Can someone please explain why these appeal? PLEASE???
Elaborate plumage attracts mates in all parts of the animal kingdom.
I thought it was The Garden State.
Irishbird , why do you ask? I mean really. Your question could apply to so many physical attributes…what prompted you to ask specifically about extensions and airbrushed nails?
They appeal to a small portion of humanity. Just like wooden lip inserts, lipstick, and multiple ear piercings.
As someone who has had acrylic nails and hair extensions at the same time- I think I can safely chime in my opinion
Got hair extensions because I like the way they looked
Got Nails because I liked the way they look.
Of course my hair extensions wern’t crazy and my nails were french tipped, Not those really long ones.
Hair extensions I have not done, but I’ve had acrylic nails for a few years.
I have horrible, really thin fingernails, and have the worst time even keeping them to 1mm. And I can’t keep polish on them for two days! But I like to look groomed, so I get short acrylic nails, usually done in the french tip. I don’t keep them longer than the end of my finger, because when they break off, they hurt! I did just take them off to let my natural nails grow out a little (they were getting way too thin), and now they feel all funny and sore. But short answer is, because I like them!
I had acrylic nails for years. I liked them for a lot of reasons (I can’t afford them any more) first off, nail polish never stays on my natural nail for more than a day, tops. But polish stays on acrylics until you take it off. Also, my natural nails are weak and break easily, and I don’t like keeping them short short, so they always end up being different lengths. The end result is not looking very groomed. Even when I had acrylics, I always kept them really short, at their longest they were 1/4 of an inch past the bed. My nail lady used to get mad at me for keeping them so short. 
I’ve never had hair extentions, so I can’t comment on that. I have worn a hair peice though. It’s just fun. I’ve got really curly hair and it’s hard to get a “new” look without spending hours doing my hair. With the piece, I just have to plop it on and I’ve got a do. I don’t wear it that much because even though I get tons of compliments when I wear it, I feel kinda silly when I have it on with say, jeans and a t-shirt (my standard outfit). Maybe it’s because I know it’s fake. That’s why I only wear it when I go out on occasion, because then it’s all part of the getup.
I’ve got a good friend who wears extentions and long airbrushed nails though. She does this to take attention off of her figure, which she’s super sensitive about (she’s a little overweight) and yes, she told me that. Her hair always looks really cool and although I’m not a big fan of her nails (to me, they look kinda ghetto, especially with the dangly hoop she had on one last week) she really likes them and that’s all that matters. 
I’ve never known anyone who had hair extensions (that I know of!) but my best friend has acrylic nails, which are French manicured…and she’s had them for as long as I’ve known her. She loves them. She also loves big, dangly jewelry, having her hair highlighted, and wearing really tall, chunky shoes.
These are all things she considers “indulgences” that she rewards herself with…she likes feeling feminine and looking groomed. She used to bartend/wait tables, and she hated what it did to her nails, so she bought herself a set of the “indestructable” kind. I see nothing wrong with this; if small personal rituals make you feel better about yourself, or more feminine, or more “rewarded,” I don’t think it’s doing anyone any harm.
I will say I think the ornate, really long airbrushed nails are a bit much; I don’t like tattoos either, or hair that’s colored in hues nature never intended…I think that’s all a bit tacky, but again, it’s no skin off my nose, either way. If it makes 'em happy, who cares?
irishbird, check your email.
(no bg deal. unrelated to thread topic, about our usernames)
I just think phoniness is unattractive. On the other hand, I sometimes go to the opposite extreme, like not wearing makeup. The nails and hair extensions could be seen as things a person does who really goes the extra mile with her grooming, and some people see that as evidence of that extra maintenance, though to me it’s scary and unnatural!:eek:
I don’t do the hair extensions just because I have really thick, long-ish hair and I’ve finally learned to style it properly.
However, it’s funny this should come up as I just got acrylics put on yesterday. I have been trying desperately to grow my nails stronger and longer - I have been taking care of them, filing, trying not to bite them…but they still look like crap. I still bite my nails and I HATE biting my nails. I also have very thin, weak, chippy nails. I had planned to get acrylics put on next month for my brother’s wedding anyway to have my nails look nice, and since I’m seeing my boyfriend this weekend and want to look a little sexy for him, I decided to go get them done yesterday instead. I usually go for a light purple or a light silver on my nails when I get a manicure, but I decided to go with a deeper wine color this time. I do keep them pretty short, though - I play piano and it’s hard to play piano with fingernails, so I don’t have those long airsprayed airbrushed nails. And the people who do them make them look pretty natural. I will more than likely have them soaked off after the wedding because I will want to try and grow my own out again (and in another year or so, I’ll get annoyed and get acrylics again because I keep biting mine), but for now, I like the way they look and they keep my from biting my real nails off. Mine look pretty natural just because I keep them shorter and square, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it - I feel more attractive and more sexy when I have pretty fingernails…call it the one girly thing about me because I’m usually not all that girly about this stuff:).
Ava
JuanitaTech is with the OP on this one. I, too, have no clue why these things are appealing.
Here in Baltimore, almost everyone has one or the other or, sometimes, both. >shudder<
Colored contact leneses, hair extensions, silicone boobs, liposuction, lip enhancements, dye, artificial eyelashes, artificial nails…etc etc.
You know, we could accidently build a pretty good cheerleader, here…
I wear artificial nails because it’s too much trouble keeping them long. One always breaks off and it looks ridiculous. However, my acrylics are only 2 mm past my fingertip, and they’re naturally colored (no airbrush designs, either). People have a hard time telling they’re not my own, so I guess it’s okay.
As for hair extensions, someone with very thin hair who desperately wants to style it or make it look more voluminous could benefit from having them, as could someone who got a too-short haircut but doesn’t want to bother with a hot, difficult-to-manage wig. Hate the two-tone color hair extension effect, though.
I’m with the OP. The long, airbrushed, thick nasty nails and the hairpieces just gotta go. Very infrequently I will see someone who looks good with a hairpiece, but the norm is for African-American women around this area to have unnaturally coloured hair and talons that look like they belong in The Muppet Movie.
I had acrylic nails for about three months. When I finally had enough, I had them soaked off. My nails were thin and unhealthy and I swore to never again get that done. I now swear by a nail product that strengthens and I don’t have any trouble keeping mine strong and a good length, despite how much I work with my hands.
Please, please tell us the name of this product. I can’t keep my nails in shape at all. I don’t want plastic ones, or anything that looks polished or manicured or painted or whatever. I’m a guy, and a guitar player, and I need the nails on my right hand. But I can’t keep them in shape.
Ginger,
What’s the product? I can’t afford to get acrylics back on, but my nails keep breaking when I try to grow them even the teensiest bit. It’s really freakin’ annoying.
And Vixenation, most of the time, no one could tell that the acrylics weren’t mine either and I wouldn’t be caught dead with an airbrushed design. (Except for the one time my nail lady really wanted to try out this new design and kept bugging me so I finally let her put it on my toe- in the dead of winter)
For everyone who’s saying they don’t know why people do it - um, read the posts. People here are telling you why.
I’m not the OP who mentioned a nail product, but I’ve gotta kick in with the one I use. I’ve NEVER EVER had good nails - they’ve ALWAYS been soft, weak, thin, and chip / split easily.
Having said that, I’ve found a nail cream called “Hard as Hoof” at Wal-Mart (it’s about $4 a jar) that you apply 3 times a day. It works GREAT. For the first time I have nails that are strong, and I have to FILE THEM DOWN to keep them short enough to use.
I Highly Recommend It.
thanks kf, i’m on it! (Although of course i’ll check Target first, i’m loathe to go to Wal-Mart) do you know what brand it is?