What do you all think about fake nails for those of us who are fingernail impaired? Are they good or bad? Are the worse than, say skin piercings, hair color, or tattoos or just another way to make you look better (and feel better about yourself)? (OK, I asked about the care and tending of acrylic nails on another board and got a bit of attitude about "I wouldn't do it myself but if you must to feel better about yourself".

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2000

Answers

I don't like fake nails at all, but to each her own. I feel pretty much the same way about tatoos, implants, facial piercings, etc. I've never seen any of those things on a person and thought they looked attractive or natural.

That said, I don't know squat about taking care of one's hands. My nails are the scraggliest saddest little things. I love polish but it always chips almost immediately. So mostly I just don't let it bother me. Whatever you decide, just say no to nail decals.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2000

I wore acrylic nails for the longest time...until I couldn't afford to keep them up as I should. I think they look elegant and beautiful when they're relatively short, squared, and are french manicured (by someone who knows what they're doing). Basically, I like the way that they all look uniform and neat, which is very hard to achieve with natural nails...unless you're incredibly lucky. If you do decide to get them, be careful in choosing your nail technician. Be *absolutely* sure that they clean and disinfect their tools after each customer. Happy filing!

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2000

My opinion about fake nails (and tatoos, implants, etc.) is that so long as it's not taken to an absurd extreme and remains within relative bounds of good, albeit uncommon, taste, I'm all for 'em. I've seen lots of fake nails that are just way too freakin' long. How long is that? "Too freakin' long" is self-evident, you know it when you see it. The majority of fake nails are a good-looking length and almost always lend a very kempt and well-groomed look. I say go for it.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

OK, don't laugh too hard at me. Years ago my first boyfriend dumped me for someone with beautiful nails, so I was sure the way to a man's heart was elegant nails. Mine peel in layers like paper. Last year, I thought I'd finally give fakes nails a try. I almost lost my real nails. First, my nail bed must be very thin (hence the crappy nails) 'cause they almost drilled through, big ouch. Lesson 1, don't *ever* let anyone drill on your nail bed. Then I went to a beauty school because it was cheap. Lesson two, don't go to beauty schools. To clear up a developing fungus we had to get the acrylic off. This totally incompetant student filed the skin off my fingers and then I was left with the 2 most competant nail people while they patiently struggled for 3 hours to pop all of the acrylic off my nails because we couldn't soak them in acetone because of the prior skin filing. Most of the time I had my head down crying. It hurt. The ridges left by drilling are about to grow out over one year after this catastrophy. Lesson three, don't go to cheap places. We have a lot of extremely cheap Vietnamese places here. They buy a bottle of good stuff and then refill it with crap. Their licenses are also bogus much of the time. I still like the looks of fake nails, but I like them short and rounded. Oh well, at least now I know there's lots more to love me for. Also, a girlfriend who has had beautiful fake nails for years doesn't have any better luck finding sane men than I do.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

I would love to have natural-looking, French manicured acrylics. My best friend had those for prom, and they really did look natural.

However, I've heard far too many horror stories about how fake nails fuck up your real nails, and known too many people whose fake nails gave them some horrible nail fungus that cost hundreds of dollars in medicines to cure. No ta.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

Oma, do you plan on wearing the nails for a specific occasion, or do you just want to have long(er) nails and you plan to keep them on for a long time? I think when you have fake nails on for an extended period of time you are prone to getting fungi and other problems with your nails, but if you are attending a nice function or going on vacation and want to look a little glamourous I would say go for it!

And like everyone else has been saying, you get what you pay for. I would go to a higher-priced nail place and know that I'm getting a licenced professional working on my nails than go to a school or nail place run by Asians because you don't know what kind of work you are going to get done on you.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

When I was back in the US in October, my friend Anna and I decided to go get manicures. First, we both got incredible headaches from the fumes. And then our French manicures chipped a few hours later. What a waste of $15.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

I don't like fake nails at all, but to each her own. I feel pretty much the same way about tatoos, implants, facial piercings, etc. I've never seen any of those things on a person and thought they looked attractive or natural.

That's funny you say that, Jill, because you've probably looked at implants or fake nails before and had no idea they weren't real because they were done so natural. Trust me, it happens.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

When I was in high school I used to do my own fake nails, along with my friends' nails, and it was fun and kept me busy. The last time I had fake nails was New Year's Eve 1996. I think my fingers look prettier with longer nails, but I could't get over the fact that they were fake, and obviously fake, and everytime I handed someone something, I'd think, "They're probably grossed out that I have crap glued to my fingers" and so I took them off and stick with short, unpolished nails. Even though my own mother keeps her nails wrapped and styled professionally, I kind of think fake nails are somewhat cheesy. Kind of like Barbara Streisand.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

I have pathetic little nails too, and I have had fakes a couple of times and really liked them. The key, as has been mentioned here already, is to not scrimp and go to a cheap place because then you get the big, thick, fake-looking nails. If they sand or file or whatever to the underside of your nails too, they come out thin enough to pass for real. Funguses get started when your real nail starts to separate from the acrylic, and water gets trapped in this space. One way to avoid this is to not wait too long between fills (I am guilty of this, maintainence gets expensive) and have the whole set done over every couple of months.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

You may want to try to go get manicures on a regular basis (every week if you can afford it $8-10 or every two weeks). This will definitely improve the look and length of your natural nails. If you try this, try it for at least 6-8 weeks, before you decide if it works for you or not.

I've heard too many complaints from my friends about the fungi problems and about the cost of maintenance for acrylic nails. So, if you are planning to spend the money anyway...try the manicures first.

Although, I have seen lots of great looking fake nails.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

I couldn't give a crap about manicured nails. I'm always doing stuff with my hands--digging in dirt, making stuff, whatever. I couldn't be bothered with it. I hate the way it impairs me to have manicured nails that I have to *worry* about wrecking. I was a maid-of-honour this summer and had to have a manicure. It was my first ever. I didn't enjoy it and I couldn't maintain it anyway. I'm just not a nails and makeup kind of gal. I figure I'm not on TV so who cares really.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2000

Acrylic nails are nice in a way because polish generally doesn't chip off them, at least not within the two-week period between fills. That's my experience, anyway -- I wore them for about two years. Like others, I also like how they stay uniform in length and shape, unlike most natural manicures. I think you should consider whether you are willing to make the investment, both money and time. Time was the bigger concern for me...I eventually grew to dread spending that hour or more in the nail salon every two weeks.

Oh...and aside from fungus, acrylics do damage your natural nail, in spite of what the manicurist might tell you. Mine are back to normal, finally, after I removed the acrylics six months ago. But until recently they were very soft, fragile, and thin. I too would advise using them for special occasions but not everyday for years at a time.

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2000

A friend of mine has really natural-looking French fake nails. For a split second I was tempted, but I know I'd end up with fungi and everything else. My nails look pretty good when they aren't broken. Vitamins help. The only thing that's annoying about my real nails is the fact that I can't keep polish on them for more than 24 hours without it chipping.

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2000

I think short nails (on me, that means no white, even, or just the smallest crescent moon of white on the end) look the best. And short nails, very short, polished in extremely shocking dark colors can look outrageously sexy.

...but I spent ten years in very demanding, classical piano training, so I'm biased. You can't HAVE long nails if you do that.

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2000

I forgot to tell y'all that the FDA has something to say about fake nails. If you are interested in this topic or many others, go to www.fda.gov.

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2000

I don't really *get* fake nails. Then again, my fingernails are/were my only decent feature... they grown long, don't split, have decent shape... in fact, when I was a teen, I used to spend inordinate amounts of time on my fingernails, and ALWAYS got told how beautiful they were (which was immediatly followed by "are they real?"). I thought that it was, like, some sort of Validation or Achievement to have perfect fingernails. I read too much Sweet Valley High.

Now, I keep 'em short and unpolished; I prefer that "natural" look, too. For fun, I'll ocassionally do them a nice shade of Fucking Bitch Red, or some weird glitter stuff, but that's MAYBE once a year.

But back to fake nails... so many of the folks who have weak/splitting/spatulate fingernails think they look better with fakes on... but I think it just looks kinda unnatural. Of course, most of the fakes I've seen (and recognized as fakes) are the lumpy, too-long, too-square badly done ones. My cousin (yes, one of THOSE cousins) spends all this money getting hers done, with various airbrushed things and theme'd colors (red-white-and-blue stripes for 4th of July) and little jewels and stuff glued to them. Again, I don't get it....

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

I'm lucky to have very healthy nails and I can grow them quite long whenever I like. Contrary to what some people think (not anyone here though), this doesn't mean that I don't do housework or gardening. My nails happen to be strong and take a beating.

If my nails weren't like that, I don't know if I could were fake ones because I'd be so distracted by them. That's just me though. I can't even wear my rings when I'm sitting at a keyboard, or doing practically anything. I think I'd be obsessing over and picking at my nails all the time if they were fake.

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2001

I have had acryllic nails for almost 4 years. Now, I am not going to make fans here, but I do have something to say...I do infact go to an Asian nail technician, his name is Phe and he is kick ass at his job, my nails are beautiful, he does french manicure with pink and white powder that lasts for at least 3 weeks, also he charges me only $22. That said, I used to spend at least that much on files, polish, hardener, cuticle remover, nail polish remover and all the other junk a month easily!! Now it's no fuss! Every 4 to 6 months I have to have the acryllic removed and tips reapplied. I have been assured that this is why my nails don't break down and I have never gotten fungus. So here's the rule, get your nails changed if you're going to keep them on or only keep them on for 4 months or less (with regular fills). Also, after you have your nails SOAKED OFF (never let anyone crack the acryllic off your nails!!!!)get a manicure, it will buff out any damage done to your nail bed and help restore the oils you need for healthy nails!!!

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2001

Rachel, cool deal on your great nails. You are very lucky that you found a great nail technician that has such good rates.

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2001

I think whether or not fake or real long nails look good depends on your hands. I have little hands with sort of chubby fingers, so when my nails grow out just a little they seem longer than they are. On the weird rare occasion that I try to cultivate them and encourage their growth in hopes of having at least 10 little areas on my body give off an air of sophistication, my hands look weird and inevitably someone asks if they are fake.

I bite my nails to keep them short (it isn't a compulsion, it's just easier-I know it's gross, I don't care) because they interfere with my guitar playing and typing. And I hope I'm not offending anyone here when I say that I associate long, painted fingernails with porn. In my unofficial research, I've noted that 10 out of 10 ladies in porn have super long, fakey looking nails. But so does my best friend and her hands are lovely.

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2001

I saw the girl with the solar nails again yesterday and I couldn't stop staring at them. They look fabulous. They are the best, non- fakest-looking fake nails I've ever seen. I didn't pay attention to anything this woman was saying because she kept moving her fingers. I was hypnotized.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2001

When I have time to bother with it, I get gel nails. I don't like them long or square-tipped as I do artwork, play the piano, type a lot and wear contact lenses. I prefer a modified French manicure (my salon calls it an "American") because obviously the 'natural' colors go with everything. I did my own nails while in high school & college, and was very good at it even with my "dumb" hand, but it was a major hassle. (At first, I just wanted to stop biting my nails and to look a more adult. It worked.) My current techs haven't screwed up my natural nails. If anything, they grow like wildfire and are hard as rock now. A gel nail is almost as clear as a sheet of glass, it shows your natural nail color through it, and you can get them to paint a cream or white 'tip' on under the last layer of gel and it won't chip. That also means you can put a funky color on top, get tired of it, and strip it off with nail polish remover and still have perfect white tips. I get compliments on my hands all the time and am argued with when I tell people they are gel nails and not nstural. Ask friends with attractive nails where they get them done. It may turn out that they have fakies on and that they have a good nail tech they can recommend. You have to be firm with the techs and show them what you want and insist on it, just like you insist on something that looks good on you when someone is styling or coloring your hair. My nails never break (they used to all the time), I stopped biting my nails fifteen years ago and I'm told that I give the world's best shampoos and back rubs now.

Sorry someone got condescending about it to you, Oma; that sucks. If they don't want to bother, then more power to them, but I find I am always hassling with my nails MORE when I go without tips. They break, they need filing and trimming and cutting and buffing and polishing, they don't look quite as nice. Once or twice a month, I go in and have them put on a new set and I don't think about my nails for another couple of weeks. I don't get hangnails or hung cuticles, and during the summer, I get my toes done as well.

I suspect that the person scoffing at the idea still hopes she looks attractive to others and that she probably has her own routines and habits and vanities, some of which *you* might find laughable or superfluous.

I don't think anything reversible that you do to yourself is a big deal. You can always change your mind and do something else if you don't like hassling with it.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2001

SNL did a great fake commercial recently... "Corn Chip Nail Tips" - in four delicious flavors, great for dips! ..

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2001