I know this is not an earth-shaking inquiry, but I was wondering…I just had a set of acrylic nails applied to my hopelessly crappy real nails. For the first time in my life my hands don’t look like they belong to a dock worker and I feel like a new woman. I am also very impressed with the strength of them, and how iI have been doing everything I usually do, including a lot of artwork, and the nails seem much stronger than natural ones. However, I started to really think about them, and it occurs to me that they may not be the healthiest things in the world to put onto oneself. The nails are now not exposed to the air, the stuff they use smells toxic, and the nails now cannot ‘breathe’. Also, one is required to go back to the salon every two weeks or so to have them “updated”: that is, filled in and re-polished so that they do not come away from the base and look weird. Does anyone have any info on this subject, and do you know how safe these things really are?
Lots of people have success with them, but lots also get the fungus infection that turns the nails green and is a BITCH to get rid of. Months and months of medication to beat that.
I know people that leave them on all the time. For years.
I only do my own nails. I’m afraid of the fungus.
I’ve had acrylic nails off and on for years, and the hardest part of it is dealing with the horribly disfigured nail bed you have to look at after you take them off. You can be very vigilant and keep fungus off them, but every time you have them filled in, they have to file away at the new nail bed growth, so you are looking at regrowing the entire nail bed before you can completely recouperate from these.
I totally understand wanting the beautiful nails you can’t grow yourself-my nails are horribly weak and stumpy, too-but know that eventually you’ll have at least a month of elephant man hands to look at when you take them off. And you will want to do that-you are suffocating the nail bed, which makes it thinner and weaker than it is already, and the cost gets to be a bit prohibitive pretty soon, too.
They’re not healthy for your natural nails, in the end. When you have them soaked off, the natural nail will be thin, bumpy, and uneven. They will take forever to grow.
Why not try some press-ons? That way you can take them off and reapply as you like, and leave them off at night so that your natural nail can breathe.
I have weak natural nails; I now have very strong, healthy natural nails, thanks to OPI Nail Envy.
Kalhoun, I’m not being a bitch, but I’d love to see a cite for your “lots also get the fungus infection” statement. Maybe I’m special, but I’ve been getting manicures/pedicures and acrylics for almost 15 years without a single problem. I’m VERY picky about where I go and the cleanliness thereof, but if I need to be more concerned, I’d love to know.
I had them for my wedding and then they started to fall poff only a short while later. While they were beautiful for my wedding, they nail beds were ruined when they came off.
That said, once I became pregnant my nails got stronger and are now naturally long and pretty. Maybe try pre-natal vitamins?
Last year, I had mine taken off in July. Before my friend’s wedding (July 27th) they were perfectly healthy and fine. Does it really take that long to grow back for everyone?
I am not so worried about how they will look when I take them off. My nail beds have always been a mess, and they probably couldn’t get any worse. I just wonder how much of the toxic goo that they use can actually get into your system.
Oh, I forgot to add…I have tried press-on nails many times, and they are completely useless on me. Maybe I am a spaz, but I can’t keep them on for more than an hour. Almost right away, I catch one of them on something, or I hit it against something and they’re gone. They also feel funny.
I’ve had artificial nails since 1977 and I’ve never had them off for more than a week. Acrylic/gel nails do not ruin your nails if they’re done by an experienced nail technician. There is also a big difference in the quality of nail products, so it’s advisable to make sure your nail technician is using a top product like EzFlow, Creative Nail or OPI nail systems. We have a problem here in Australia with budget salons using a product called MMA (methyl methacrylate) which is an extremely cheap monomer that’s banned in the U.S. It’s banned for a reason as it is known to damage the natural nail, sometimes permanently. So make sure your salon is MMA free.
I noticed that they use the OPI brand, and it is everywhere in the shop, so I assume that they are ok. They seem very clean and I am really not worried about that. I was more concerned with any research that might have been done on the stuff oozing into one’s system and causing problems of toxicity.
The only problems that I know of is from using MMA…that’s why it was banned. Apart from damaging the nail, the strong smell was known to cause problems like migraines. Also, skin contact often caused rashes. From the technician’s perspective, there are less airborne particles when using the better products and there are a lot less allergic reactions from their repeated, prolonged exposure. For a client who visits once a month, the dangers are pretty much zero. I have been told more people have a reaction to nail enamels, and in particular, nail harders, which contain formaldehyde and toluene.
BTW: Fingernails don’t need to “breathe”…they’re dead protein cells. Your protein levels will effect nail growth and health more than getting acrylic nails done by an experienced and reputable technician. I will add that nails are ten times more porous than skin, so they can become dried out easily.
Gingybabe, we have way too much in common. Weight Watchers and now Nail Envy.
It rocks.
I’ve seen this in nail care magazines in the nail shops, and it happened to me once. It occurs when the acrylic nail separates from the nail bed and water gets in between. It’s very important to take care of the nails properly - they need to be filled at least every other week and it’s wise to keep nail glue around in case the nail separates before your next fill. This is what happened to me - the nail came loose and I didn’t realize I needed to glue it back.
Thanx, people…you’ve been very helpful. I don’t feel quite as anxious about it now, especially since I now know that nails are dead protein. That was what I wanted to know. I think next time, I’ll go with the little palm trees…
I don’t know where you live, or what your TV viewing habits are, but our local news runs stories on the risks and hazards of false nails at least twice a year. I saw one less than two weeks ago. Complete with lovely video of the devestation that can be wrought by fungal infections. Cleanliness will help, but fungal spores are not terribly susceptible to most cleaning methods, so luck plays a big part in it, too.
Actually, cleanliness is not the issue, it’s a good quality application and proper maintenance.
As I said in my prior post, fungal infections occur when there is a separation between the acrylic overlay and the nail and water gets in between. This will happen if the nail is not applied properly, or if the customer waits too long between fills and/or doesn’t re-glue the overlay if it gets loose.