Everyone’s telling you to grow a little free edge, which is right. But if your nails are thin or peel at the tips, that edge never lasts long enough to matter. Mine used to hit maybe two millimeters and then shred. Back to sausage city.
So I had to stop my nails from snapping so they would actually grow longer. You could use something like a clear strengthening polish for a while and stay on top of your care routine.
A thin layer of builder gel over the natural nail. That was it. Just enough reinforcement that the tip has some backbone, and I could hang onto that edge for weeks instead of days. If gel feels like too big a commitment, a decent strengthening base coat does maybe half the job. Try to avoid getting the nails soaked, so use washing-up gloves and hold your hands out of the shower (I know it’s absurd at first, but it’s worth it).
The other thing is time, which is annoying. Nails grow about three millimeters a month, so you’re looking at six to eight weeks before the shape actually changes. I kept quitting around week three and always regretted it because I had to start from scratch again every time.