Girls tell me about your fake nails.

[Jennifer S]

I have long nails but they just don't stay painted. It's so much work. I was thinking of getting those gel things. I don't need tips. So do you like yours? What happenes to your nails if you decide you don't want them anymore?

My friend just got them and loves them so far but it's only been two weeks. She said they don't chip at all.

It just seems like a pricey investment to go every two to three weeks. Not sure if I should get them or not

 

[SandraVB79]

I am too scare to get fake nails. Well, not to get them, but al scared what will happen with my real nail underneath them? I am scared it will get "mushy".
And scared if the tear off. And how to get them off at the end?

Do you use a nail polish base under your nail polish? And a top coat?
I use a base, two layers of polish, and then a top coat. I have long real nails, and that way, they stay "good" for about a week. I try to never let it on for longer than a week at once anyway.

 

[WDW~Lover]

if you have good nails, do NOT do it! It will ruin them! and they get to be to pricey to keep up! I used to have to go every 1 1/2 weeks for a fill.

Just go to your local beauty supply shop and ask for something like OPI and do a base and a top coat.

it is not worth going the gel nails route

 

[Jennifer S]

these are my thoughts exactly but they look so nice and seems to be pretty easy maintenance.

They just opened a Sally Beauty Supply in town. Maybe I'll go there and get some really good nail polish. No I don't use a base coat - only a top coat. I guess I could try that first.

thanks for the replies

 

[SandraVB79]

Base coat is like a primer when you paint (not that I have ever painted, but I read everything about it, so that my first paint job will turn out well, haha!)

With all respect for those that have fake nails, but do your eally think it's that pretty? I mean, you can obviously tell they are fake...

A friend from college was always jealous about my nails. She was constantly biting them. And I was constantly eating candy in order NOT to bite my nails Then, on the day she got married, she comes to me very proudly, telling me she finally has long nails, fake ones! And then she was jealous again because they weren't as nice as mine
Btw, my nails are just that. I have been twice for a professional manicure, and I don't manicure that much myself either

OP, if you have good nails, try the base coat. It should help (and it avoids your nails turning yellow from the polish!)

 

[fltwinmom]

I loved my gel nails when I had them. They looked great and they were so easy to maintain.

There are quite a few problems, however:

1. They break. If you do decide to get them, make sure you go to a place that will guarantee them and fix them for free if one should snap off

2. They are expensive. Some people could wait 3-4 weeks in between filling, but I was one of the "lucky" ones that had to go every 2

3. They can be painful. Especially if you catch them in a car door.

4. They are full of nasty chemicals.

5. They are hard on your real nails. Make sure you take a break from them every couple of months for a couple of weeks.

 

[Angelhalo]

I love my acryllic nails. Get them filled once every 3-4 weeks. Always get the french manicure and always get compliments on how beautiful my nails are, and I often get asked if they are my real nails.

People always talk about how it ruins your nail underneath....well yeah it ruins the nail that is directly below the fake nail, but not the future new nail growth. It's not like it ruins your natural nails forever. Once you don't want the acryliics anymore it just takes a few weeks of letting the bad nail underneath grow out and then you're back to your natural nails again. Mine have NEVER taken more than a few weeks to return to normal after removing acryllics.

Mine cost me about $40 initially with tip, and about $15 a month for fill-ins. I call it my one day a month of pampering.

I've never had one break, and they are strong enough to open soda cans.

 

[sassyat30]

I had fake nails put on for my wedding (WTH was I thinking??) and they completely ruined my nails underneath.

They were soft, tore easily and took well over a year to return to normal.

NEVER AGAIN!

 

[OceanAnnie]

I went through a phase of having acrylic nails. They do look nice, but they weren't for me. I think the worst thing for me was when it was time to take them off. The lady had this nut cracker device and had to crack them off. That's the only way I can describe it. To say it was uncomfortable for me is an understatement. It was awful! I never got them again.

 

[yeartolate]

If you are talking "press on" , they tend to look cheesy at best.


If you are talking acrylic, "nail bondage" ,I would stay away.
They grind the nails nown to build them up.

If they don't stay painted, look into some new polish. Some are more resiliant than others. Look onto sites such as amazon that have reader reviews that will let you know how good the item is.

Have you tried a professional manicure? They can be a relatively cheap splurge. You might see that their painting technique doesn't chip or fade so easy. If your nails are essentially good, I wouldn't expose yourself to the chemicals and the nailgrinding for nothing.


I used to be in nail bondage. It was a happy day when I got out.:scared1 I am prohibited to have them anyway (I am a nurse), as they have been implicated in disease transmission.

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

I had acrylic nails for years. After my daughter was born, it was hard to keep up and I miss having them.

My "real" nails really don't grow that fast, so for me, I loved having the acrylics.

I normally went every 2.5 weeks for a fill at around $35 for the fill and $60 for the inital set.

I plan on starting them back up in the summer and keeping them for awhile. I just have to find a good nail salon to go to! My old one shut down!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I had acrylics for about a year. Had to go in for a fill about every 3 weeks. It was about $35 for the initial set then $20 for a fill. I really liked them when I had them on - but you have to get used to them. Couldn't open pop cans very well ...etc... When I had the taken off it was because I had about a month where I kept having the acrylic nail separate from my regular nail and was just never really satisfied that they were fixing them correctly. Didn't want to end up with a fungus under the acrylic. The place I went was always really busy and if you didn't get in at the right time it could be an hour plus wait. They didn't do appointments.

To get them off she had me soak my hands in acetate for about an hour. The nails got soft and she wiped them off. It took about a year to completely grow out after that. Since they file down the tops of your nails they are considerably thinner than they would normally be. Mine broke and tore very easily and I was glad that they have finally grown out.

 

[MoniqueU]

My MIL has the gel nails and loves them. They do look nice. No one near my house does them so I don't have that option. I used to drive a half hour to get the gels done but when they put me in the machine to harden them it actually hurt me. Kind of like a painful sting. I am not sure if they were doing it wrong but I figured if t hurt it wasn't a good thing so I stopped having them done.

I went to acrylics for a long time but the time that took and sitting there having people paw over me got on my nerves for awhile so I took them off much to my husbands dissapointment. I am thinking of getting them back on because my nails are just awful right now and I never take the time to polish them or file them.

 

[jel0511]

I love my gels!!! I have HORRIBLE nails without them. They are very weak, crack and split easily. They also don't hold polish well, so this is the only way to make them look presentable. IF I had nice nails, I wouldn't do it, too much maintenance and time required and they do mess up your natural nail.

 

[Kae]

I would try a base coat & top coat. Creative Nail has a really great base coat called Sticky that is so awesome. Also try using your top coat every thrid day.

Kae

 

[MareQ]

With all respect for those that have fake nails, but do your eally think it's that pretty? I mean, you can obviously tell they are fake...

It's no different than wearing makeup and getting your hair colored.

 

[Jennifer S]

OK _I'm going to sally's and I am going to try and do it myself for a few weeks while I think about it. I'm not thrilled by the idea of the upkeep/expense when I already have nice nails.

Thanks fo rthe suggestions

 

[Keggy]

I actually really like short acrylic pink and white's. I do not have them currently but I had them for some time last year and I am thinking about going to get them again. They did not ruin my nails, it just took a month for them to grow out and then they were normal again. It wasn't a big deal.

Since you said you have nice nails, why don't you just go in for a manicure? A lot of ladies go in for regular manicure's. I can't pay my own nails (and have them look nice) so I get mani's when I want my nails to look nice.

 

[WDW~Lover]

just on another note, being I am a hairdresser and have had a lot of on hands experience with nails, I have seen way to many fungus infections, now there is a treatment you do not want to deal with!

Every time I got nails (very few times) My NEW nail growth was SO BAD!!! It takes approx. a year if not more to get back to normal.

When going to Sally's look for "OPI" that is the number 1 used in the industry.
there is no need to potentially ruin your nails if you do not need to!

 

[bluesaturn]

I have gel nails right now. I did them for about 6 months, took them off for six months, and then put them back on.
I was scared the gel would ruin my nails, but it didn't. I'm sure it does ruin some people's, but mine were completely fine. Of course I had really strong nails to begin with, and I have always worn them long. I also had the nails taken off at the nail salon, I didn't attempt to pull them off myself.

I usually get them done every 3 weeks. I know it's time to get them off because my nails are getting too long, but the polish is still intact. I found that it's better to go to a slightly more expensive place with better quality, than a cheaper place where I need to get fills every two weeks.
I think if you don't have tips they look more natural, because those tips are too perfectly square. Also if you've never had long nails before it will be an adjustment.

I really don't care if they look fake. I wear hot pink polish on them all the time. I figure there's only so many years I can pull that off, I might as well work it while I can.