Here's a nice light topic. Fake nails. The kind you have to go to a nail salon for. I think they call them sculpted nails. How many of you ladies have this done?

I've tried, but you have to go every 2 weeks and have them re-filled and I end up being a slave to them and then hating them. Also, when the day comes that you finally take them off, the nail bed underneath is like onion skin...it's so damaged I'm always horrified.

So now I'm trying these glue-on things from the drugstore. The look pretty good, but keep falling off. They aren't the kind with the sticky strips, these actually come with a little tube of glue.

I think it's interesting how some women simply always have their nails professionally done, and others couldn't care less. Usually I'm in the latter category, since 1. I don't have dishwasher in my 100 year old house and 2. I cook alot.

But once in a while, when I need a lift, or just to feel pretty, I spring for the nails..

What say you, ladies?

I did for a while, never again. I had to have them filled every 3-4 weeks. That got costly and time consuming. When they were removed, my nails were trashed. It took over 6 months for them to return to normal.

I did once but couldn't stand the way they felt then once I sat for an hour to get them removed and saw what they did to my nails I said Never again.

My sister however goes every other week I believe. She also goes for the pedicures. She has pizazz.. and style. I don't. She knows how to accessorize and wear colors well. I told her once she needed to take me shopping and teach me what to wear but when she did I vetoed everything that wasn't black and white. She won't take me anymore.

I recently got the acryllics for the first time.I have had them filled in twice since.At first they felt so strange,but they do look so good.I have the french manicure style so they don't have to be painted.the fillin is 17.00,and I have waited about three weeks between.I am a tom boy at heart,but it feels nice to look pretty.GODbless

I'm with most of the women here--had them for a while then had them taken off. I only lasted two weeks before I couldn't take it anymore. They looked nice but not something I want to keep up with. Found out they pretty much ruin your nail bed so I got rid of them before they could do much damage.

Hi RoundRobin,

Uh-oh, this may burst that "nice light topic" bubble, but . . . google "dangers of nail salons" - yikes!

One small excerpt:
Medical professionals have noticed an alarming upsurge in diseases including fungal nail infections (onychomycosis), bacterial skin infections (such as a Staph infection) and viral infections (such as plantar warts). It is simply impossible to tell how many other customers have used the equipment before you and if it has been sterilized effectively.

You can find many articles, along with personal accounts of really bad experiences. Think about it: They use the same equipment on all customers, they reuse nail polish, etc. YUCK. Same thing for those make-up counters in department stores where the consultant will give you a mini-makeover - lipsticks, foundation, eye shadow - one can only imagine the degree of contamination.

I'd also be careful about stick-ons and the glue tubes because most are made in China. Some might be American made and certified as safe, but I haven't seen them.

Ok, Robin, try again for a light topic ~ LOL

I sort of have fake nails. I have silk put on my real nails. It's little more expensive, but much better for the nail bed and the results looks way more natural than acrylics.

NIce topic RR. Middle of the night here and I need some distraction!

Well I have never had fake nails of any type. They do look gorgeous but I honestly don't know how anyone manages to actually "do anything" with them on. I'm genuinely frightened that I would catch them on just about everything and anything, and cleaning underneath them must be a nightmare! How do you garden with them on for example, or wash your hair properly? Even with gloves it must be difficult and I do like to feel the ends of my fingers making contact with things (I am an engineer by profession). It would feel strange not to. I do admire people who have them done though as they manage to achieve a graceful elegance, something I don't do well anyway being short and a bit overweight. Oh to be tall and willowy (sigh!). I even have chunky ankles!

Hate them! They look so cheap and unnatural to me. Take calcium and vit e and D. Use good hand and nail cream . You will see results.

I tried them a few different times over my life, but I am way too hard on them. Only I can break acrylic nails!! My natural nails grow fast and are fairly strong but they bend funny and look weird and deformed when they get long....which is why I tried the false nails. I have tried soaking my nails until they are soft and then holding them straight while they dry, which works, but makes the nails so weak that one bump and SNAP, busted!! I never kept the acrylics or gels on long enough to damage the underlaying nails other than the roughing up the salon did to make the false nails stick.

I would so love perfect oval straight nails....sigh....guess we can't have it all!!

Floater

I have never gotten fake nails but I tell you what does work for me (and it CHEAP!!!) I never---I mean never have bare nails. I always polish my nails with clear Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails. Since it's clear, it doesn't look funky if it should happen to chip during the day. I usually apply a coat nightly so that by the end of the week I actually have 7 coats on. Then on Saturday or Sunday I remove it and start all over again. It only takes minutes and my nails are really long and (pardon the pun) hard as nails.

I tried the artificial nails once, I ripped them off the next day I felt like they were suffocating me lol alright I have issues. Now I just make sure I have some kind of polish on my nails and they grow and grow I have to cut them every few weeks. Without polish they peel and crack at the sides.

Well thats my 2 cents.

Well it's day two of my glued-on nails. It's hubby's birthday today, and we loves all that girly-stuff, so I'm going to keep them on until tomorrow...unless one of them falls off again.

I've had them done twice. Once before a summer before 3/4 graduations I had to attend and once before a really nice wedding I attended. I like the American French (I think that"s what it was called). I liked the way it made my fingers look so long.

Before kids, I did my own manicures and my nails always looked great.

I can't do that anymore because of my switchplate business. Working with the glue ruins my nails.

I've always had beautiful long and strong nails. And I always kept them polished. Until about six months ago. Now they split, crack, break and are paper thin. It's a meno-thing, I guess. I've never had fake nails, though and I don't think I could handle all the upkeep. I'll just wait and hope that my nails go back to their original strength after menopause.......

I think they are beautiful, but I hate them. I had them for years. I hate sitting there getting them done, and when I chip one, I go nuts. They are time-consuming and very expensive. If I'm very careful and baby my hands with lotions and cuticle creams, I can get my nails to look quite nice.

Hello all;

Look for a salon that uses "Le Chat" products. Ask for an over lay, the "Le Chat" products feal natural and flexible, like your real nails, and lasts six weeks. I had a demo nail done when I was at the Vancouver Spa show. Fills are NOT neccessary. This product, called "nobility", from the Le Chat line, goes on like nail polish, and then under a UV light, and doesn't take more than fifteen minutes to do. I'm ordering some as soon as I get back to esthetics school next week. I can promise you, your nails will grow long, so extentsions aren't necessary. They won't break, or split. Good luck with that.

Cris

Well my beautiful glued on french nails didn't even last 24 hours. One of them popped off and I got so irritated I ripped the rest of them off.

I love the way my hands look when my nails are long and beautifully polished, but the upkeep is such a pain! karma, thanks for that suggestion, I'm going to look for that product...

My nails grow quite nicely themselves but irritate me when they get too long. I paint them with light or sparkly colours as I pick the polish off if it's dark.

My daughter used to have hers done with a french manicure but they made a mess of her nails.

Yes, though I have a fat body, pin head and little hands and feet, I have very nice nails of my own.

I hate to admit this-nail biter here. I sometimes get fake nails but just to keep from biting mine. The last set I had, I managed to stop biting 3 of my nails. after taking the fakes off. Now I don't know if I have enough to attach to.
This is gross I know.
If anybody has any success stories-how to not chew nails-naturally-of course-I'm for suggestions.
SGUNS

My husband has no fingernails. None. I can't believe I'm admitting it here, but he has bitten them off all his life. His fingers looks so gross and weird...there is just this scar tissue where his nail bed used be. It freaks me out when I think about it, or look at them. It's an absolute complusion with him; he cannot stop, no matter how hard he tries. A mild form of OCD, I think.

I'm a nail biter. Acrylic tastes really bad, so does nylon and plastic. Besides, I do lab work, and wear latex gloves most of the day, so, no nails and no nail polish.

Gel....would that be sculpted in America? Prefer silk but nobody does that over here.

I love having pretty nails. I had some put on in March and had a fill done. I didn't have time to have another fill and decided to take them off. I don't know what stuff they put on my nails this time but I can't get them off with the regular nail polish remover-acetone. So I have been scraping them off, slowly but surely. My nail beds look like the pits. This is the last time I am going to do this. I will put nail polish on my regular nails if they every grow back!!!

I neve had my nails done until I hit peri. Suddenly, my nails developed ridges and became really thin. Hormones? So I broke down and started getting acrylics. Now its just a routine in my life....every two weeks. Don't know what I'd do without them. I have a really good tech and never have chipping. I do worry about the chemicals in the products though....what we don't do for beauty.

I am a chronic nail biter/picker, really bad, my fingers would be raw from picking. I have done it my whole life. My husband go me a gift certificate to get my nails done a year ago and I love it. I started with acrylics and now do gels. I wish I didn't need to do this, but the constant picking was so gross. Sore, bleeding, bandaides, all the time. I think natural nails look the best, even short well manicured ones, but for me I can't do it. I tried 6 weeks without this year during Lent, and boy, they were a mess after day 3. So, for me, I go every 2-3 weeks for a fill. Crazy? maybe, but I have to.