Now, I’ve pretty much always been a tomboy. But, when I got engaged, I noticed that the beautiful ring looked funny on my ill-manicured (okay, not manicured) hands. As we’ll be getting engagement photos soon, I wanted my hands to look nice. Eh. They do, I guess, but this is entirely too weird.
For those of you who have any interest, I got the silk wraps as opposed to the acrylic, french manicure for a more natural look. I’m not sure I’m satisfied with the work, but the mistakes could as easily be my clumsiness from not being used to these as anything else.
What are all your thoughts on these things, anyway? If nothing else, I’ll always have a handy backscratcher or ten ready.
I’ve always wanted to get fake nails, but they always tell me I gotta grow my real nails out to a decent length before they put the fake nails on. Idiots! If I could manage to quit biting my nails long enough to grow 'em out, I wouldn’t need the fake ones!
I did make an attempt back when I got married. I grew 'em to about 1/8" past my fingers, then went in for a manicure. The lady looked at me like I was nuts.
Darn it, O, Great and Powerful Athena, I was hoping you could tell me how fake nails taste, how the texture compares with The Real Thing, and if you could break a tooth biting them.
I hate fake nails myself. I used to get them when I was 15 or 16 (it was a fad back then!) but they always looked so thick and un-natural to me. I prefer to let my nails grow about 1/2" long and keep a clear coat of polish on them. I usually don’t bite my nails but lately I’ve been biting my thumb nails and my pinky nails. I don’t know why either. It looks really dumb to have nice looking nails on my index, middle, and ring fingers and then have these short, stubby, ugly looking thumb nails and pinky nails!!
One of my friends went to beauty school to learn how to do nails and she wore them all the time too. Some kind of fungus grew under the fake nails though because when she finally took them off her real nails came off with the fake ones! It was really gross looking.
Athena, I have never been told that my nails need to be a certain length before I can get fake ones. I have very thin, brittle nails, and chew them because I can’t stand the snags I get from the sides breaking. They’re kind of short because of that, and I’ve never had a problem getting fake nails.
Dropzone, fake nails are thicker than natural ones, and chewing on them is a very unsatisfying experiance. They taste like plastic, and are very tough.
Others probably know more than I do but I think I’d get a second opinion on getting fake nails over your short, natural nails. Mrs. Pluto (don’t tell her I told you) was a nail-biter and always had short nails before she got acrylic nails. She’s never had a problem.
dropzone –
Mrs. Pluto still (occasionaly) nibbles on her nails but hasn’t ever commented on taste and texture. Rather than gnaw them down, however, she usually ends up ungluing them.
Ruffian –
FWIW, for some reason I find fake nails very, um, sexy. You might ask Brian, wonderful Brian, his opinion.
I wear fake chest-hair made from the droppings that I collect from local barber shops…I usually say the discoloration is from spending too much time strutting under the sun
you see, ponch buys a shirt and immediatelly proceeds to remove the top three buttons…you dig?
Athena, I agree you need to get a second opinion. Any manicurist who knows what she is doing should be able to work with short nails.
Ruffian, I suggest that every couple of months, take all products off your nails and go natural for a couple of days and then have the silk wraps done again. I find that doing this prevents fungus. Also, during fill-ins, your manicurist should treat your nails with some sort of anti-fungal solution.
My personal preference for nails would be the acrylic. They don’t taste any better than any of the other treatments but sometimes, a day or two before my next scheduled fill-in, I would peel these off (I’m sure it was awful for my real nail underneath) one by one with my teeth (I’m sure my dentist wasn’t real keen on this treatment either). Remember, after doing this, spit them out. DO NOT swallow or chew on them.
I have had acrylic nails because my natural nails are so thin. I’ll have them on for about 6-10 months, get sick of them, take them off, then when I start bending my nails back whenever I do anything with them, I get fakes again.
I just have this weird thing about nails. I can’t stand when I’m able to bend them back and forth. It’s like ‘nails on a chalkboard’ to me.
Ruffian: I’ve never had the silk wrap, but if it’s anything like acrylics, they feel really weird the first couple of days and then they start to feel like your natural nails (but stronger!).
If people take care of their nails and don’t immerse them in water for long periods of time, then fungi shouldn’t be a problem. If you follow the above and still get a fungus, that means the nailticians(?) are using dirty equipment. In that case, remove the nails and wait a while before having new ones put on. And definately change salons.
Well, if you’re talking Real Goddess Nails, they’re stronger than anything. It’s just that lately I’ve been going for the mortal look, mortal nails and all. When I go back to my Goddess finery, my nails can easily scrape your flesh from your body.
Athena, exactly how short are your nails? My cousin couldn’t get fake nails for her wedding becuse she bit them so short that the nailbed showed past the end of the nail.
Silk wraps aren’t quite as thick as acrylic nails, and last a week bit longer (fills are needed every 3 weeks instead of every 2). But, the more I’ve studied my nails, the less impressed I am with the job. The polish has bubbles on a couple of nails (for those clueless guys reading, that happens when a second coat of polish is applied before the first coat is completely dry), and the silk thingys underneath (the take a fake nail, glue it on, then add a couple layers of silk) are somewhat visible. I’m not sure; I may poke my head back in the door and ask for a touch-up.
They are considerably stronger than my pathetic, paper-thin natural nails. My fiancé has perfectly shaped nails (talk about a waste!); meanwhile, I have thumbnails that are crooked and have a weird groove in them, middle fingernails that bend in one corner when they get to a certain length, and index fingernails that peel. Oh, and my cuticles are white, dry, and split easily into hangnails. Whee. Hooray for chalk and chalkboards–I’m getting a white board in my classroom next year if I have to bring it in myself!
BTW, I am not a fingernail biter. I’d say “YECH!”, but I do peel and pick at my nails when they get any length because they are so aggravatingly thin.
Now I get to watch out for nail fungus. Whee. But it is pretty cool to have such thick, strong nails, and I’m kinda liking the look. And…typing is getting easier.
I also have those “paper-thin” nails and would love, for once, to have a set of nails that look nice. I’ve always wondered how durable fake nails are (I do field work which contributes to the pitiful shape of my natural nails). Also, how much does it cost to get an initial set, plus the touch-ups? And how frequent is the fungus attack? (yuck).
BTW, Ruffian (love your name) - this week’s issue of The Blood-Horse has a issue dedicated to your namesake, if you haven’t seen it yet.
I have acrylic nails and have had them for years. The trick is to find a really good nail tech. I have never gotten nail fungus. I usually go 3 weeks without getting a fill although admittedly they don’t look so hot at the end of the week. Not because they’re peeling or lifting though. I just can’t stand the large area of nail growth showing.
As far as thickness of the fake nail…again, that’s a nail tech thing. I can’t stand thick nails. If I an itch I want to be able to scratch it and get some relief. Women with fake nails will know what I’m talking about. The thicker the nail the harder it is to stratch an itch. My nails are acrylic but they feel like regular nails. I have the person file them down so they feel natural.
A lot of people will say that acrylic nails will damage your nail bed. That’s true IF you pick at your nails and are removing them yourself. Or, if you have a nail tech that uses those tweezers things and just rips them out. Your nail tech should soak your fingertips in acetone or some other polish remover for about 30 minutes to make the acrylic into a soft jelly like substance. Then you can just scrape the stuff off with at toothpick. It doesn’t damage your nail if you do it that way. Anytime you pick at your nail or rip it off completely, you’re going to damage the bed. It takes a little longer but soaking them is definitely the way to go. Not to mention pain free.
Ruffian, fake nails take a little getting used to. When I first got them, I had them make very short nails. I was already used to them by the time they grew out to the right length. I’ve never had the silk wraps but if they hold the polish as long as acrylic, you’re going to love them.
My regular nails are paper thin too. Before the fake ones, when I’d let my nails grow, I would actually break a nail washing my hair. A strand of hair could slice my nail. Now that’s thin.
As far as cost goes…I paid $25 for the full set with tips to start me off. Whenever I go in for a fill, I pay $16. That’s for acrylic. I think the silks are more expensive.
I had acrylics for years and loved them. I once tried silks, but I didn’t like the way that you always seemed to be able to see the fabric.
Anyway, I agree that you need to find a good nail tech, it’s hard to do, but you’ll be so much happier with someone who does exactly what you want. Part of the reason I finally took them off was that I moved and couldn’t find anyone I liked (plus I got pregnant and didn’t want to breathe all those fumes.)
I really don’t like the look of the plastic tips with the acrylic (or whatever) over them, so I went for the sculpted nails right from the beginning. In three years, I never once toook them off. Occasionally, I’d break one and they’d have to pull all the stuff off to resculpt it, but that’s it.
No fungus either. I think the secret to that (besides the aforementioned antifungal) is to make sure any lifting is removed and redone so you don’t get moisture trapped between the two surfaces.
I’m actually considering getting them done again, thought this time I think I’m going to try the gels, I hear they’re not as damaging to your nail and you can wear them w/o polish.
BTW, when I removed the acrylics, my nails were thin and ragged, but once they grew out they were exactly the same as before. There was no permanent damage at all.
