Jabber, I know what you mean about the nails thing. I've always had soft nails that just peel off layer by layer. The other thing is I tend to have ingrown nails on my fingers - that's painful. I've tried a lot of different stuff and the only thing that works for me is the acrylic nails that I get done at a salon. Not only does it make my nails look good, it prevents the nails from ingrowing. It took a while to get used to having long nails, but they can be as short as I want them. They don't affect anything I do; I still garden, wash dishes, housework, etc. and can type with the nail tips instead of my finger tips. Acrylics don't work for everyone; and neither do some of the other types of nail extensions. But I love my nails - my nail tech is an artist so I usually have nail art, too!