I’m christening David Barton, manicurist extraordinaire, the Nail Doctor, because he really has properly mended my dreadful, woeful, flaking nails. I’ve been whining on this blog and also on Twitter about the fact that my nails just went into melt-down. I haven’t worn nail polish for weeks and have been using Sally Hansen Miracle Cure in an attempt to bond the splits, frays and flakes back together. In fact, I rate this treatment as it did truly help, but I think my nails had really got to an intensive care state rather than a general ward.

So, queue David at the Percy & Reed salon on London’s Great Portland Street. I hate treatments of any sort, so I approached it with trepidation. However, I wasn’t kept waiting for a nano-second before meeting with David who instantly diagnosed my nails. He said that my nails are in fact quite healthy, but the relentless knocking – from typing – possibly, combined with water seeping into the nail layers had left them in a dire state, and impossible to add polish to without it flaking away with the layers.

David set to straight away by filing, oiling, cleaning and dealing with cuticles before bringing out the magical machine, The Re:Fusion, created by Marian Newman, who David regularly works with. Re:Fusion uses a heat system to seal together the nail plate layers and the free edge so no more moisture stripping water can get into my nails and repeat the cycle of flaking. He ran the heated wand over the nails individually, and followed the process by using a groove in the pen to run over the free edges. The process also locks in the Solar Oil he used as a conditioner. I have never, ever seen my nails so smooth. The flakes have completely gone. Totally. I never knew such a machine existed (in fact, David is one of very few owners of a Re:Fusion) and I’m blown away by the instant fix. If only I’d known six months ago when this horrible problem started. He followed with more buffing and oiling.

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He then applied a Shellac Two Week Manicure coat in the prettiest pale, natural pink that makes my nails look so clean and shiny, and did a quick hand exfoliation. My hands and nails look amazing, and better than they have done for months.

You’ve probably guessed that I’m blown away by this treatment…I can’t recommend it highly enough. I need two more treatments to get rid of the problem entirely and give my nails time to recover completely, but I’d say if you have peeling, flaky nails and are in despair, Nail Doctor David is the best possible antidote.

Percy & Reed, 157 Great Portland Street, London W1. Follow David on Twitter @nailistasista. The treatment, with Shellac costs £45.

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