Polish Picking Damage
Does Picking at Polish Cause Damage?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words . . .
The Answer?
Uhhhh—big fat yes!
Really? I Did That?
We all have little things that we get OCD about…especially when it comes to our nails.
Whether it’s picking, biting, or nipping, it can be hard to stop. Mine is picking.
If polish starts to chip, I have to fight myself really hard to not keep working at it.
In the photo above, I didn’t win—in more ways than one.
A corner of my polish started to lift and I absent mindedly kept working on it while watching a movie.
The polish was lifting anyway—it wouldn’t do that much harm—right?
When I removed the rest of my polish I was shocked to see what I had done.
My entire nail plate had been as smooth as the right side (under the arrow) when I applied my polish. But the peeled area now felt fuzzy and it took four months for all that damage to grow out.
Only For My Readers!
I snapped this photo, thinking it might be a good illustration for an article. I just about freaked out when this image was uploaded and viewed on my 27 inch iMac screen!
There’s nothing like a ginormous photo to smack you upside the head!
The Cuticle
On a tangent, the large picture also has a great shot of the cuticle. The cuticle is the skin on the nail plate that we want to remove before applying polish, if you don’t want it to chip near the cuticle line. Remember, polish doesn’t bond to skin. I have a lot more information about the cuticle at The Cuticle — Should You Clip, Push, or Scrape?
The Solution
It seems like a no brainer—stop picking. Many times this is easier said than done.
The better solution is to remove that polish properly as fast as you can.
I carry portable polish remover pads with me everywhere. They have a pad and enough acetone in the aluminum lined pouch to remove polish from all 10 nails.
I’ve found them in US drug stores near other polish removers and OPI has some too.
In Conclusion
So many people tell me, “Well, I pick my polish off and it doesn’t do any damage.”
Hummmmm—Really?
After my brain dead moment, I did not buff down the peeling layers to make the nail smooth. That would have thinned my nail even more causing it to be weaker. Ridges are the thicker, healthier part of our nails. We want to keep them.
Instead, I applied my favorite high quality, jojoba wax ester based nail oil to help bond some of those layers down. Then I applied ridge-filling base coat to smooth out the nail.
We learn from our mistakes. All I have to do is think of this picture when my polish starts chipping.
I hope many of you will learn from my mistake and remember to treat your nails like jewels.
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After reading this I cried. I’ve Been trying so hard to get my nails long and healthy and then I do the peeling and picking thing. Please tell me how to fix them?
Melissa,
I’m so sorry…didn’t mean to cause crying. 🙁 I understand how frustrating it is. It’s really important to remove the polish with the first chip, or fill in the chip with the polish and then do another layer of topcoat to seal it in. I hope that helps! ~Ana
I used to be guilty of this but have done pretty well to break the habit. But every now and then I have polish pop off the whole nail vs just chipping. Is this damaging it the same? I found that the polish had detached mostly and it just popped off.
Hi Steph,
No, when polish pops off on it’s own, it’s because the polish to nail bond has been broken by water or oil. It’s when we continue to pick at polish that’s still bonded that it does this kind of damage. ~Ana
I can totally relate to absent minded self sabotage, but generally speaking I’ve been fairly good with not picking at polish. However, this picture is definitely very motivating to stay aware. I’m glad you mentioned that ridges are healthy … as a nail art newbie I initially thought they were a problem. I tried buffing and experienced the nail weakness you describe and then realised it was better to leave them be, so I use a ridge filling base coat instead now. Thanks for all the excellent nail care advice. 🙂
I just ordered unt peel off base coat and this has me wondering if it will cause any damage? My thought process goes around it being formulated to not cause damage, otherwise it wouldn’t get so much hype. I guess I’ll find out sooner or later lol.
Samantha,
Cristine loves the Unt basecoat. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. As long as it’s gently removed by pushing from the cuticle line to the tip, since that’s the direction of growth…. I’m not sure if it will work for me because my nails are so thin, and even a little pressure with an orange wood stick can do damage. ~Ana