I started getting
acrylic nails back in November 2000 and continued for 13 years. Acrylic nails are so easy to maintain and I
never had to paint my nails as the color would stay for 2 weeks until I got the
nails filled again.
For those who have
never had this process done, a nail tip is applied to your nail and then a gel
like substance is placed over the tip to “fill it in.” Then every two weeks as your nail grows out,
you have to get the nail filled as the bottom of the acrylic nail has moved up
because your natural nail has grown.
In order to
get the acrylic tips and gel to adhere to the natural nail, the manicurist has
to “sand down” the top of your nail. The
natural nail becomes thin. I tried gel
nails once and the process still involved sanding down the top of my nails.
When I decided that I
couldn’t afford to have acrylic nails anymore, I knew that it would take a good
6 months or more to get my natural nails to return to their normal, healthy
state. It’s kind of like growing your
hair out, at some point you want to give in and get your hair cut, but you get
through the worse part of the growth process and then you are happy that you
were patient.
The first month was
brutal. My nails broke off to the nubs
and they flaked as they grew out. My skin
near the tip of the nail became very, very sore. I applied a nail strengthener for the first
month to help them along, however I stopped after a month because the
strengthener was drying out the nail and causing more breakage. So I have simply let my nails go totally
natural – no strengthener and no polish.
I am trimming them very, very short as one of my nails continues to split
and all of them are just becoming normal in thickness and health. By the time December rolls around I am hoping
that I can then allow the nails to grow out to the tips of my fingers. They will be shorter than I ever had with
acrylic nails, but they will be the perfect length for a grandma changing a lot
of diapers. Also I will then start to
apply polish.
In order to protect my
nails I wear gloves while cleaning or doing dishes and I also apply lotion to
my hands frequently throughout the day to keep my hands and nails moisturized.
Vanity is what led to my decision to get acrylic nails. I liked the
look of pretty polished nails that I didn’t have to do myself. When I worked in an office I was accustomed
to handling a lot of papers and meeting with clients. My hands and nails needed
to look professional.
I hung on to this luxury
after I stayed home full time as I enjoyed this treat. My nails are getting healthy and when the
time comes to polish them I can do it myself and change colors often. Before when an acrylic nail broke off, it was quite
noticeable even if I polished the natural nail with the same color of polish. Lastly I am saving $22.00 every two weeks by
not having acrylic nails which brings it to a whopping savings of $572 a
year. YIKES!!!
I fell in love with
pretty polished long nails, but I am finding out that I am going to love shorter
nails that I take care of myself.
Everything I need to give myself a pretty home manicure can be found at
the dollar stores.
I am also giving myself
pedicures. I have only had a
professional pedicure about 3 times in my life and professional pedicures are wonderful. I am learning to give myself a home pedicure
and it doesn’t involve a lot of products.
I bought a plastic dish pan to soak my feet, a pumice stone, a nail
file, nail clipper and foot lotion. All
of these products can be purchased for a dollar or less at the Dollar
Tree.
Saturday nights are my
nights for manicures and pedicures. It
just makes sense after a long week that I should treat myself to pretty nails
and feet. Yes I walk around the house holding my hands up waiting
for my finger nails to dry and then I walk around with those separators between
my toes waiting for my toe nails to dry.
The only thing missing is a terry cloth bathrobe and curlers in my hair
to complete the look.
