I tried nail bikes: see photos

There’s nothing I love more than a fresh manicure, and that’s a good thing because I test a lot of them nail trends for work. That means I’m constantly in the salon trying out new polish colors and… nail art designs. Using gel, I was able to grow my nails longer than ever before – so long that several people have asked me if they were fake. Things were going great (or so I thought) until one day I was taking a shower and realized that the tip of my nail on my middle finger was bent and felt like it was about to break. By the time I visited the salon to have the gel removed, I could see that more than one was thin and brittle and desperately in need of some TLC. I had heard about the strengthening benefits of “nail cycling‘, so I decided to give it a try.

For the uninitiated, nail cycling is taking time off between regular manicures—something I didn’t do from January to June, when I had no breaks for six months. (Unless you count the two minutes between removing the gel and applying another coat in the salon.) Of course, that’s a serious no-no.

Experts from this article

Vanessa McCullough is a celebrity manicurist and CND education ambassador based in Los Angeles.
Kunal MalikMD, is a board-certified general and cosmetic dermatologist based in New York.

“Taking a break every eight to 10 weeks allows the recovery of the nail matrix, which is located beneath the cuticle and contains stem cells where new nails are formed,” Kunal Malik, MD, board-certified general and cosmetic dermatologist, previously told us. P.S. “Aggressive practices when it comes to gel or acrylic manicures, such as increased pressure when removing the nail, can irreparably damage the nail matrix.”

The salon I went to did not soak my nails in acetone, but instead removed them strictly with an electric file, leaving the surface dry, thin, cracked and brittle. When I showed photos of my long, gel-free nails to Vanessa McCullough, a celebrity manicurist and CND education ambassador, she immediately pointed out areas that had been over-polished with an electric file.

“If you think of a book with a lot of pages, every time you get your nails done you tear a page out of that book,” says McCullough. “Unfortunately, every time you get your nails filed like that, about ten pages are torn out, and there are no pages left, and you’re left with a very thinned nail that breaks and bends.”

Keep reading to learn more about how nail cycling worked for me.

During the first week of nail cycling, I left my nails completely exposed. The following week I added nail polish, but it broke off after just a few days, so I removed it and decided to focus on treatments that would help bring my nails back to life.

During the day I layered OPI repair mode ($25), a bond-building nail serum, and then OPI nail envy ($20), a nail strengthener. At night I used the Essie On A Roll Apricot Cuticle Oil ($15) — that’s a Winner of the POPSUGAR Beauty Award – religious.

In the third week of being gel-free, my nails actually started to regain some of their strength. I could shower in hot water without worrying about tearing my nails while washing my hair, and I could keep medium-length nails without too much breakage.

When it came time for my next professional manicure, I knew I wanted to grow my nails long again, and after doing some research, I discovered that the best way to do that was to use a building gel, a nail improvement gel that helps strengthen and thicken the nail. Now, instead of going back for regular gel manicures, I’m trying it out CND Plexigel, and it has made such a big difference. Where my nails used to be fragile and flexible of a layer of gel on top, the builder gel is a completely different story. My nails feel, well, unbreakable. It even helped get rid of me overgrown hyponychium (the skin under your nails).

After realizing how important it is to take a break from intensive nail treatments like gel and acrylic, I plan to switch nail cycles as often as possible. It made a huge difference in the overall health of my nails, and if you want to repair the damage caused by improper gel removal, this might be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Renee Rodriguez is a writer and social producer for PS. She writes across all industries, but her main areas of expertise are focused on fashion and beauty content, with an emphasis on reviews and editor experiments. She also produces social content for the PS TikTok and Instagram accounts.