index nail keeps breaking...

I've been practicing strumming a lot lately, and I must be doing it wrong or something. My nail keeps breaking! I don't keep them very long and have always thought that I had strong nails, since I can abuse them on a steel string guitar. Now I'm at the mercy of a little ukulele

It just chipped again at the right side corner of the nail, presumably from down-strumming. Should I be trying to make contact with the full face of the nail? I think I've been strumming with the edge.
How do you guys approach nail care? If there's anything I can do to make my nails stronger... :drool:
I'm not willing to get acrylic nails, though.

on a side note, what is your preferred thumb nail shape? I'm not getting much of a pure sound out of mine

Thanks,
Jon

SimplyLuo,

I have struggled to maintain nails for the last 30 years. After playing guitar for many years, I took some classical guitar lessons and at the insistence of the instructor had to actually concentrate on my nails. I still break them all the time but not from playing, mostly at work or doing stupid things.

I am an electrical technician in a power plant and keep my gloves on most of the time at work. I also carry a fingernail file with me and a bit of 600 or 1000 grit sandpaper to fine tune the nails.

I have never done anything to make my nails stronger.

Should I be trying to make contact with the full face of the nail? I think I've been strumming with the edge.

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I use the full face of the nail when downstroking

on a side note, what is your preferred thumb nail shape? I'm not getting much of a pure sound out of mine.

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Never been able to grow my thumbnail long, it develops a crack in the middle so I don't even try anymore. I grow the other 4 long and sand them neurotically. When I play my steel string guitar, I file the nails a bit shorter, otherwise they won't last an eventing of steel string.

I have been applying Nail Tek Xtra, (http://www.amazon.com/Nail-Tek-Program-Maximum-Strength/dp/B0006PLOX6) every few weeks (for years) and my nails are much stronger now. I had trouble with my index finger nail too. Not any more. As a matter of fact, it's time for a treatment.
Regards,
Ray

I have an acrylic nail on my index finger. It works great and when it breaks I go back to WalMart and get it fixed at the nail salon. Any nail salon will do it for about 5 dollars.

I use supa glue on the nail tips, it seems to work for me.

Doug and I are pretty much in the same place with respect to breaking nails. I sometimes break one strumming, but more often its when I do some work on my car, or around the house. As people age (I am 60) their nails often get weaker and develop ridges and the ridges split if you try to do much with the nail. There are some diseases and vitamin/mineral deficiencies that can cause this too, but my old doctor told me that mine was just from getting older and showed me the ridges in his.

I have not had much luck with the "nail strenghteners." Super glue and some tissue paper work well for me though when I have a bad split. What I do is to put some superglue on the upper part of the nail and then before it dries, I touch some tissue paper (toilet paper for the less refined) to the wet glue and push it down. The glue will bond with the paper and then I just peel the rest of it off. Sometimes I wet it to dissolve the unstuck paper. Then, I usually put a thin top coat of super glue on the paper and file or sand the whole thing down so it looks decent. A coat of clear nail polish doesn't hurt, if you don't mind having shiny nails, which I don't so I take the shine off with some 600 grit sand paper.

I carry a small bottle of super glue with me in my briefcase and uke case for those times when I know it will happen. I also carry nail files or emory boards in my car and briefcase and keep them around the house now. When one splits, its important to get on it right away to keep it from growing. For small splits, just a dab of super glue is sometimes sufficient.

My family all laughs at me now, because I worry more about my nails than a teen-age girl lol.

I didn't know you could get an acrylic nail put on for $5 at Walmart. That is a great deal, especially since only the index and middle finger nails seem to break. I will have to check it out the next time I am there.

I also tried the stick on fake nails, but they would not stay on very long. I started playing last year a few weeks before Christmas. I had no fingernails, because I used to bite them before I was a uker. I was playing a tune for the family at Christmas when one of the fake stick-on nails flew off my hand and across the room. Everyone gasped and recoiled at the thought of the pain I must be going through. Then, when I said not to worry because it was fake they all started laughing. Kind of embarrassing it was.

Clear nail varnish, then thin single ply of tissue, dry, more varnish, more tissue etc. Build up, let dry and file to shape. Easy!

Same problem here. I keep the nails short and let the skin on my finger tips take the pounding. I did two days of playing at local festival and had blisters, but it was worth it.

I've heard vitamin E is supposed to strengthen your nails.

Yep - Vitamin E is good - think you can get a Vitamin E balm that you massage into nails.

Drink more milk too!

My tip about the nail varnish and tissue does sound gross, but is a classic tip for fingerpicking guitarists.

pauljmuk said:

Yep - Vitamin E is good - think you can get a Vitamin E balm that you massage into nails.

Drink more milk too!

My tip about the nail varnish and tissue does sound gross, but is a classic tip for fingerpicking guitarists.

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Yep, I did the same a few months back, but used superglue instead of nail varnish. How smooth can you get the nail after doing the varnish/tissue? I could not get the superglue smooth, but then again it's superglue...

It always looks horrid on the top, though a very fine sanding board (thanks to my wife) does help.

Its functional - nothing more!

pauljmuk said:

It always looks horrid on the top, though a very fine sanding board (thanks to my wife) does help.

Its functional - nothing more!

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If you want to take the time to sand it down good, you can actually get a very nice finish. Its sort of like doing body work on a car before you paint it. I just usually go for the function though, since most people never really look at how pretty my nails are.

Doug and I are pretty much in the same place with respect to breaking nails. I sometimes break one strumming, but more often its when I do some work on my car, or around the house. As people age (I am 60)

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Let's be clear. I am just a kid. Only 58!

The main thing for me seems to be filing. Not clipping. Filing. And always having a file handy to anytime I feel the tiniest burr I whip it out and file it off before something bad happens. As it stands the nail on the middle finger is currently kind of lopsided because it started developing a crack really far down the side that I had to file off. It ain't pretty, but I still have the nail. I've got files in the car, my bowling bag and there's usually a couple floating around the apartment.

Keeping them at a reasonable length is also something to keep on top of. (and as I type this I'm aware that I need to do some maintenance myself) You don't need super long dragon lady nails. Just long enough to go past the pads at the end of your fingers and catch the strings. There's going to be a sweet spot you'll eventually find where you have a workable nail to play with and one that is less likely to get caught in the way doing manual work.

I use a nail strengthener every once in a while, but I don't know how well it works since it seems to peel off the next time I pick a uke up.

I still break mine occasionally, but since I'm much more aware of the nails I think I end up being a little less reckless and get more mileage out of them before accidents happen.

Simplest, easiest solution is to cut your nails to the quick, then use your fingertips for playing. You can still use the nail for down strokes, but it won't ever break. It will also open a world of options for playing and sound you never could get with nails.

I fully agree with Ian.

ichadwick said:

Simplest, easiest solution is to cut your nails to the quick, then use your fingertips for playing. You can still use the nail for down strokes, but it won't ever break.

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Oh, if only that were true! I've just finished growing out a split that went all the way down to the cuticle, on a nail that was trimmed to the quick! OW OW [bad words here] OW.

My nails are horrible about peeling, bending, and splitting, though. I finally found something that's working, though. It's an at-home acrylic gel system. Stinks to high heaven when you're applying it, but you can also make it a lot thinner than the acrylic gels applied by a salon.