h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Both my mother and I have the same problem, no matter what we do to our nails, how carefully we prepare, what brand of polish we use, whether we undercoat or not, nail polish will never adhere to our nails. It'll dry then not long after just flake off in great sheets...

Does anyone else have this problem?

Is it definitely the varnish, rather than the top layer of your nail?

Do you use a top coat to seal the whole lot together? What happens if you only put one layer of clear varnish on, does that come off, and can you see where it starts to flake? Are you putting it on after you have had a bath? Because if your nails have been soaked in water for a while then they will be very soft and the varnish might not adhere so well as they dry out.

Do you both have jobs where your hands are in water a lot? Even the most solidly applied stuff will come off if you have your hands wet all the time.

Other than that, I don't know - but mine usually starts coming off after 3-4 days depending on the make of varnish and whether I have done a lot of washing up.

k