Strengthening nails for fingerstyle?

zepp76 · January 2019

Do any of you fine people have any tips for strengthening nails for fingerstyle playing please? I'm really getting into acoustic playing and would appreciate any tips you have, thank you.

fishfingers · January 2019

I'm sure that the robustness of your fingernails is pretty much genetically determined. Playing fingerstyle, on steel strings, can be challenging for your nails if they are not naturally robust. Having said that there are many ways to adapt if you are not blessed with eagle-like talons! Nail salons can apply acrylic nails to your picking hand, and there are many players who use them. Or, you can go the DIY route like John Renbourn, for example. He glued bits of ping pong ball to his fingernails and managed to get a very fine sound; with the additional advantage that, during a tour, he could repair any nail breakage easily without having to find a nail bar. Other players have used layers of fine tissue paper and lacquer.

Some of my favourite players use flesh only and get a great sound - it's just a question of building up a hard callous on the pads and tips of your fingers.

You can also check out all the various finger picks that are available. These give you a different sound with more volume, but can be pretty tricky to use.

Hope that helps

TheMarlin · January 2019

I have nails like a newborn child. Very fine, very thin. I play with my fingernails, but they snap
and break regularly.
I‘ve tried nail strengthening nail polish stuff, but it doesn’t help, and easily chips off.
As said above. It’s genetics, some people have proper claws, I’ve got fine nails and hair.
Ho hum.
i might have to invest in those slip on nail picks.

Roland · January 2019

I’ve done it in the past, but don’t do it now because I rarely play strummed acoustic. Instead I developed a finger picking style which uses more flesh, and doesn’t rely on nails, and now use a plectrum whenever I can.

I did look at acrylic nails. The advice I was given was that they thin and weaken the real nail, making life worse once you take them off.

FWIW my recipe was nail hardener, with tissue paper to minimise it chipping, applied at 24 hours before a performance. First trim your nails. Apply a coat of hardener, and let it dry. Cut a single layer of paper tissue to the shape of the cuticle, place it over the nail and brush over with nail hardener. Flatten if necessary to avoid any fold or ridges. Let it dry, then trim the outer edge to shape. Final coat of hardener. Let it dry for 24 hours to harden right off. File any rough edges. As you can see it was a lot of effort, and still only lasts a hour or so. I’m not a professional player, and I’m not sure it’s worth it.

TheMarlin · January 2019

When I tore a nail down to the quick, I glued it back with tea bag material, super glue (two layers) and two coats of nail hardener. Peeled it all off and replaced weekly
that was strong, but damn ugly.

Snags · January 2019

Get a glass nail file, and use it regularly to keep them at an appropriate length. Just keeping on top of that once a week or so seems to make mine a bit tougher, and thicken up slightly. If you get a nick/snag in one, deal with it before you start fidgeting on it and end up peeling the whole thing off (a life-long nail biter/picker writes!).

Also, don't let them get too long - at least for me, if they get beyond a certain length then they often end up getting nicked just at the base of the white bit, and the whole 'playing part' ends up tearing off.

Also, basic stuff like generally looking after yourself (decent diet, rest etc.) seems to make a difference to me. Every time I have a few weeks eating crap, getting stressed and sleeping badly my nails suffer and tear more easily.

zepp76 · January 2019

Thank you all for your replies and advice, I've ordered a wolfram glass file and will use that for a while and see if I need to harden the nails at a later date when they have a bit more length to them.

BigLicks67 · January 2019

You could try calcium and vitamin D supplements. Also, drink more water and less caffeine.

Stuckfast · January 2019

I find that as time goes by I break them less and less frequently, so maybe it's a technique thing or something. I did use something called Bulletproof Nails which is basically superglue that you paint on top of the nail, but these days I don't bother. If I do break them it's invariably doing something other than guitar playing!

Th4fonz · January 2019

I mainly play fingerstyle on acoustic and have no nails.....

zepp76 · January 2019

I've been trying without nails but even as nice sounding as the guitar is it just sounds, how do I explain it? Dull I guess, using a plectrum the guitar rings out beautifully, if my nails aren't strong enough once they are a bit longer I may try finger picks.

Andy79 · January 2019

Worth putting in the effort with finger picks. Not easy to get used to but sounds great

fishfingers · January 2019

Check out Alaska finger picks (see the videos of Eric Skye on YouTube - he uses these picks and they sound great). The "picking part" fits under your existing nail

zepp76 · January 2019

fishfingers said:

Check out Alaska finger picks (see the videos of Eric Skye on YouTube - he uses these picks and they sound great). The "picking part" fits under your existing nail

Thank you, they look like they could be useful, cheap too.

malcolmkindness · January 2019

I would definitely recommend acrylic nails. Infills one a month, work like a dream no problems at all.

Stuckfast · January 2019

Nic Jones was a great fingerstyle guitarist who never used his nails, he had a very individual sound that is widely copied nowadays.

malcolmkindness · January 2019

Stuckfast said:

Nic Jones was a great fingerstyle guitarist who never used his nails, he had a very individual sound that is widely copied nowadays.

Absolutely, there's nothing wrong with bare fingers they can sound great, but the OP asked for tips on nail strengthening.

BigLicks67 · January 2019

Stuckfast said:

Nic Jones was a great fingerstyle guitarist who never used his nails, he had a very individual sound that is widely copied nowadays.

Tommy Emmanuel also uses bare skin and no nail.

ESBlonde · January 2019

I remember watching this.

James Taylor on his technique for maintaining his nails.

fishfingers · January 2019

There are risks with applying nail adhesive yourself. Although this paper discusses paediatric cases it is worth reading if you intend going down this route:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5011344/

malcolmkindness · January 2019

zepp76 said:

I've been trying without nails but even as nice sounding as the guitar is it just sounds, how do I explain it? Dull I guess, using a plectrum the guitar rings out beautifully, if my nails aren't strong enough once they are a bit longer I may try finger picks.

Seriously, it's worth trying acrylics. I've been playing for over 50 years, bare fingers, fingerpicks and various homemade treatments for my nails.
Now I go to a good salon where the technician knows exactly what I need. I have only three nails done, as I usually use a thumb pick, and I keep them fairly short just as I would my normal nails. They are natural coloured, and you probably wouldn't notice them if I didn't point them out to you. They are never removed, but grow out and are infilled about once a month.
Good luck.

bacchanalian · January 2019

The wolfram files are excellent. Use little and often and try to smooth out even the smallest nicks. That will give you the best playing surface and lessen the chance of breakages.
I would also echo the advice above of keeping them fairly short and developing your technique to use some flesh and just a bit of nail to add some definition to the note. You can also increase the variety of tones (timbre) by varying the attack and decay of the notes depending on how much flesh or nail you use.
Similar to your fretting hand you will develop calluses, but much lighter, on your picking hand.

axisus · January 2019

I tried all kinds of strengthening years ago, my nails being very weak. Nothing worked. I just play fingerstyle with fingers and not nails, there is a massive bonus to this in that I hate the sound/feel of longer nails clacking on a piano.

ToneControl · January 2019

doesn't Clive Carroll use ping pong balls?

I keep my nails shorter than I used to, now just a little longer than the fingertip. Seems to improve tone, accuracy, and reduce breakages. Also I use a full set of graded nail boards, starting with a glass file to ensure there are no rough edges, because rough edges snag and tear

Merrick · January 2019

I've tried everything over the years and recently, following a very busy spell of gigging, turned to acrylics out of desperation.

It's been a revelation! I need to modify and refine the shape and thickness a little after leaving the nail bar but they've been excellent.

malcolmkindness · January 2019

Merrick said:

I've tried everything over the years and recently, following a very busy spell of gigging, turned to acrylics out of desperation.
It's been a revelation! I need to modify and refine the shape and thickness a little after leaving the nail bar but they've been excellent.

Based on my experience, you will never look back.

GTC · January 2019

I had this problem when I returned to playing two years ago. I became quite expert with tea bag / superglue repairs - but thought I was destined to play mainly nylon strings.

Back in August I discovered Barielle nail strengthener cream (obtainable through Amazon) and haven't had a problem since. I believe it is supposed to contain the stuff used for strengthening horses' hooves. I found it recommended on a classical guitar forum.

The result after a short period of time has been stronger but more supple nails less prone to breakage - without the "clickiness" of hardened nails or fingerpicks.

Prior to using Barielle, I also used the Orly nail rescue kit for small repairs - which is easier and neater to use than the tea bag / superglue method.

StuartMac290 · January 2019

GTC said:

I had this problem when I returned to playing two years ago. I became quite expert with tea bag / superglue repairs - but thought I was destined to play mainly nylon strings.

Back in August I discovered Barielle nail strengthener cream (obtainable through Amazon) and haven't had a problem since. I believe it is supposed to contain the stuff used for strengthening horses' hooves. I found it recommended on a classical guitar forum.

The result after a short period of time has been stronger but more supple nails less prone to breakage - without the "clickiness" of hardened nails or fingerpicks.

Prior to using Barielle, I also used the Orly nail rescue kit for small repairs - which is easier and neater to use than the tea bag / superglue method.

Interesting, I need to try this - do you use the one with Biotin or the other one?

GTC · January 2019

StuartMac290 said:

GTC said:

I had this problem when I returned to playing two years ago. I became quite expert with tea bag / superglue repairs - but thought I was destined to play mainly nylon strings.

Back in August I discovered Barielle nail strengthener cream (obtainable through Amazon) and haven't had a problem since. I believe it is supposed to contain the stuff used for strengthening horses' hooves. I found it recommended on a classical guitar forum.

The result after a short period of time has been stronger but more supple nails less prone to breakage - without the "clickiness" of hardened nails or fingerpicks.

Prior to using Barielle, I also used the Orly nail rescue kit for small repairs - which is easier and neater to use than the tea bag / superglue method.

Interesting, I need to try this - do you use the one with Biotin or the other one?

I use the one without Biotin - in the white and blue container

GTC · January 2019

StuartMac290 said

Interesting, I need to try this - do you use the one with Biotin or the other one?

I use the one without Biotin - in the blue and white container. For me I started noticing the difference after about a week. For 6 weeks I used it twice a day and now just once per day. Application is just rubbing into nails and cuticles so it is a very quick process

Balrog68 · January 2019

Interesting thread.. I've always kept my fingernails short so they don't impede my picking, I can't play with long nails...i just get snagged up in the strings if I try.

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Strengthening nails for fingerstyle?

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