Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn moreIt was seeing them naked that sent me spiralling. Laid bare, my nails looked translucent and grey, dry and rough with white patches of dehydration. They felt thin and vulnerable.This was always the part of my manicure I liked least, when the technician had removed my existing gel and was yet to apply the new one. It was when I had to confront the reality of what my own nails had become.Debate rages about whether gels are damaging. Makers swear that if they are applied and removed correctly, and you use cuticle oil regularly, your own nails won’t suffer, but mine had definitely paid a price.This is not to diss gels. They are an incredible beauty invention. The GelBottle Inc and Bio Sculpture products allowed my nails to grow longer than they ever had previously. Their manicures looked smart for a month, sometimes six weeks. And they were indestructible – no chips or breaks, however much gardening, washing up or domestic drudgery I subjected them to.But here’s what I didn’t like. First, the time they take. A good technician, who removes your existing gels and reapplies them, takes an hour and a half. Then there is the expense. Considerable. And lastly the aesthetics. I like a mani in a nude colour and there is something about the opacity and thickness of a gel in that shade that looks a bit Tippex-y. A bit fake. A bit, well, Love Island.Suddenly, sporting bare, buffed nails painted in a regular nude polish feels chicer. It was Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in Disney’s Love Story who made me want short and rounded nails in a sheer pink. Time for a change... my old, grown-out gels What lies beneath... my own nails after the gels were removed The damage done... how my nails had started splitting and breaking Growing painsDonia Chrifi, owner of Swanky London, whose nail salons are famed for their focus on care, says she has ‘definitely seen a rise in new clients coming to us asking for their nails to be buffed or painted in old-school varnish’. She thinks her customers (who include Vogue editors and film stars) are ‘more conscious of long-term nail health now’.And so I went bare. Took off the gels and went cold turkey. ‘You’ll crumble’, read the Instagram comments.I concede it was depressing. Left unadorned, my nails were broken, discoloured and splitting from the side (sometimes so low down they required a plaster. Not chic).I went bare in March, and it’s taken three months for my nails to look anywhere near decent. I use manicures as motivation. My nails look better afterwards and keep me from succumbing to the allure of gels.A Japanese manicure at Swanky London (£47, swankylondon.com) used a mineral-rich paste to buff my nails to a high shine that lasted a week or so. I tried a 14-day manicure at Neville (£44, nevillehairandbeauty.net) that lived up to its name and had a Ukrainian manicure at So Shell (£58, soshell.uk), where I was impressed by their meticulous cuticle work.I also had a Biosculpture manicure (£45, biosculpture.co.uk) in Selfridges using regular polish, which was excellent. Alongside this I’ve done DIY manicures. And they’ve been gratifying. In the five years I’ve been away having gels, I think that regular polish has quietly improved. It lasts longer. Looks better. My nails had looked uneven and dry... ... after treatment they were the same length and looking a little healthier... ... and now, nearly four months later, they are rehabbed, polished and presentableA polish manicure is also gratifyingly quick; 15 minutes at home, 45 in the salon (if you exclude the 10-minute wait for them to dry).Will I forgo gels for eternity? No. Both gels and regular polish have their place. But have I crumbled as the naysayers predicted? No, reader, I have not.How to go gel-freeApply cuticle treatment nightly. Donia Chrifi rates Kure Bazaar Active Revitalizing Balm (£28, johnbellcroyden.co.uk) or try the more affordable Andreia Lab Cuticle Oil (£5.69, sallybeauty.co.uk). Cut nails short so they have a strong base to grow from: Rubis clippers are the best I’ve found (£41.40, amazon.co.uk). Chic nails are buffed and the pros use P.Shine Japanese manicure kit (£49.75, amazon.co.uk). Invest in the classic Essie Nail Lacquer in Ballet Slippers (£8.99, boots.com) or Manucurist Active Blur (£16, lookfantastic.com) to disguise imperfections. Purse-friendly pick of the weekI’m lazy about moisturising my body but this spray delivers an intense hydration hit with minimum rubbing in and drying time.Beauty clinicQ I’ve always tinted my brows but, frustratingly, my usual dye doesn’t cover the grey hairs. What can I do? – Pauline, 62, StockportA Our editor had the same problem. She promises Just For Men Moustache & Beard (£8.99, boots.com) will work! I’d advise the Medium Brown shade.24% of make-up wearers worldwide admit to never washing their make-up brushes, according to a poll by Fresha. Its beauty expert Annabelle Taura says this can lead to break-outs and skin irritation, so beware.Lust haveThis fragrance is so beguiling I get queues of YOU staffers lining up for a spritz. Olfactive O New Earth (£65, olfactiveo.com) is a blend of geranium, pink peppercorn and oakmoss that’s radiant and fresh. It’s sold in small batches, so you won’t smell like everyone else.