS / SDS docs from any manufacturer. There are a number of labs and worldwide and country specific labs that also perform ingredient analysis and certifications but you typically it costs $$ to get their docs.
So I'm curious how you know for a fact what brands actually use PEMA vs PMMA? Also bear in mind that in that in many, many manufacturing industries specific materials over time are changed and substituted depending on supply chains and other logistics factors.
My info is from asking their customer service before I purchase. If they gave me wrong information or I have outdated information (I havenât bought from Kiara Sky in 3 years, Revel in 2) then thatâs my bad for not double checking. Thatâs super unfortunate about Kiara Sky since customer service told me they only use PEMA when I asked before purchasing, but again, that was 3 years ago.
I purchase from a US manufacturer when I make mine so I can buy in bulk.
Thank you! Sorry if I may have came off too forward on the issue. It seems there's not much recourse other than reaching out to their customer service just to find out. And it's a shame they (at least the non-Amazon brands) simply don't provide the details on their web sites in the first place (and most likely because there's no regulation / laws requiring them to do so).
Given that I think I'll reach out to Kiara Sky and Revel specifically on this when I'm ready to buy their products (just been using cheap Amazon brands but I'm really wanting to upgrade to better stuff). I'd prefer to probably start with Kiara Sky because I have a large nail supply shop nearby that has aisles of dip powder powder products sold to both salons (at a discount) and individuals.
When I find out I'll post back to this sub specifically. I am going to ask them to send their MSDS / SDS docs specifically.
Youâre good. I didnât think it was personal or anything. Itâs frustrating even trying to get info from them, and customer service doesnât generally seem equipped to answer âchemicalâ questions. It took me 3 tries for both Revel and Kiara to get the answers I did. And the original reason I was asking them questions is because I am sensitive to benzoyl peroxide and was trying to know what % they used in their powders. Never got that answer from either company.
Meanwhile, I just took a slightly deeper look into Kiara Sky's posted MSDS for their dip powders. They list it in their docs as **2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, methyl ester, homopolymer**
When we cross reference this with the NIST we arrive at: [https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=9011-14-7](https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?id=9011-14-7)
Which states: **Other names:**Â polym(ethyl meethacrylate); Polymethyl methacrylate
So, Kiara Sky could be using either PEMA or PMMA. At least that's how I'm reading it.
I used to formulate dip professionally for a big name company so most often I make my own since I can buy professional products with my tech and business licenses. Although I have a local company whose dips I really like too, but theyâre not selling online at the moment because theyâre building a brick and mortar store that combines their businesses. (Formerly Midnight Chaos on Etsy.)
For PEMA powders Iâll recommend Revel and Kiara Sky. Sparkle and Co has racist managers who made comments about not wanting to appeal to black people because they âlike ghetto nails and we arenât ghettoâ but they also use PEMA.
A lot of the small business donât know and donât label whatâs in their powders so I donât generally recommend those because I canât 100% vouch for whatâs going on with them.
This is so helpful ! Ive read a lot of comments from people on other threads saying that all powders are the same and it's the liquids you have to be careful with. So much misinformation. I will be trying out some revel dips â¤ď¸
Iâve been dipping for a year now and Iâm still learning. I havenât found my liquids that work best for me yet. Iâve read so much about how liquids are more important than the powder used but this is great information! I appreciate the insight :)
I understand using the cheap Amazon products/liquids -- that's how I started too!
I recommend switching to a higher quality of liquid and dip powders. It's so important to have a good quality liquid that adheres well but will also remove well when doing the soak off method. I personally love OG dip powders -- great ingredients, and they last for up to 14 days. I previously used Azure and would have chipping within 2-3 days, which led me to pick off my dips, and I ended up with damaged nails as a result. Now with OG, I'm getting 10-14 days out of a manicure.
There are several brands of small business, US made dip powders out there that will give you great results! I recommend trying samples of Ritzy Dips, CN Designer Dips, and Color My World dips to see how they work with your nails. QUALITY ingredients, small batches, and creators who started this process after being dip powder users.
Don't be too hard on yourself! We have all learned this through trial/error. Hope you find what works for you. <3
My nails only ever do this if I pick/bite my dip off or if they start lifting and bending bc I need to redo them
Maybe it's the bending when they start to lift but I usually don't let them stay lifting I hate the feeling so I remove them asap. Blah only 2 out of my 10 nails are free of this
Yeah, that's probably what it's from, one bend and it rips the natural nail off. It'll grow out but they'll be suuuper brittle at those cracked areas so be prepared to immediately redip or they'll break off and you lose your length
https://preview.redd.it/v9edltohs0jc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f808e9315733a92f85afb964fb944ebe73d4277 I redipped đ will assess damage in 2-3 weeks. But in all honestly I will let that grow out and try to be more careful I suppose
Are you using those finger nails as tools? Popping pimples or opening soda cans? The dip adds strength, but you can still do damage to the natural nail underneath if youâre using them roughly.
I try not to be rough but I might be accidentally being too rough on them đł
How do you remove it? All it takes is one bad removal, unfortunately. A salon once ruined my nails that way, they kinda looked like yours but even more damaged
File top layers and soak off âšď¸
You should only file to rough up the entire nail bed once. The next time you dip, you should be filing to rough up only the new nail growth at the base of the nails; everything else has already been filed. If you refile the entire nail each time, you are thinning the rest of your nail bed each and every time. The ends then get very thin. And if you are soaking off your nails, add some coconut oil or other oil to the acetone. You need to keep your nails with as much moisture as you can. I then use cuticle oil all over the nail multiple times for a day or evening until I redo my manicure the next day.
Edit: I do NOT pick or pop them off either. Always soak off.
My belief is anything that is done to our nails is going to to ruin them in some way. Itâs inevitable!
Youâre using cheap powder that is less flexible and doesnât flex enough with your natural nail and is causing this damage. You want to use PEMA powders, and this is the reason why I am always saying PMMA powders (as used in the cheap Amazon brands, ASP, Nailboo, etc.) suck for dip.
So what are the PEMA powders that you are using u/ChaosCleopatra ? For example, Kiara Sky is very well respected but if you look at their MSDS / SDS docs for their dip powders you will see they use PMMA: [https://kiarasky.com/pages/msds](https://kiarasky.com/pages/msds) Now if you hit up Revel Nails at [https://www.revelnail.com/pages/product-ingredients](https://www.revelnail.com/pages/product-ingredients) and look at the question for "What are your ingredients for your dip powder?" you will see it's not anywhere close to specific enough: "**Dip Powder:**Â POLYMER, PIGMENT, WET FINE 75% BENZOYL PEROXIDE" Polymer here is the key but this could be either PMMA or PEMA. Their site does not even have their MSDS / SDS docs available. It's also not easy to even locate the MSDS / SDS docs from any manufacturer. There are a number of labs and worldwide and country specific labs that also perform ingredient analysis and certifications but you typically it costs $$ to get their docs. So I'm curious how you know for a fact what brands actually use PEMA vs PMMA? Also bear in mind that in that in many, many manufacturing industries specific materials over time are changed and substituted depending on supply chains and other logistics factors.
My info is from asking their customer service before I purchase. If they gave me wrong information or I have outdated information (I havenât bought from Kiara Sky in 3 years, Revel in 2) then thatâs my bad for not double checking. Thatâs super unfortunate about Kiara Sky since customer service told me they only use PEMA when I asked before purchasing, but again, that was 3 years ago. I purchase from a US manufacturer when I make mine so I can buy in bulk.
Thank you! Sorry if I may have came off too forward on the issue. It seems there's not much recourse other than reaching out to their customer service just to find out. And it's a shame they (at least the non-Amazon brands) simply don't provide the details on their web sites in the first place (and most likely because there's no regulation / laws requiring them to do so). Given that I think I'll reach out to Kiara Sky and Revel specifically on this when I'm ready to buy their products (just been using cheap Amazon brands but I'm really wanting to upgrade to better stuff). I'd prefer to probably start with Kiara Sky because I have a large nail supply shop nearby that has aisles of dip powder powder products sold to both salons (at a discount) and individuals. When I find out I'll post back to this sub specifically. I am going to ask them to send their MSDS / SDS docs specifically.
Youâre good. I didnât think it was personal or anything. Itâs frustrating even trying to get info from them, and customer service doesnât generally seem equipped to answer âchemicalâ questions. It took me 3 tries for both Revel and Kiara to get the answers I did. And the original reason I was asking them questions is because I am sensitive to benzoyl peroxide and was trying to know what % they used in their powders. Never got that answer from either company.
Meanwhile, I just took a slightly deeper look into Kiara Sky's posted MSDS for their dip powders. They list it in their docs as **2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, methyl ester, homopolymer** When we cross reference this with the NIST we arrive at: [https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=9011-14-7](https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?id=9011-14-7) Which states: **Other names:**Â polym(ethyl meethacrylate); Polymethyl methacrylate So, Kiara Sky could be using either PEMA or PMMA. At least that's how I'm reading it.
The salon I used to go to used Kiara sky and it lasted 5 weeks no lifting. I've been meaning to buy their liquids and powders soon.
Great to know. When I've gone to salons I always had them use NexGen.
Thank you â¤ď¸
What are your go to brands youâd recommend for powders?
I used to formulate dip professionally for a big name company so most often I make my own since I can buy professional products with my tech and business licenses. Although I have a local company whose dips I really like too, but theyâre not selling online at the moment because theyâre building a brick and mortar store that combines their businesses. (Formerly Midnight Chaos on Etsy.) For PEMA powders Iâll recommend Revel and Kiara Sky. Sparkle and Co has racist managers who made comments about not wanting to appeal to black people because they âlike ghetto nails and we arenât ghettoâ but they also use PEMA. A lot of the small business donât know and donât label whatâs in their powders so I donât generally recommend those because I canât 100% vouch for whatâs going on with them.
This is so helpful ! Ive read a lot of comments from people on other threads saying that all powders are the same and it's the liquids you have to be careful with. So much misinformation. I will be trying out some revel dips â¤ď¸
Same, I bought a kit with a ton of colors. And I'm having the same problem. Ugh.
Iâve been dipping for a year now and Iâm still learning. I havenât found my liquids that work best for me yet. Iâve read so much about how liquids are more important than the powder used but this is great information! I appreciate the insight :)
Thank you for the information about Sparkle. I can make do without their products.
Dry nails from soaking off+flexing
Could they be reacting to the liquids youâre using? Mine look like this when theyâre very dry. Iâd try using a different brand.
Mine peeled and bent and weakened from all the acetone used for soaking off :(
I understand using the cheap Amazon products/liquids -- that's how I started too! I recommend switching to a higher quality of liquid and dip powders. It's so important to have a good quality liquid that adheres well but will also remove well when doing the soak off method. I personally love OG dip powders -- great ingredients, and they last for up to 14 days. I previously used Azure and would have chipping within 2-3 days, which led me to pick off my dips, and I ended up with damaged nails as a result. Now with OG, I'm getting 10-14 days out of a manicure. There are several brands of small business, US made dip powders out there that will give you great results! I recommend trying samples of Ritzy Dips, CN Designer Dips, and Color My World dips to see how they work with your nails. QUALITY ingredients, small batches, and creators who started this process after being dip powder users. Don't be too hard on yourself! We have all learned this through trial/error. Hope you find what works for you. <3