How much hand sanitizer have you used since the pandemic began?
When Covid 19 first started, I slathered my hands morning, noon, and night. I wanted to be sure I killed any hint of germs. After all, we were supposed to keep our hands clean so we wouldn’t get sick.
Instead, my nails got sick.
Chemicals Kill
Yes, chemicals kill bad germs, but they also kill good germs. That is exactly what happened to my nails. They started breaking down because of all the hand sanitizer I was using. I can’t prove it, but I believe that’s what started my nail health to spiral.
Little by little, my nails started yellowing and looking unhealthy. Then, I got white patches on my nails. Weeks went by without any improvement at all. In fact, they got worse.
Suddenly, my nails started lifting off my nail beds.
The only solution left, was to cut them off. I cut them right down to where the lift began until they were little stubs. It looked like I had been biting my nails. It was very embarrassing, especially since I work with the public. Hiding my nails had become the norm.
Like I said, I can’t prove that hand sanitizer destroyed my nails, but deep down I know.
And once your nails become damaged, it’s very hard to fix them. In fact, I tried to fix my nails by not wearing polish, keeping them clean, and as short as possible so they wouldn’t lift anymore.
But they kept lifting. It was like a cycle. Every time they grew to a certain length, they would pop off the nail bed. It was very devastating. I can’t tell you how many times I cried my eyes out over it. I’m still trying to recover from that trauma
Exploring Problems
Nails can be unhealthy in general. That’s a fact. Even without using chemicals on your hands, you can be allergic to gel polish. You can have a fungus or bacteria in your nails. You can have a genetic disorder or an underlying health problem that causes your nails health to decline.
However, I still believe, most nail problems stem from triggers. I believe hand sanitizer was my very first trigger. The sudden increase of chemicals on my skin and nails was ridiculous. I was traumatizing them without even knowing it.
I believe certain people are more susceptible. Not everyone who uses hand sanitizer is going to lose their nails. In fact, when I talk to other people, they don’t seem to have a problem slathering on the hand sanitizer at all.
But me… I’m sensitive.
I’ve always had sensitive skin, and nails are made up of skin cells. It makes sense to think that chemicals will start a chain reaction of skin problems. Not only do I believe hand sanitizer was a trigger to my bad nail health, but also the multitude of cleaners I was now having to use to clean after customers at work. It was a recipe for disaster for my nails.
And it was building fast.
The more I tried to fix my nails, the worse they got. I tried using gloves more, but that just exacerbated the problem. I had never seen my nails look so pathetic in my life. Up till now, my pre-Covid 19 nails were perfectly fine.
I believe hand sanitizer was the very beginning of my trouble, and because I was susceptible to other things, my problematic nails snowballed. What do I mean by that? Well, my nails couldn’t even hold weight.
I couldn’t wear nail polish for the longest time. It didn’t matter what I put on them. I tried traditional polish. I tried gel polish. I tried stick-on nail wraps. I tried the best of the best and it didn’t matter. Once triggered, the nail trauma becomes chronic
I had chronic nail trauma.
I tried medication for nail fungus for months, and it did nothing to restore my nail health. My nails still kept popping off the nail beds once they got a certain length. I learned it was called onycholysis, which could be caused by a few different things.
One of which is nail psoriasis.
I’ve never had psoriasis in my life, but perhaps it was triggered by hand sanitizer. I know, that sounds crazy, but as I said earlier, if a person is predisposed to something, all it takes is a trigger to get the ball rolling.
I do have creaky arthritic knees.
Of course, all this requires a professional diagnosis, but I’m not one to run to the doctor for every little thing. I know I will have to eventually, but for the time being, especially during a pandemic, I avoid doctor’s visits like the plague. Not only that, but I don’t need a doctor to validate a problem, especially if there isn’t much they can do.
I’ve lived with eczema my whole life. There isn’t much that can be done. I once had devastating eyelid eczema for three long months. You should have seen my swollen eyes. It was terrible. The doctor couldn’t fix me even though I tried all medications prescribed. I believe the trigger was allergies from sap. We had gotten wood for our wood stove that wasn’t seasoned.
I’ve always lived with allergies and skin problems, so it only makes sense that I would have nail problems as well. Too bad this pandemic triggered my nail trauma. Again, I think I was predisposed to it, so that’s why it happened.
Regardless, it’s traumatic. A woman’s nails define her, and when they are all chopped off, discolored and stubby, it makes you feel ugly.
I often wonder, why me?
Solutions
I’m sure you’re wondering if I found anything that helps.
Actually, I have, but bear in mind my nails are still in the recovery stage. At this point, I wonder if they will ever be the same again. I look at my nail beds and they are finally showing signs of healing. However, they are still super sensitive. When I’m busy at work, and I bang my nails, I still get little splinter hemorrhages in them very easily.
It used to be way worse. That’s how I know I’m on the mend, but as I said, I don’t know if they will ever be the same as they were pre-pandemic. I am trying to get them there, but it’s a long process. Nails don’t grow fast, especially if you’re a middle-aged woman like myself.
I had given up many times after seeing my ugly nails pop off their nail beds over and over. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. I spent so many days crying and frustrated.
I guess the most important advice I can give you is to NOT GIVE UP!
Time will heal your nails.
I had to re-evaluate what pretty nails look like. That was hard. I had always wanted long manicured nails. I even tried extensions and fake nails, only to find out my nail beds weren’t strong enough to handle the weight, or even the wear and tear.
Now, as I look at my nails and type this blog post, I see a different pretty. Short nails. They can look beautiful too. They do. I like my new nails. They seem to be growing well. They are even able to handle polish again. Actually, wearing polish is a huge part of nail trauma recovery. When they are ready and able to handle something on them, please polish them. It’s important for your mental health. You have to be able to forget about the trauma while they grow.
Below is a list of things that have helped my nails recover. I’ll go into depth with them later.
- BUY CHEMICAL FREE POLISH – Gelmoment polish is the best!
- DON’T USE HAND SANITIZER – I ditched that and my nails are healing.
- MAKE NATURAL HAND SANITIZER – I make mine with Tea Tree Oil and olive oil.
- USE CUTICLE OIL – I get it from Gelmoment too. All-natural products.
- USE MOISTURIZER – Vitamin E cream is my favorite.
- KEEP YOUR NAILS SHORT – Even when you’re tempted to grow them.
- MANICURE YOUR NAILS – I have found that it’s a must.
What Not To Do
I’ve done a lot of things wrong when it comes to my nails, not because I don’t know how to take care of them, but because I didn’t know certain things triggered specific problems for ME.
Everyone has a different set of problems when it comes to their nails. You might have long nail beds. I was born with short ones. You might have thick nails. I was born with thin nails. You might be able to grow them fast. Mine grow slow. Do you see what I mean? We are all different.
What helps one person, may not help you. I had to learn that the hard way.
An example of that is when doing manicures. For a person who suffers from nail psoriasis. Less is more. I put myself in that category because of how often my nails popped off their beds during this pandemic. It’s a common symptom of nail psoriasis.
I read many articles on nail psoriasis, and they all said to leave your cuticles alone. You shouldn’t be pushing them back, or clipping the dead skin. They are way too sensitive. However, I tried leaving my nails alone and the result was sore bleeding cuticles.
The entire reason for not pushing back your cuticles is to prevent trauma. However, a different kind of trauma started happening. I had these thick, death grip, cuticles that didn’t seem to allow my nails to grow at all. They held nail growth back and prevented them from healing.
Because I didn’t push my cuticles back, they got little snags in the skin that hurt. Pieces of skin tore off and started to bleed. After a while I thought to myself, this isn’t good either. So, for me, I had to (gently) push back my cuticles to allow my nails to heal and keep my cuticles healthy. That became important to me.
But I didn’t aggressively butcher my cuticles or (eponychium) they call it.
I’m sure any nail techs reading this post are probably laughing by now. Hey, I didn’t say I was a professional. I do my nails as a layperson like millions of other women in the world do.
But I can tell you, the next best thing to going to a salon is Gelmoment. Like I mentioned above, it’s an amazing product. And I’m not making any money by endorsing the product at all. I just love it so much. It’s chemical-free and totally safe gel polish. My nails feel amazing with it on, and the product is very light and that’s exactly what my healing nails need.
I learned right away that I can’t wear big heavy full cover tips. There are so many lovely designs. You can even get them custom-made to fit your exact nail size. My heart was broken when I realized I wouldn’t be using them as a solution. My delicate nails can’t stand the heaviness. Even the light ones are a problem. It’s just too much trauma for my nails.
Part of my recovery was learning to accept what doesn’t work. That’s difficult.
I moved on from that. I had only tried full cover tips a couple of times but I knew my nail beds couldn’t handle them. Sad, but it is what it is. Keeping them micro short is the new me. You can still make them look beautiful. I like to use the art kit I bought with Gelmoment, especially the dotting tool.
Have you ever painted polka-dots on your nails? It’s especially cute on short nails.
What I’m saying is you have to be realistic. Not everyone’s nails are the same. We are all unique. We need to embrace what works, and not be sad if something doesn’t.
Lastly, I just want to say that the biggest lesson I learned, was that nails play a huge part in your mental health. Like hair, it defines who you are. It’s a big part of your self-esteem. If your nails don’t look good, you feel self-conscious. I know I did.
Losing your nails can be very traumatizing.
I had no idea I would feel the way I did when my nails popped off my nail beds on three different occasions. I cried so hard when I had to remove the area that separated from the nail bed. It was very difficult to look at and I was embarrassed. I hid my hands continuously which became very draining for me.
Now, I hide them less and less. They are starting to heal for good this time. I hope. But regardless, I will continue to find solutions that work and learn from my mistakes.
Obviously, I have predisposed conditions that affect my nails like eczema, arthritis, and psoriasis. I have to be mindful of that and adjust. I have to learn to stay away from triggers that may affect my nails. I am learning.
But I’m not alone.
There are millions of other women out there that have issues with their nails, young and old. If you’re one of them, just know you’re not alone. Remember that you are beautiful no matter what your nails look like.
Keep them painted and looking pretty even if they’re short.
And… STAY AWAY FROM HAND SANITIZER!