Perfect Formula

[Loveinamist]

My nails are not strong due to continual DIY and health issues but they were really bad after decorating the hall, my nails were wrecked. Bought PF and am really pleased, after three weeks they feel stronger and the appearance is greatly improved. I'll never have talons as I am too hands on but short, neat and non flaking, non splitting I feel will be achievable. :Laugh:

 

[Buttercorn]

Hi Loveinamist, I have been battling very poor nail health for about a year now. My nails are peeling layer by layer and are very weak and soft. At the moment I am trying Mane 'n Tail cream (from the USA). It has really good reviews on Amazon, but I am not sure it will help mine. I wear rubber gloves whenever possible but my DD seems to think I may be anaemic and that may be the cause of my bad nails. My question is - with PF is it a cream or a varnish. I ask because when I have used varnish type treatments ( loads of them) they all just flake off with my top nail layer, which defeats the object. Thanks for any help. Jaki

 

[Ellaaa]

Does PF contain formaldehyde?

 

[alter ego]

Hi Loveinamist, I have been battling very poor nail health for about a year now. My nails are peeling layer by layer and are very weak and soft. At the moment I am trying Mane 'n Tail cream (from the USA). It has really good reviews on Amazon, but I am not sure it will help mine. I wear rubber gloves whenever possible but my DD seems to think I may be anaemic and that may be the cause of my bad nails. My question is - with PF is it a cream or a varnish. I ask because when I have used varnish type treatments ( loads of them) they all just flake off with my top nail layer, which defeats the object. Thanks for any help. Jaki

If it's just peeling, try Mavala Scientifique. I used this when my nails started peeling and it stopped it within a month. I've since started massaging oil (any type - even rapeseed oil from when I'm cooking!) or handcream into my cuticles and had no peeling issues since.

 

[Scout]

Does PF contain formaldehyde?

Yes, it does. There was a discussion about that on the Q FB page a while back, and Q kept very quiet but under pressure eventually admitted that Perfect Formula does contain formaldehyde. I've spent my life trying to find a cruelty-free nail strengthener without formaldehyde, and can confirm that unfortunately most nail strengtheners do contain it, because it's just about the only thing that gives nails strength. Mavala Scientifique is based on it too, as far as I know. Nail Envy has formaldehyde, except for one version which is branded formaldehyde-free and doesn't work. It always worries me the way the OPI girls cavalierly tell us to put the Nail Envy under the nail tip, and get it all over their finger tips. All the safety instructions for formaldehyde tell us not to let it get on our skin, and a lot of the nail hardeners actually tell us to put oil or vaseline around the cuticles before we use it so it doesn't touch the skin. And there they are telling us it's fine to get it on our fingers regularly.

The only strengthener I've seen good reviews for which doesn't have formaldehyde is Barry M's Top Coat and Nail Hardener, but apparently you have to be careful not to use it all the time or your nails become too hard and snap.

I was on the Ciate website at the weekend, trying to see if they're certified cruelty-free. No mention that I could find about cruelty-free policies, but they do shout about the fact that they are free from the three "bad" ingredients - formaldehyde, toluene and phthalates. Leighton Denny always mentions that his products are free from the "three nasties" as he calls them too.

Not sure if they still do, but a while back I noticed that a lot of Nails Inc standard polishes contain formaldehyde too. I believe OPI are in the process of removing formaldehyde from their standard polishes. So if you use Nail Envy or something similar and then use Nails Inc polish, you're immediately overdosing on the amount of formaldehyde considered to be safe. It's a minefield.

 

[Akimbo]

Isn't the Nicole range from OPI better in terms of chemicals than regular OPI? I may have remembered this incorrectly from years ago when QVC sold Nicole as well as OPI colours. My local Superdrug now stocks Nicole polishes and the colours are lovely.

 

[Buttercorn]

Thanks everyone for your input. I will try the Mavala one Alter Ego, thanks for that. I am sure I remember Mavala products from way back in the 60's, not sure if it's the same one though!

 

[Loveinamist]

I am anaemic too and have an underactive thyroid, both killers for the nails with layer peeling too. Take on board the formaldehyde issue, thank you.

 

[srhgts]

I have an underactive thyroid and am often anaemic too, and my nails are hopeless. I've tried just about everything on the planet to fix them and they've only ever got a tiny bit better. They also grow a bit weirdly, sort of curving downwards for some reason. I'm absolutely exasperated, not least because I need to have some kind of presentable nails for my wedding and categorically can't wear fake nails of any kind.

 

[madmax]

I have just Googled Mavala Scientifique and there are several different products on sale please can you tell me which one you recommend AL .
As I am also struggling with flaking nails. They have got so bad now that even my beloved RCM has started to flake off so reducing its effectiveness as nail protection .

 

[iloveshopping]

I have just Googled Mavala Scientifique and there are several different products on sale please can you tell me which one you recommend AL .
As I am also struggling with flaking nails. They have got so bad now that even my beloved RCM has started to flake off so reducing its effectiveness as nail protection .

After a year on RMC my nails tips are flaking. I'm currently taking a break and using nail envy - into my second week but too early to tell

 

[Dips]

I'll flag in advance that my comment may not be impartial as I have previously owned a vitamins business (but not done so for over 5 years now), but I would recommend a reputable nutritional supplement aimed at healthy nails in addition to any topical products being used. You should start to see a difference in 6-8 weeks although this will take longer until the nail has grown up the whole of the nail bed.

 

[jaydeen]

Personally Perfect Formula was one of the worst things I have ever bought off qvc, it made my nails weaker than they already were to begin with and it just peeled off within a few hours even though I followed all the guide lines said in the presentation, and the brushes on the bottles dried up within a few weeks. I thought it was awful stuff, never again. But then I realize it works for some, it just didn't work for me.

 

[boffy]

I have really bad nails for years now. found out by accident that I have a serious illness that's affected my nails. now on medication to control it and my nails are growing again

 

[Mam]

Perfect Formula didn't work for me either. It peeled off very quickly and did nothing to help the flaking nails. The only thing that has helped the flaking/peeling nails on a long term basis is Nailtiques Protein Formula 2. It's expensive, but my nails have never looked this good before. I actually have to keep filing down the length and not a flake in sight. HTH

 

[Buttercorn]

You know this nail problem business is a real minefield, as someone already said. What works for one doesn't work for someone else and vise versa.

I have used the nailtiques formulas and found initially they worked, my nails started to grow. But then when they grew I have a definite dip forming at the base of the nail. As the nails grew this was a real weak point, so every one of them split off. I have tried almost every nail treatment on the market, currently using one meant for horses hooves!! Okay so I'm desperate lol. I also take a cod liver oil capsule and a vitamin B complex every day, but still my nails are weak and flaking.

The real annoying thing is it is only for the last year to eighteen months that this has been happening. Before this I had long nails and have quite a wardrobe of coloured varnishes. But now the most I do is buff them because they look so bad. I am tempted to try and see my GP for advice and help.

Thanks for all the input, it is very interesting reading everyone elses experiences.

 

[alter ego]

http://www.mavala.co.uk/nails/nail-products/mavala-scientifique This is the one I used. It's very watery and smells like washing up liquid, but worked like nothing I'd ever tried before. Good luck if you try it and give it enough time to work as my nails were like new after six weeks - and I was about to give up!

On the subject of formaldehyde, I was about to buy some Seche Vite (the BEST quick-drying topcoat ever according to a lot of beauty eds) in Boots, but was shocked to see this on the label. I decided to stick with my old Sally Hansen Mega Shine (or at a push, their Something-dri in a red clear bottle). Obviously I haven't tried Seche Vite, but for shine and fast drying - touch (quite hard!) dry in a minute - I won't look further than Mega Shine any more. I have ridged toe nails but MS makes them smooth AND brings out the colour (especially shimmers and holos). I also find that it makes it easier remove, too. As a natural-born picker, I'll start on anything and accidentally found that if I started picking the edge of polish that had been on my feet a week or so, I could peel strips off quite easily. No need for remover!

A tip for those who love glitter and hate removing it (apart from using MS as a top coat), as long as you don't mind it on on a Friday and off by Sunday, for example, use peel off polish as a base coat. I use Brit Black from the Andrea Fulerton range in Superdrug (she does a lovely holo in a dual bottle, too) under glitters. It makes a dramatic difference and once you're done, peel it off. Simples! Be warned, though, peel-offs, do not last, but they're okay for kids and great for people who can't wear normal polish due to sensitivities (like my sister, who can just about get away with carefully using a normal polish over a peel-off).

ETA: The MS works best if you load the brush and brush a blob on - the thicker the better. If you try to drag a thinly loaded brush over wet polish it'll streak and end up tainting the clear MS.

 

[Loveinamist]

. currently using one meant for horses hooves!!

So does AY apparently! But then it is to hand.



Other varnishes peel on my nails too but not PF. As said, a minefield.

 

[iloveshopping]

Just found an old bottle of Nailtek formula II for peeling nails. I stopped using it before as my nails became brittle and snapped off. Think I'll try it for a couple of weeks in the hope that it will protect my nails and they will get a chance to grow.

 

[Mam]

You know this nail problem business is a real minefield, as someone already said. What works for one doesn't work for someone else and vise versa.

I have used the nailtiques formulas and found initially they worked, my nails started to grow. But then when they grew I have a definite dip forming at the base of the nail. As the nails grew this was a real weak point, so every one of them split off. I have tried almost every nail treatment on the market, currently using one meant for horses hooves!! Okay so I'm desperate lol. I also take a cod liver oil capsule and a vitamin B complex every day, but still my nails are weak and flaking.

Oh, that's interesting Buttercorn. Was it the base of the nail, i.e. the half moon that dipped or was it the base of the free edge at the sides? Just wondering as one of my nails has just split at the side where the free edge joins the nail bed

The real annoying thing is it is only for the last year to eighteen months that this has been happening. Before this I had long nails and have quite a wardrobe of coloured varnishes. But now the most I do is buff them because they look so bad. I am tempted to try and see my GP for advice and help.

Thanks for all the input, it is very interesting reading everyone elses experiences.

That's interesting Buttercorn. Was it the base of the nail, i.e. the half moon where the problem occurred, or was it the base of the free edge where it meets the nail bed? Just wondering as one of my nails has just split at the side where the free edge ends, near the quick