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It's supposed to grow your nails thicker and faster "naturally" which, in this case, seems to mean it isn't a coating, because your nails still look natural. They advertise it on Guitar Salon's web site.
Anybody tried it? If so, please write a review.
I use Straight Hoof cream, which they use to strengthen horse's hooves (I first found it at a feed store); the grooms noticed that daily use on horses was also strengthening their own nails, at which point the manufacturers decided to branch out into cosmetics, but it didn't get much traction because apparently people who spend a lot of time on their fingernails are repelled by products intended for farm animals, and the formula is still owned by the Straight company, who insists on selling it as Hoof and Nail cream. But it's still available. And it works, but not as well as superglue, etc. It just looks more natural. because it's your real nails.
(OK, that's my review of hoof cream. Now somebody write one of this Onymyrrhe stuff, please, before I spend $18 on a bottle.)
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
Hi a_arnold,
Your in luck! I just finished a six month trial of Onymyrrhe and was going to post about it as well.
So here goes: Don't bother.
I have spent the last six months applying this stuff religiously. Day, night, noon. According to the instructions, you apply it with the brush to the cutical and matrix area of the nail and then massage into each finger for 30-45 seconds, then rinse off the residue. So, I tried that for four months, then I tried leaving it on the nail for longer. First for a couple of minutes then for about fifteen. I tried using it once a day, twice a day, three times a day...
And after all that... nothing. Nadda.Zip. A big fat zero.
After six months of pissing around with this stuff, there is absolutely no change what so ever in the state of my nails.
Disappointing.
Any way, there you go. That's my experience with the stuff. Hope that helps you decide what to do with your $18.
Oh yeah, and it also has the bonus of making your fingers smell like they've been up some one's backside for a week. Great!
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
I read on another forum that rubbing garlic on your fingernails is probably the best way to strengthen fingernails. I'm not sure if it's making a difference at this point, but (this may all be in my mind) they do seem a little stronger. Anyway, I'm going to keep at it for a few more days.
Posts: 533
Joined: Jul. 16 2003
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
Mr. Arnold,
I believe products of this ilk produce completely unique experiences for every person, but I will happily tell you that I, like Lipman, recently went on a diligent long test run with Onymyrrhe, with no results. I have also taken Biotin, Florasil, the hoof stuff you mentioned etc... and my nails remain the same. I had begun this regimen in hopes of rejuvinating my nails after the damage that acrylics did to them last summer. Instead, I just protected them with glue while waiting for them to nurse themselves back to their normal genetically weak state. However, I've found no answer for my "budgie-beak" or "hooked" nails which prevent me from playing at all these days. (sigh)
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
I don't think that any natural nail, no matter how strong, can stand the damage aggressive playing can cause, especially strong picados. As a matter of fact superglue isn't a solution either, as I put it on almost daily and still break the same m nail at the exact same point every time!If anyone has any other more active solutions, please let me know
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to tsoum)
try a calcium/magnesium vitamin supplement. i take 500mg daily and my normally weak bendy nails are really thick and strong. i can still break them though but they're not as brittle as when i used polish.
While we're on the subject, I'll share that breakage has never been an issue for me. I don't think it should be for anyone unless you just don't file/buff, but I don't know... anyway, my problem is the nails wear down fast, sometimes in a particular groove pattern, likely due to their less than ideal growth shape (hooking), which has not been solved by any filing angle/method known.
Thanks for the calcium tip, Doug. I have heard this before, but also had read some things discouraging the use of calcium supplements. Maybe I will try it. I'm desperate.
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
quote:
As a matter of fact superglue isn't a solution either, as I put it on almost daily and still break the same m nail at the exact same point every time!If anyone has any other more active solutions, please let me know
Well superglue is a lot of things. Most of the glue you can buy is not the best for nails. It contains to much of something that makes it thicker. Then you aply a layer to thick. It never hardens completely and it can be peeled of. I strongly recommend the thinnest you can get. Water thin. I use the thinnest from www.stewmac.com and find it to be the best quality superglue I´ve tried.
Also, I only need to reinforce my thumb. And this I do with very thin silk and this superglue. If done well (takes an hour or so) it lasts 6 - 8 weeks and I work with my hands meaning that I break nails easily, so this nail issue is something I have worked a lot on
If you need to reinforce your i, m and a fingers, you can do it with silk and thin superglue. They get very hard, so keep them short. In general, the shorter the the least problems you´ll have.
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Conrad)
The biggest problem comes because rasqiados wear the nail thin I use a product called Witchcraft nail hardener It is really just a tough nail polish but it works The more you play the more you need to reaply but it doesnt crack or make your nails so hard that they rip away from your finger It is available in walmart for 8 bucks give it a try c
For 3 years I've been getting my nails done with gel tips at a nail salon every 2 months $30 a visit. They haven't broken once since, I couldn't break them if I tried.
_____________________________
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
I agree with Anders - the shorter the better- you just need enough nail to play.
I used to have terrible problems with my nails, splitting, cracking, breaking constantly.
Now, I hardly ever have problems with my nails. I use a thin layer of nail glue on the nail tip and then apply a layer or two of Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails.
Very simple and very effective. Honestly, I've been doing this for over a year and have hardly broken a nail since...
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
I'm trying Onymyrrhe; it has not yet produced the miracle I need, but it's probably a bit soon to tell. (Oh, and -unlike Lipman's batch - it hardly has any smell, and certainly nothing bad). All I can say is that if you do want to give it a try, do *not* get it from any of the guitar shops, they are a rip-off. You can get it for less than half the price elsewhere, e.g: http://tinyurl.com/295gmm
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Conrad)
quote:
I had begun this regimen in hopes of rejuvinating my nails after the damage that acrylics did to them
Why did you stop using or remove acrylics? I mean what was not working for you?
The "wearing a groove" into the nail is common problem. I have that happen too if I over do it with picado practice, or don't have enough glue protection on the edges when I start working on planting the fingers and stuff. But normal playing and practice I don't get the grooves. I mean, it might not have to do with the "way" your nails grow, but more the way you play. Same goes for guys always breaking or chipping the same nail, etc. I mean I have noticed these things with my own playing over the years.
One thing might help some of you guys is to start with nice healthy nails, filed down proper length, proctected with glue or polish or whatever you like, and video tape your self, the hand real close after practicing intensly. If at the end of the session you have "grooves" or chipping or even breakage, or the glue/polish is worn off totally, check out the video and see what it is that is causing the problem. For example, some guys chip the nails doing golpes sometimes, because they don't get enough flesh with nail. At first or when concentrating on the technique, it migt not be noticeable.
Posts: 533
Joined: Jul. 16 2003
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Ricardo)
Thanks, Ricardo. Well, it's a mystery, but I think it has something to do with the natural curvature of my nails, which is not corrected by acrylics or anything of the sort...
I acknowledge that acrylics and the like work for many great players, but when I tried them, I found that no matter how short or thin that I kept them, as per recommendation of Todd et. al., the nail would not glide off the string easily as it should and produce an undesirable clicking noise. I had to think it was because I was not filing them correctly, but I'm pretty confident now that I've tried every possible angle and shape of filing, including flat at every angle to combat the hooking, and many other methods of filing that I've learned.
I think that my natural nail and finger physiology is just so badly suited to playing guitar. And furthermore, I think the groove is not a result of excessive picado practice necessarily, but it's produced by constant catching, no matter how short or what method I try to file them. And certainly I've explored different ways of playing and hand postitions to no avail, that being my first instinct of course.
I've found many good flamenco players/teachers to be seriously dismissive about nail problems, perhaps because by luck they never had to put much thought in to their own, though I don't know. You are very knowledgeable... have you come across any students with quirky difficulties like mine?
Posts: 243
Joined: Jul. 29 2003
From: San Diego, CA
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Ricardo)
Ricardo,
What have you found to work well for you?
Currently, I take biotin, glucosamine with chondroitin, and a multi-vitimin to be sure I am providing all the nutrients. My nails do wear down, for me its the thumb nail that wears most and quickest, secondly index from picado/arpeggio. I find that my nail grow pretty fast, and taking care to use my left hand for most things like keys, car doors, cabinets, etc. seems to go a long ways. I think the supplements have helped, but the difference isn't night and day, it just seems the nails are little tougher.
What does Nunez use? The dirt on any other high level players would be fun to know too.
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Conrad)
quote:
have you come across any students with quirky difficulties like mine?
Many. I will admit that for me it was a big difference to file the nails flat or in one line, not curved. The straight line cuts through the curves in the nail, at one and only one visible angle. Hard to describe, easier to show students in person and if they are patient enough to let the nails grow out on the edges, everyone can do it the same, it does not really matter how the nails naturally grow. Sort of like a tree...as long as you have enough of a log, no matter how it grew, a luthier will saw that thing into a soundboard or whatever.
The other thing is if you see pumping nylon, you see several different types of nail shapes that grow naturally. The so called "A shape" is ideal, where it curves on the sides. I noticed that putting glue all over the nail bends my right hand nails more into that shape. Normally my nails are much flatter as can be seen on my pinky and left hand nails where I don't use glue. But I experimented a bit and for like two weeks my playing really suffered because I was getting used to having to be more precise with my angle of attack, and just the general feeling of the new nail shapes I tried.
Anyway, most of my students try it and it works great. Others are too impatient, meaning they file flat but don't let the edges time to grow out, or they can't get used to the feeling, and go back to round hooking nails with a thin sound. Some refuse to use glue. Some insist on using acrylics. I have one guy who has no nails at all, but still loves to play. I guess he sounds like Tarrega!
My classical guitar teacher in college had hooked nails so he used to heat a spoon with a lighter and press it under his nails, forcing the shape of his nails to change! He had to do that every few days I think. When he first did that I thought he was about to shoot some heroine!
About Nuñez, honestly I never bugged him about it since I had things working for myself already. I advised my friend on this stuff, about filling flat, but he was not convinced. He asked Gerardo and he said I was correct, but ultimately you want to sound good and feel natural playing. His point that there was not one and only one correct way to file, or hold your hand, etc. Others have told me Nuñez used sand and krazy glue, end result being pretty ugly. I have seen him playing with nothing at all on his nails too. He seems not so concerned about it. I noticed acrylic on his thumb last summer. Probably he broke it. He always sounds good and does not seem to complain much about nails, at least in public.
Anyway, hope this helps some, this is a difficult topic to describe verbally.
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
Maybe im the only one with this prob, but does anyone worked out a solution, to fill out the gap between the nail and the finger/flesh, under the nail?
Posts: 533
Joined: Jul. 16 2003
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Ricardo)
Damn it all... I feel like I've tried everything you mentioned, including the spoon trick! But I know it's hard to describe these things, so I only wish you were in my hood. I think I fall in the category of guys who have trouble waiting until they grow out fully to try things, but my nails seem to grow so slow and I love to touch the geetar... it's sad
My nails are shaped vaguely like staples... I mean, they do curve down on the sides as you say, but quite drastically, so they are not uniformly round. I feel like maybe that's preventing the clean entrance of the string on the nail, but then if they're as long as they should be to play, they even get caught on the release, too, but I have tried filing flat with no luck. What keeps me going are the few days I can remember long ago where I had good tone with no resistance because I know what playing is supposed to feel like.
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Conrad)
quote:
My nails are shaped vaguely like staples... I mean, they do curve down on the sides as you say, but quite drastically, so they are not uniformly round.
That should not be a problem if you have enough nail to file a flat line across. You need enough nail on the edges so that when you have the finger touching the string, the string sits ON the nail, not under the corner. Any hooks down the middle of the nail should be filed off. Like, the pink part of my nail seen above, is an arc. So the white part might be shorter in the middle than on the edges, in order to have a straight edge across the nail curve.
Like draw a big arc on a piece of paper, from one side to the other. Now fold the paper into the shape of your nail, like curved on the sides? So the paper above the arc is the "white part" of your nail, under the arc is the pink part. So even though the paper has some 3d shape now, the actual EDGE at the top of the paper is still a flat edge, a straight line. You need to keep the string on that straight line, and not let it hook on the corners. If the white part is too long, you drew the arc too much in the middle or down low on the page, then you need to remove white material by cutting the paper straight across the top, not around the arc. If you want a ramp shape, you cut at a diagonal not horizontal across, but you cut along a straight line regardless. If you cut off or round the corners, you no longer have a straight line. Make any sense??
Posts: 533
Joined: Jul. 16 2003
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Ricardo)
I can visualize this, yes. I think have tried this, but maybe not to the exaggeration of the great description that you give here. Also, to think that the nail has to sit on the string without slope is a telling sign to me that my nail is just not nearly long enough on the edges or even in the middle to comfortably do that. I feel I'm digging in too much to displace the flesh of my finger enough in order to play. I'm going to have to lock up my guitar for a while! I'm so grateful for you hammering this home for me, man... this is really useful! hugs
Oh, by the way, how does the principle apply to your thumb nail? Most of the time my thumb nail is too short to strike the nail to get good control, but when it is as long as I think it should be, it catches, and I know my stroke is the right one. I think in this case I just have not found the right angle for that flat plain.
Posts: 181
Joined: Mar. 17 2005
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Conrad)
Conrad and Deniz,
Conrad, I know what you said about the thumb nail. To reduce the thumb nail catching I actually spread glue under the nail. Yes, under the nail. What it does is the glue fill the hum under the nail which preventing the string from sliding through easily. I found that it works well for me.
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
Well, I'm glad I found out the Onymyrrhe stuff is a bust before spending the $.
Ricardo, I'm able to use Hard As Nails, and that worked for me. The acrylics do too. I'm lucky with the shape of my nails, and I can maintain about 4 hours a day playing/practice time with just the Hoof and Nail cream, so it sounds like I'm one of the lucky ones.
I was really just asking if any of the "miracle" products that I've heard about (like Onymyrrhe) actually work. It would be nice to have natural-looking nails. I feel like the superglue/cyanoacrylate products weaken the "real" part of my nails, so it's hard to go back to being"natural" after using them.
People used to have a lot of faith in eating jello, or taking gelatin capsules. I really don't like the stuff, so I found it hard to keep up a daily regimen, so I don't know if it works.
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to a_arnold)
quote:
I feel like the superglue/cyanoacrylate products weaken the "real" part of my nails, so it's hard to go back to being"natural" after using them.
I have not noticed this, as far as comparing the nails I protect to the nails I don't. Although, removing the glue might damage or thin out your nails. But the cyanoacrylate products usually flake off naturally after a week or so, and if you let it come off without scraping, the natural nail underneath is the same as ever. In my case at least.
For thumb nail it is kind of the same thing, but the angle of attack is different. I have a lot more nail on the right side than left. But still, there is that one angle you can see a straight line underneath. My thumb nail has always accepted various shapes and lengths, where as the fingers seem to have gotten used to more specific shapes and lengths. One thing you can do after you file and you still notice some catch, is "play" the nail file as if it is a string.
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Conrad)
conrad, I have been drinking added calcium milk for the last month and I swear my nails are harder. I also put a dab of olive oil on them to keep them more fed.
Posts: 533
Joined: Jul. 16 2003
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to stephen hill)
That's all the push I need! Thanks, Stephen. I'll give calcium a shot. I stopped drinking milk a long time ago and get mine from other sources, so perhaps I'm low as it happens.
Posts: 243
Joined: Jul. 29 2003
From: San Diego, CA
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Conrad)
Hey Conrad,
One other thing you could consider is to find a really knowledgable dermatologist, find one that really knows about nails in your area. I don't know what a visit would cost you, but that might be the quickest way to find the best answer for yourself.
I would start by checking a university website that has a medical school, then find out who might be a specialist in nails.
By the way, onymyrrhe didn't do anything visible for my nails either. I think it does work for some people, but not others.
Posts: 533
Joined: Jul. 16 2003
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
RE: nail strengthener question (in reply to Paleto)
Thanks, Anthony,
It's a great idea, and I've already done it. Free health care in Canada, yippee!! I spoke to a dermatologist who was very confident that Biotin was the way to go and I tried that for almost four months and no change. It's okay. There are more things to try and I will work with all the advice I received here.
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However, I've found no answer for my "budgie-beak" or "hooked" nails which prevent me from playing at all these days. (sigh) 
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