Jed, if you can go three weeks between fills, without the nails loosening, you are a lucky man.

As I said above, I need mine filled every ten days.Otherwise the gap between the cuticle and the acrylic becomes a real hazard area, allowing ingress of water, Titebond glue, lacquer thinner and all sorts of nail loosening stuff.

Genie, I think your scheme of sanding down the back edge and using clear nail hardener could have merit. Let us know how it goes.

I am however skeptical about nails requiring to "breathe". (People talk about wood "breathing" as well, and that is definitely horseshit). The apparent softening of the nail which most people experience is due to the top layer of the nail adhering to the acrylic on removal. And yes, it has to be said that most people will find their nails are perceptively thinner if they have an acrylic nail removed, and choose not to have it redone.

But hey, it starts growing at natural thickness again immediately, there is no long-term damage.

I mean, how sick could a nail be ????

Murray