Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I read another reviewer that was a person like me that actually "works" with her hands. Based on that review, I took a chance and bought it. Boy am I happy that I did! To give a little background, I am a rough and tumble country girl and a busy crafter. I'm not one of these modern prissy girls that has her nails done and then is afraid to wipe her butt because she might break a nail. I use my hands constantly. I dig in the dirt, tinker with machinery and equipment, use a hammer, wire wrap jewelry, quilt, work on furniture, do masonry work, wash dishes by hand, and a huge number of other things that are really tough on hands and especially the nails. Chipped and broken nails are just part of a normal day. My problem was that one of my thumbnails received damage that causes the edge to flake and be really weak. This is a major problem when I wire wrap, because it would flake back and rip into the quick and cause pain. I thought the damaged ridge would grow out, but it's been a couple years this way. I tried this product, 7-in-1 Nail Treatment, and it is wonderful. I follow the following routine: Day 1 - clean nails with acetone-free remover, put 2 coats on (drying between coats) Day 2 - nothing Day 3 - apply another coat Day 4 - clean off and start over I think you'd get as good of results by just applying a single coat 3 days in a row and then starting over on the 4th day. But I'm pretty busy and really like to not worry about it that day. I've skipped 2 days in a row, but it starts wearing off, so that didn't work well for me. The first thing you'll notice is that it's not a hard. You can actually take your nail and mark the coating. When I have 3 coats on, I've actually had some of it scuff and scrape up. I just smoothed it back down. It was a bit rough looking, but it's clear to milky white, so it really isn't that noticeable. Now the great news. I couldn't find any garden gloves and my old ones were completely worn out. So I weeded without gloves, thinking, "oh great, there goes the nail repair process." This stuff really protected them! I was digging in a particularly stubborn flower bed and it should have destroyed them, but the only issue I had was some rough edges where the nails hit some rocks. I filed the edges smooth and the nails still looked great. The second thing was that I reached for the light and cracked my nail against the metal headboard of my bed. My nails were pretty long by this time and it hurt like a mofo. The nail "should" have broke, but it didn't. The coating was badly dinged but I smoothed it back down a bit and the nail survived without even a chip. The third major incident was when I was picking up a heavy box with my husband and he dropped his end. My nail bent backwards and boy did it hurt! Normally, it would have torn and I'd have to rip the dang thing off back into the quick and trim it up best I could, but this time the nail didn't rip. I just smoothed out the roughed up coating and continued with my work. Now, I did have one nail break along the edge. I'm not sure what did that one, because I didn't remember hitting it off anything and it wasn't any of the nails that were involved in the incidents. With me, it's just par for the course. 1 break out of a possible 4 is wonderful when you're as rough on them as I am. The last thing is that the flaking thumbnail is no longer flaking. It is longer that it's been in several years, and the damaged ridge looks like it may actually finally grow out! Update: the damaged ridge in my thumbnail grew out and I no longer have flaking. I often leave my nails naked like I prefer, and occasionally use the fixer when I notice an increase in breakage. Love this product, even bought an extra bottle so that I'd have it when I used up the 1st.