Nails

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

All my life I've heard the phrase "give it here I have nails"

Nothing is easier with nails!!!!

grraaa, especially texting, but even typing i'm finding more difficult, and pricking my finger to test my blood sugar.

I have to try and do everything with the pads of my fingers rather than the tips.

[Sally]

That may be true Sam,

But I never have to use a utility knife or a box cutter - not with my thumbnails!

And I don't do anything to them - no strengthener or polish - they just grow, long, strong, quickly and they look like a French tip manicure - with no effort.

One of the true blessings that i have in this whole transitioning process!

Love ya,

Sally

[Shannonline]

Yeah trying to put contacts lenses on with nails is shocking, just to get them out the container without damaging them.

Which remembers me I should take them out, but not until I do my nails.

[Guest viv]

Ya got nails????,,,Baaaaaah, mine keep breaking.

And these days (employment )I am a gen opp so

not the kinda work to maintain fem nails. Ah , you

will get there Sam . viv

[Guest Vivian]

I know what you mean. I feel clumsy when I type on my computer and it seems dangerous if you forget you have long nails, (you can poke an eye out!). Anyway, I love my long pretty nails. I broke one the other day which made me so upset..

Vivian

[Guest Joanna Phipps]

Ya got nails????,,,Baaaaaah, mine keep breaking.

And these days (employment )I am a gen opp so

not the kinda work to maintain fem nails. Ah , you

will get there Sam . viv

Im with you Viv, cant get mine to grow for love nor money. They just start looking good then BAM! another broken one some tears and muttering (like dam, my partner knows what I mean by that. She just looks at me giggles and says broke another). I am getting the feeling that the only way Im getting nails is artificial ones

For those of you who can grow them, and who have to get used to them boy are you gals lucky. 

[Guest Donna Jean]

I love my nails....

For years I had long nails on the right hand and short ones on the left........

Why?

I play guitar.....

Now I have long on both hands because I no longer play...arthritis

I use a nail hardener that you brush on every day for ten days then take it all off and repeat!

It's glossy and I LOVE that!

Donna Jean

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

yeah i do love my nails they make my hands look so feminine, but yeah i'll just have to get used to them.

my nails were really bendy and it hurt. I paint them with strengthener / hardner with vitamin D or whatever it is in it.

it's like just a clear nail varnish that you can put on by itself or use as a bottom coat.

[Guest viv]

Mmmmm, must give that a go

Donna Jean ,viv

[Paula ult]

My nails would grow the crack and break, i tried everything under the sun to make them harder, so when i went full time i got acrylics, just a sport length so i can still bowl and do things. You do have to use the pads of your fingers to do most things, i have had them since October and get them filled about every 2 weeks, the polish does not peal like natural nails.

Paula

[Guest Robin Winter]

LOL, I have no trouble growing and maintaining nails. BUT I can't let them grow past a certain point before I have to cut them off My line of work just doesn't allow for it, because I absolutely cannot keep them clean. And yes, I have the same problem, they're in the way more often than not, particularly when it comes to typing. I had to cut off about 3 weeks worth just to type up that document the other night.

[Guest DeniseNM]

I agree it can be hard to learn to do things that were easy and you sort of took for granted once you start having longer nails but you will learn how to do all those things again over time and before you know it they will all second nature to you again. I love having my nails long, especially since mine are nice and strong too, but unfortunately since I am in the Culinary Arts program at my college I have to keep mine short and clean with no nail polish .

Denise

[Guest Emily R]

Im always missing letters out when texting that I've given up correcting them, I just send them and let the recipient decipher them

one thing I've learnt is as soon as you see a chip/crack file it out, too many times I've thought it can wait till I get home only to find its much worst and needs cutting right back. Aways get funny looks at work when I do it

Hugs

Emily

[Guest Pammy]

I must keep my nails short at work too, because I'm hard on my nails. No two ways about it. And keeping them clean is very difficult as well. So all I get is a clear, thin acrylic coating to keep them from breaking too easily (must eat more Jell-O) and file as needed to prevent cracks. I use a clear polish that isn't noticeable.

Pam

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Nails auggggggggggh

I tell my wife (who has beautiful, long nails and surprisingly, supports me in my effort to grow mine out) that I did BETTER before I tried to keep them long! I was like Sally who has strong nails naturally - when I started transitioning - awwww - this is easy!~ (The long nail part).

Then after about six months on HRT the woman's curse of 'calcium leeching' kicked in! My nails broke and split - and worse, SHATTERED - just on a good day - everyday living! And if I had a 'labor task' (like changing the oil in the car) awwwww - disaster!

It seems with shorter nails - say long for a male, average for a female - when they break , they break. They can be salvaged, cut back, sometimes even just filed back.

BUT - with nails over an 1/8 inch? THEY BREAK BACK BIG TIME - or shatter,whatever - to the quick! So not only do you have to shear them off, they are unrepairable! Plus - sometimes they split way into the nail bed so you have to have TWO WEEKS GROWTH, just to get the damages to grow out, so you can cut them to the quick! And Murphy's law? You have one or two shoter nails on one hand - you are waiting for 'these' to grow out an match your longer nails? THOSE SHORT ONES are the ones that break! YIKES - you have to trim them ALL back so your hands don't look freaky and unbalanced!

So I found Sally Hansen products - pretty good -I use a strengthener and some of the other products - clear - okay? BUT then I found that company's 'diamond hard' ? there is a great product!

And I use it 24/7. Ummm... but... I STILL can't get a set of long nails that will last as long as I wish, like I could early on. But it is a bit better.

You girls who can go with acrylics - okay. But I think the jels are the key. All my T-girl friends recommend them! BUT - I am not 100% out at work - and I am still trying to establish that my value is worth so much, they won't care about my gender! SO

QUESTION

I want to see if I can get the jel in a length that is not totally obvious - I mean the 'married gay male' length. HEE HEE (That is what they probably think I am).

Stay tuned! The only problem is I heard that jels work best if you have at least 1/16 to 1/8 inch as a start! DANG - I am not sure I can get them that long - all at one time! GRIN

Lizzy

And just a weird note. After over a year plus on HRT, my nails are changing shape. I once had flat nails and now they are rounding and in doing so are getting the more feminine narrow shape! NO COMPLAINTS, please note. I just never heard anyone say that would happen!

Hope this helps - got a bit long (unlike my nails)!

Lizzy

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

oh and the chip n pin pad is more difficult to use now.

it's totally worth it tho, and they're not long, long, they're just about sensible length for a woman, i doubt i'd let them grow much longer, i'll just stay on top of them with a file.

not bad tho considering until about a month ago i used to bite them.

my hardening stuff is slightly shiny, I can tell I have it on, but I'd have other concerns about anyone staring at my hands enough to notice.

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Shiney - yes - but there is a little known fact that males with a manicure can ask for a dull coat! It is a paint over that kills the glossy look. I cannot find it in retail stores but it might be in beauty supply shops. I substituded model airplane dull coat - avilable at Hobby Lobby - ans its a clear dull acrylic finish - and seems to work.

Lizzy

[Guest sarah f]

I tried to let my nails grow out but after they get a little past my finger tips I usually break them. I found it easier and less painful if I just keep them cut. It is just easier to do everyday things with shorter nails.

Love,

Sarah F

[Guest Joanna Phipps]

I must keep my nails short at work too, because I'm hard on my nails. No two ways about it. And keeping them clean is very difficult as well. So all I get is a clear, thin acrylic coating to keep them from breaking too easily (must eat more Jell-O) and file as needed to prevent cracks. I use a clear polish that isn't noticeable.

Pam

Pam what you need is something with Keratin in it, modern Jello has absolutely none. Natural source gelatins, like the ones used for setting mousses, are the ones you want. Unfortunately they are also quite tasteless.

[Guest Nigh]

Mine grow nice and fast, but I have a tendency of biting them off whenever I get a mood swing.