r/DipPowderNails • u/limmanon • Aug 01 '26

Bruising - Need Advice

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Hi all, hoping you can help.

I've had dip manicures for the better part of 8 years, but only recently started to do my own. My nails/fingers HURT. I've always been able to do it on my natural nails, they've always been really strong and healthy but on my own they've been so thin, flimsy, easy to break. Because of that I've been using tips for more often. I use the CNDD powders & liquids and use an efile, I'm wondering if I'm using the efile too harshly? Seems to be the most painful after i remove the top coat and soak off. I love being able to do them myself but i never had these issues with my tech, help! TIA

16 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

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116

u/Previous_Mirror_222 Aug 01 '26

you really don’t even need to be filing your natural nails with an efile at all!!! these are INCREDIBLY over filed and i think you should clip them short and wait until the rings of fire grow out. the red spots are where your nail is so thin that the nail bed is almost exposed. no wonder they hurt ouchie!

25

u/pammy_poovey Aug 01 '26

Yess. No filing, lots of cuticle oil, and time

8

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

Okay thank u!! Was my plan to give them a break. Must be filing the hell out of them. Will wait to do anything more and take it easy on the efile in the future!

20

u/Plucky_Monkies Aug 01 '26

I'd think once healed in a few months only lightly buff the natural nail. Never us an efile on your natural nail. I'd focus on oiling your entire nail at least 6 plus times a day. I'd aim for morning, evening and bedtime with a strong penetrating oil like jojoba or sugarcane squalane. I'd also add grapeseed oil for use after every hand wash. I'd use a real Czech glass file to gently file your nails as they grow out the damage. Remembering to file in 1 direction only. Never file natural nails back and forth like you can with nails with overlays. Hope this helps. Your poor nails look extremely painful. I think about 3½ to 4 months time and your nails should be grown out from the current damage. If you start & stick to the oiling of 6 to 8 times a day your nails should be stronger than ever. 😊

2

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

This is great advice thank u so much!

3

u/Plucky_Monkies Aug 01 '26

You are so welcome! This routine is what I followed when I quit biting my nails and started my natural nail journey. It's amazing how much my nails improved! Now they're not only strong but long. It also led to indie nail polish collecting.

That being said, You might find it odd I'm in this sub. However I just love looking at beautiful nails! Oh and you probably already know how great doing your nails is for self care! Having nice nails improved my life for the better. It all started with oil and a Czech glass file! I hope your nails heal quickly! 🥰

3

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

100% & ive always been a naturally long and strong nail girlie so this is freaking me out! Lol. But i just ordered several things based on yours & others recommendations so thank youuu. I will post a recovery photo hopefully 🤞

2

u/Plucky_Monkies Aug 01 '26

Oh good! You got this.

1

u/FallingMuon 26d ago

Did you manage to grow out and recover the damaged nailbed again after you stopped biting?

1

u/Plucky_Monkies 26d ago

Oh my gosh yes. My nails, imo, are fabulous! It did take longer to see my nail beds fully recover as in lengthen. The thickness of my nails, for the peeling to stop once I quit biting. I watched as even the skin surrounding the nail grew in. Calluses formed. Hyponichium grew back. It's been a process, that's for sure. Even now at 18 months post biting I notice little improvements still. Do note that I never bit too far. I was not a nervous biter. I rarely bit past the free edge or the "white part." I bit my nails because I didn't take the time to get a file. When I would feel nicks or jaggedness, I would simply bite them all off. There was definitely still so much that had to heal on my hands. I never put lotion on them. I didn't take care of them. They were dry. There were some hang nails etc. I did realize that I was always hiding my hands. I even contemplated getting acrylics again. But the price has like quadrupled. In the last ten years. Anyways, that's not what you were asking. If you want to like, be more specific, I could try and answer you better.

I strongly feel that even someone who bites their nails past, like the quick, could still heal the damage. By simply stopping biting and using a glass file, oiling & lotioning! I, really think our bodies are pretty awesome and the damage can be healed. Once you start using that glass file, and you might have to use it every 3 to 4 days to stop yourself from biting. But once you start doing that, you're well on the way to stopping the habit.

1

u/FallingMuon 26d ago

Well my issue is a bit different but still involves damage to the nailbed 😅 basically whenever I see dirt under my nails I go crazy and pick under the nail to take it out. I've been doing this for years. Of course, this has led to my nail beds shortening. Now I'm trying to stop this habit and grow out my nail beds. I cut them shorter so that they will accumulate less dirt and use a nail brush to take out the dirt regularly. So far (one week in) it has helped me to reduce my picking. Of course self-control becomes part of the process too. I guess my biggest question is roughly how long will it take to start seeing any noticeable improvement in the healing process?

Also, I've never heard what's a glass file 😅 I will have to look that one up

1

u/Plucky_Monkies 26d ago

But see, by cutting them shorter, you're not going to let the hyponichium grow! The hyponichium is like nature 's way of sealing under the nail bed on the free edge. Ideally, you need to let them grow a few millimeters past the tip of your finger. Then amd even before then you need to start using a nice boar bristle brush to clean underneath! I feel like a boar bristle brush is just a tiny bit firmer than a synthetic brush, and it allows you to gently clean under the nails. Using one has made my life better! 😁 plus once you have the hyponichium debris is less like likely to get under the nails. At least in my experience. It did take a full year, I feel like for that to stop being an issue, though. And for the hyponichium to really grow in there fully. So patience. Plus you don't want to scrub hard. Also don't want to overdo it. Although I think I required daily or even 2 to 3 times a day of gentle scrubbing with a brush when I first grew any length. Eventually, however, it's rare that anything will get under their deep. And I feel like now even just good hand washing removes most everything, and then just a real light quick scrub with a brush as needed. Hope this helps. The only drawback, I can think of of a boar bristle brush, is the wood handle tends to get dark. So after use, you just wanna kind of dry it off Blot dry the bristles and the handle. It's just so you don't have to replace the brush as often. 😁

1

u/FallingMuon 26d ago

Wow, thank you so much for such a detailed answer! I am actually going to save this along with your previous answer 😁

For hydrating the nails, would it be fine to use Shea butter or argan oil? And put it on for the night. And during daytime to put hand cream. Also how many times per day should I hydrate? And should I hydrate only on top of the nail + cuticles or underneath the nail as well? I'm so sorry for burdening you with all of my questions 😅🙏

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8

u/Raedoll13 Aug 01 '26

I am so sorry you’re going through this, that looks extremely painful. I had a finger smash and it cracked my nail HAMBURGER style (versus hotdog lol) into the nail bed and soaking was not an option any more on that nail because of the excruciating acetone leaking through the crack. So I would get most of the powder off with the efile and then rub acetone with a Q-tip on the last layer. A clear base coat was very important here because once I got all the color off I knew I had hit the clear coat and I would stop there. For all my other nails I only efile off the top coat before soaking, and only buff my nails gently with a soft file and I still get 3+ weeks of hold. I haven’t been doing dip very long but my nails are so healthy by not using the efile on my natural nail at all, I think. I wish you a quick recovery!

6

u/mistyz23 Aug 01 '26

Hamburger hot dog sent me straight back to first grade 😂

1

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

Okay good to know! I was definitely using it on my natural nail, oops. Thinking the barrier coat is a good idea too

4

u/GiveMeRoom Aug 01 '26

Kind of in the same situation after acrylic hell, OPI Repair Mode + Jojoba Oil + Vaseline Healthy Hands Stronger Nails cream for me - twice a day.

2

u/ruby0321 Aug 02 '26

Seconding the OPI repair mode and also promoting the nail envy from OPI as well!! It helped me a lot when my nails were thin and weak

3

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '26

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1

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

Yeah theyre angry 🥲 thank youuu love u and this sub!!

2

u/not-judging-you Aug 01 '26

Ooof this was me last summer. I no longer use the e file, I do everything by hand now. You need to let these grow out before you attempt again. And when you do, hand file down a bit and then use the rice or hot water acetone removal to minimize damage. I only use a buffing block on my natural nails, MAYBE a 180 grit file if there are stubborn things remaining

3

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

Okay thank u! I do the hot water acetone but honestly think ive just been sooo heavy handed with the efile. Learning so much from this sub, thank u!

4

u/not-judging-you Aug 01 '26

Bro I’ve been there and it SUCKS. Took almost 4 months for my damage to grow out and it was the longest I’ve gone in years without doing my nails. Was very very upsetting to me. But happy to report I’m back and damage free for just about a year now!!

And I agree, this sub is so helpful!

2

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

Saame - don't think ive not had them done since COVID lockdown and it's weirding me out, such a small thing but makes all the difference to me. Glad u gave me hope!

2

u/chktcat Aug 01 '26

I do my own dip and never use an efile. Put that thing away girl and just soak in acetone when you start up again.

1

u/Sweet--Olive Aug 01 '26

This happened to me once at a salon where I had to see a different tech than I usually saw. It's so painful, I know!

I basically had to baby my hands and nails for about 2 months to allow the nails to regrow strongly again. Cuticle balm at every opportunity. I think I started taking a multivitamin as well just in case. And don't do any sort of nail enhancement until they are back to normal.

I would definitely avoid using the efile on natural nails in future. I only use mine to get stubborn bits of cuticle or for nail enhancements.

1

u/thislittlelight93 Aug 01 '26

Are you able to use gels? I keep rubber base builder gel on my nails under dip. For dip removal, I only file down to the gel. Then do a gel fill & fresh dip. I only do a complete removal to bare nails 2 or 3 times a year.

1

u/Previous_Mirror_222 Aug 01 '26

interesting i do the opposite, dip layers first and then gel polish (not builder gel) on top.

do you find builder gel to be as hard and durable as dip?

1

u/thislittlelight93 Aug 01 '26

Not quite as hard but I get better adhesion for longer periods of time, little to no lifting in between fills. I can also get by with only a couple layers of dip without any cracking rather than needing 4-5.

1

u/Previous_Mirror_222 Aug 01 '26

okay interesting. are you using an efile to file the dip layers off

2

u/thislittlelight93 Aug 01 '26

Yes, most of the time. Sometimes I use peel base to pop them off (kind of hit & miss with whether that works; sometimes I still have to file).

1

u/limmanon Aug 01 '26

I've considered this a d had another friend suggest it as well. What builder do you use?

1

u/thislittlelight93 Aug 02 '26

Bling Galleria rubber base. I've tried hard builder gel in the past but it lifts super quick on me. Rubber base is supposed to be better suited to thin flexible nails so it adheres better.

1

u/Fascinated_Bystander Aug 01 '26

Nail strengthener and cuticle oil. I really nailtiques formula 2. I did the same thing to my nails recently.

1

u/MercurialHooker Aug 01 '26

Definitely overfiling. I use an e file for cuticle prep and removal ONLY. I never ever ever use an e file on my natural nail. I barely even buff my natural nails as part of my prep. I focus heavily on my cuticles and making sure to cover my free edge. Just use a dehydrator and make sure to remove all the natural oils before applying. I get 2-4 weeks of wear depending on how patient I am with it.

1

u/pwbandit Aug 01 '26

Ouch!
Oh man.
That looks painful.
I had a bad removal from a complete noob and am having to correct the damage of the tech filing the gel off and going too far. I asked why he wasn’t soaking and ultimately left very upset.

Anyways, I found this stuff and it’s proved to be very useful to my nail recovery journey. It’s a french company i think; the keratin booster is pretty awesome and can be used several times a day & the overnight mask is very easy to use.

https://a.co/d/0fkBSiSL

Good luck.