Fake Nails?
 

Anybody? I bite mine, so once in a bluemoon I get the ones from the dollar store. It's fun.

Susan: I bite mine till they bleed (mostly during the Sabres games), so I have the 'permanent' fake ones on and have a French manicure airbrushed on. They also help me with hairdressing...especially for sectioning with French braids...

You should go to a nail salon and get the 'real' fake nails on...you might like them!!

I cant keep the cheapo dollar store ones on. And I bite them too. I wear them for plays every once in a while and I try to keep them on from show to show and always have to replace one or two

Of course right now I dont wear them because I would probably poke my son in the eye or he would swallow a nail . Yes I am that klutzy

They're not very practical for nursing either. I had the real ones years ago and left one in a lady's bed!

I have been doing my own manicures (& pedicures) since I was in the 6th grade. My mother had long beautiful nails & I wanted them too. SO girly! - Mom said "the first thing you'll have to do is stop biting your nails." So I did. She taught me how to file them, cut them, paint them, etc. In turn, I taught my jr.high friends how to do their nails. In hi-school we all had long nails & poofy hair (it was the 80's). We thought we were "it"!!!! LOL!

Now I'm 43, and I like to keep my nails chic-short. I call them "sport-length" - just long enough for a good scratch, but not so long that they get in my way. I have to cut them almost weekly, because they grow so long & fast. I usually wear nude nail color, but sometimes I feel frisky & do a deep red or burgandy.

I don't know how people stand to have long fake nails. Looks painful to me!

I use the dremel to get mine to a practical length :)

I keep my nails short...for obvious reasons!

I have mine done professionally. I do lots of typing, so it took some getting used to at first, but it's something that just makes me....feel better, I suppose.

Hmmm, I must feel frisky all the time because deep reds or burgundy's are my colors of choice :lol:

(i have real fake nails from a salon and no, I don't need to be educated on how bad they are for me ;) ) Dremels are great! I even use them on my dog after clipping her nails to smooth them down.

I first got acrylic nails for New Years Eve party. I liked them so have kept them up. Noticed I am much more careful of what I do with my hands . This is really great because I have arthritis in almost all my fingers . Great bouus!

SusanB- nurses here are not allowed to have acrylic or fake nails- at least according to two of my nurse friends who work in hospitals. They were both sent home to have them removed immediately when they showed up at work. One works in a NICU and the other is in post-op. The nails (and salons) are considered breeding grounds for bacteria.

Mel

I had salon fake nails for a few years but gave them up when I got pregnant with DS (almost 13 years ago)! I figured the cost was too much if we were going to have another baby. I haven't had them since and now I keep my nails quite short. But no, I don't use a dremel tool!!! LOL

DD was very upset with me this weekend because I wouldn't let her get gel nails to extend the length of hers. I pointed out that 1. she is only 12, 2. she goes to gymnastics weekly and if one broke it would be down in the quick and painful 3. i ain't about to throw away 35 on some nails she would only keep a maximum of two weeks.

I did the acrylic thing but after two nail infections, I went natural and now I keep mine at sport length as well.

What the heck is a dremel tool?

Tiki

A dremel tool is a high speed rotary tool. They do make a version for nails--and I used to own one, but if you're not careful, you can easily get too close to the skin and burn away a patch of skin.

Oh those drills! yeah, I can't stand those. they totally screw up your nail beds.

T.

If you work at Starbuck's you can't wear fake nails because they're afraid they'll fall in a drink :lol:

Not for me, when my nails get long, I can't type!

We're not supposed to either but our management is sooooo far removed that nobody's been caught yet. Mine will fall off before I have to work on Monday.
Typing is a trick.

Last time I had mine done was for my wedding in 2002. They just bugged me so much, I felt like I was going to pop one off, or hurt myself... I got those things off just as soon as I could.

I used to keep them up regularly for a while when I was in high school. I slammed one of my fingers into a door jam and ripped the salon nail and my own nail right off my finger... boy was that painful and disgusting. I had an ET finger for the entire summer.

phone home lizziness.... :lol: sorry, I couldn't help myself.

I tried getting fake from a salon. I found out that they do more damage, so I stopped. And I concentrated on strengthening my own nails and stopping the biting. After about a year of continual care, I had beautiful nails. I haven't bitten them since. That was about 6 or 7 years ago.

I carried a file with me everywhere...still do. If I found myself biting, I'd pull out the file and smooth whatever rough patch I was focused on. I kept the Sally Hansen nail biting formula on, and made sure to keep my nails polished. It's not as tasty biting through enamel, you'll notice and stop biting immediately. I also used Reconstrux from Sally's twice a day every day and took a calcium supplement (still do the calcium).

My HAIR used to cut through my nails when I was washing it. I've not had that problem in years. My nails are now healthy and strong. I like them much better than artificial nails that would just damage my own nail beds anyway.

I had acrylic nails for years and loved how they made my hands look....they were a reasonable length...with clear polish and square white tips....I am a nurse and a policy was distributed that banned the nails....so no more.

Liz

I just remembered this thread because I was shaping my nails. Something I've had to learn because I haven't bitten them since I took the fake ones off!

Just look at all the cool inspiration you can get at 3FC.

My nails wont grow at all. They are weak and break easily. I started buying the cheap decorated ones at The Dollar Tree. The glue is super glue (Im assuming). The package said not to leave them on over 3 days. So I attempted to remove them. I had to soak my nails in remover for 2 hours to get them things off!!

I would love to get them professionally dont but I dont have extra money to spare.

I used the glue that came with them or was beside them at the dollar store. I soaked them off in a hot tub. I figured since I often lost one in the dish water .....

Originally Posted by Kamily828:
My nails wont grow at all. They are weak and break easily. I started buying the cheap decorated ones at The Dollar Tree. The glue is super glue (Im assuming). The package said not to leave them on over 3 days. So I attempted to remove them. I had to soak my nails in remover for 2 hours to get them things off!!

I would love to get them professionally dont but I dont have extra money to spare.

My nails were the same. If you afford a few bucks and have a Sally's nearby, try the Reconstrux oil. It's, I think, $5 or $6 a bottle. Lasts about a month maybe. Use it religiously twice a day. And start taking a calcium supplement. Mine are very strong now. They use to be so thin that my hair would slice through them when I'd wash my hair.

Originally Posted by melekalikimaka:

(i have real fake nails from a salon and no, I don't need to be educated on how bad they are for me ;) ) Dremels are great! I even use them on my dog after clipping her nails to smooth them down.

:lol: All I can say, is that I managed a salon for years...and I will never wear acrylic nails after all I have seen. ;) If you MUST get them done, go to a REAL salon like a hair place that has a nail technician working there. Trust me-it is well worth making the appointment rather than a cheap walk in job-to know that you aren't going to have your nail beds ate apart and your cuticles destroyed.

The "walk in" nail salons, if you know what I mean-are the worst offenders for acrylic nails. A lot of times they are not using OPI and other US approved products-they refill the bottles with harsh, cheap, strong stuff from their country. When caught, they often have to close down for a few days, etc. Just a warning. :D




I get manicures-not acrylic. It takes care of my shaping, cuticles, etc. nicely. Between them, I always wear a nail strengthener-it really helps to keep my natural nails nice and strong.

If anyone does their own-always use base coat-it helps the polish adhere to your nails (lasting longer) and keeps the darker shades from staining your nails. Use a top coat on top, to help seal, strengthen, and make the polish last. The 3 steps makes polish go from chipping after a 1-2 days-to lasting about 5-6. It really helps. :)

Originally Posted by aphil:
:lol: All I can say, is that I managed a salon for years...and I will never wear acrylic nails after all I have seen. ;) If you MUST get them done, go to a REAL salon like a hair place that has a nail technician working there. Trust me-it is well worth making the appointment rather than a cheap walk in job-to know that you aren't going to have your nail beds ate apart and your cuticles destroyed.

They just covered this on one of the judge shows the other day...Judge Judy or Maria. A girl, new to this country, went to have her acrylics, that she'd had done for years, filled at one of the shops where they all only speak Chinese. She ended up with a fungus on several nails. She won her medical expenses and medicine from the salon for a botched job.

I've heard bad things about the Korean/Chinese run salons all around. It was after hearing some of these stories that I decided to remove the acrylics and never go that route again. After watching the process, I felt comfortable repeating their steps for my own manicures/pedicures...though getting a pedicure really is NICE! :D But what you said about the several coats certainly made a difference in how long my polish lasted. I also used to dry between coats and noticed that salons don't do that. They quickly apply each one. So I started doing that myself and it works.