Manicures or acrylic?

[XChick03]

Just curious how many of you prefer acrylic nails and how many just like manicures better. I really love the way acrylic nails look on, but I hate how they much they damage my nails. I usually just get manicures, but I have a bad habit of picking at my nails until they break.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I used to have gel overlays (which I think are similar to acrylic). I loved that the polish stayed on forever and they were hard as rocks, but the maintenace was a pain in the butt. Now I get just regular manicures, which I can zip out and get done during lunch so the hassle factor is much lower.

 

[FireGoddess]

I get manicures. I also do my own nails. I love the look of gel nails, but they are too damaging for me. I had to have tips put on 3 nails of mine for a wedding....when they finally grew out enough and were falling off I removed them - that part of my nail was so thin and weak - I wouldn''t do it unless I had to!

 

[E B]

I''m probably in the minority, but I hate acrylics. I used to get them for high school dances, but then they''d grow out and the only way to fix it was to A) get them taken off or B) get them "refilled" and start the process alllll over again. Blah.

I''m planning on just a manicure for my wedding day, with some clear gloss (and a nice hand massage!).

 

[XChick03]

Yeah, they look really nice and everything, but its just too much to deal with for me. Plus its like an extra $15-30 and an hour every 2 weeks or so to get them redone.

 

[Mara]

I had them in HS when it was cool but I never loved my hands with them and also they totally ruined my nails, it took about 3 years to grow them back to normal.

Now I try to take good care of my nails, I get regular manicures...I find that when I drink chocolate milk (silly I know!) that they are stronger than ever. I also found that when we traveled to Tahiti, they started peeling while over there and when we got back it took almost a year for them to stop peeling as profusely as they did. Isn''t that odd?

I used to bite nails a long time ago and so the acrylics in HS really helped me break that habit. I would just try to grow yours out and keep polish on them, alot of people don''t like to bite with polish on and I find that keeping mine covered with polish helps keep them stronger and away from the harsh ''elements''. Even a clear coat!

 

[ello]

I agree with everyone – I loved the way the gel looked on my nails but when I was unable to get a touch up 3 weeks later (crazy job) my nails looked awful – it was thin and peeling/cracking - took almost 3 months to look and feel normal again. For now it’s easier just to get regular manicures. I''m rather lazy so I often just keep my nails really short....me bad!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I don''t like the way acrylic nails looks. I can ALWAYS tell. Of course I have always had strong/long nails so I am sure if I was unable to grow my own nails my views would change. I paint my own nails. I am SO picky and think I do a better job than any manicure I have ever gotten. I am really nutty about it and never have bare nails so it is easier for me to paint them a couple times a week than go somewhere.

 

[qtiekiki]

Gel nails look good, but I don''t like them because it''s just too thick to be real and just too damaging. It''s too much work and money. Manicures are better because they take care of your hands too.

 

[XChick03]

Date: 4/15/2006 12:27:13 AM
Author: Mara
I had them in HS when it was cool but I never loved my hands with them and also they totally ruined my nails, it took about 3 years to grow them back to normal.


Now I try to take good care of my nails, I get regular manicures...I find that when I drink chocolate milk (silly I know!) that they are stronger than ever. I also found that when we traveled to Tahiti, they started peeling while over there and when we got back it took almost a year for them to stop peeling as profusely as they did. Isn''t that odd?


I used to bite nails a long time ago and so the acrylics in HS really helped me break that habit. I would just try to grow yours out and keep polish on them, alot of people don''t like to bite with polish on and I find that keeping mine covered with polish helps keep them stronger and away from the harsh ''elements''. Even a clear coat!

For clear coats, I love that Hard as Nails stuff. It really makes a difference, makesthem stronger and they look better, too. I''m going to have to stock up on the chocolate milk, too.

I''ve never had a problem with nail biting, my bad habit is picking at the corners. I haven''t figured out a way to break that habit yet.

 

[glitterata]

A doctor friend of mine told me that if you live in a place with high rates of HIV infection, you should get an HIV test regularly if you get manicures. They''re supposed to sterilize the instruments, but they don''t always do it, and if they happen to nick your cuticles after nicking the cuticles of someone infected, the virus can be transmitted.

I thought that was a little paranoid. But I haven''t been in a nail salon since she told me that.

 

[Mara]

some salons actually will open sealed, sterilized packages in front of you...not all of course. this one place in SF, Lush nail bar, does that and then you can take home the utensils.

also you can bring your own utensil kit (clipper, buffers, files, etc) with you to the salons and ask the gals there to use it.

i always think i SHOULD do this but then never do! i even have the kit from Lush and don't know where i put it!

also glitter, kind of random but i always heard that if the infected blood was dried, then it wouldn't be a problem? maybe that's just wishful thinking?

ETA: i found this online....not sure how accurate...i did find something else that said that hepatitis B and C is a huge problem right now and spread on things like chairs, headrests etc. i guess that would go for anywhere, not just the manicurist...germs suck!

http://experts.about.com/q/AIDS-339/AIDS-HIV.htm

 

[firebirdgold]

I typically do my own nails, but at least twice a year I go in for a mani/pedi. I never ever get acrylics! I have a bad nail which manicurists seemed to be compelled to make look normal. That always involves silk wraps, or acrylics, and a lot of glue. And it totally ruins my nails! One time it almost took most of the bum nail off with it!

 

[MissGotRocks]

I love to get manicures but never like the way they file my nails. They never spend any time just shaping the nail - they just file the edge a bit. I don''t like the tips of my nails crooked! I file the ends straight and then try to soften the edges a bit round. My nails grow very fast and I am forever filing them. I don''t like real long nails. I usually just end up doing my own - I have a filing, cuticle cream routine. I only use clear polish as I HATE chipped polish. I just hate the time it takes and would rather get them done - it just feels like a luxury. But I hate to spend the money and time if I''m not happy with them in the end!

 

[glaucomflecken]

i hate acrylics. i used to wear them (I did my own and I must say they turned out ok!) in HS because EVERYONE did at the time. I got an infection once and that ended that.

I got them again for my wedding because I wanted them to look super nice but boy did they ruin my nails. that was 6 months ago today and they are just finally getting back to normal. I also dont think they look very natural, as was mentioned they look to big and thick to be real.

once in a while i will get manicures but i really like doing my own nails. i have all the tools and the Diamancel files which i really like, and I think they look just as good as paying $$$ to get them done, although you dont get the nice pampering hand and arm massages when you do your own..heehee

 

[butterfly 17]

I used to get wraps/acrylics a long time ago, but I now like getting manicures, although I have not had one in a while.
I too hate the way most manicurists file my nails, so I usually file my nails the way I want before going and then I ask them to just file a bit or not at all. Sort of like cleaning up before the housekeeper gets there, although I don''t have a housekeeper, so I have no idea what I am talking about!

I love french manicures and I love certain brands of polishes like Essie and lately Duri.

I use a basecoat of Mystic Nails, which I found has the same ingredients as Nailtiques, but cost so much less. Mystic Nails is only $2, while Nailtiques is $20. I always use two or three coats of color depending on how sheer it actually is and then I top it off with Seche Vite, which I love.
It gives my nails a great shine and it helps dry my nailpolish faster.

Oh, I find that if I take a white block buffer and use the less coarse side and gently buff my nail ends, it helps to keep the polish on for a while. Usually, it will last for 4 to 7 days depending on how rough I am with my nails.

 

[larussel03]

I vote for manicures unless you want to have fake nails longer than your wedding day. They're a pretty big committment (I had them once and I hated gettng them filled so I pulled them off myself, not so fun).

Even if your nails are short, a nice manicure looks classier, IMO than fake nails. My nails are a medium length, but I prefer the look of a short manicured nail to even ultra long natural nails or fakes.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/15/2006 2:21:25 AM
Author: Mara


I did find something else that said that hepatitis B and C is a huge problem right now and spread on things like chairs, headrests etc.

True...

Anyway, DIY feels so good for me that I would not consider having nails done. Prefer them naked or at most with a clear coat, fairly short too although I tried keeping long nails for a while and it works, but most of the time I keep them looking ''French'' (4-5mm of squared tip over the contact line). Once I caved in at a friend''s enthusiastic recommendation to try fake nails ''just once''. OK, I did... and kept them on a couple of hours with heroic effort - they went off the same day! My hands looked and felt so alien I just couldn''t.

 

[Lorelei]

Don''t like acrylics - a manicure is far better even on really short nails. It is amazing how good short nails can look with just the cuticles done, ragged ends filed off the nails and clear polish. I think acrylics have been overdone and folks want a more natural look now.

 

[butterfly 17]

Also, did you notice that most celebrities (except for singers) usually wear their nails short and clean? Everytime I look at a picture of someone at the Oscars I notice that they wear very sheer polishes and keep them short and rounded.

 

[pearcrazy]

Hepatitis can live an amazingly long time in dried blood as can a number of other really nasty viruses and bacteria. I decided against pedicures too after seeing a report on our local news about some really upscale salons not properly cleaning the foot baths. It was totally disgusting to see the hair, toenail clippings and dead skin that was left behind in the drain. They were interviewing ladies who had gotten some nasty boils all over their legs that left them permanently scarred and disfigured. Bleech!!

No professionally done pedicures or manicures for me. In my line of work I can't have those pretty acrylic nails as I have to keep my nails short and unpainted.

 

[Mara]

I noticed that Kayla...

Most of the time I do my own nails but I get a mani once a month along with a pedi because it just feels so good and they are way better at clipping and cleaning up my cuticles than I am!

I am a total fan of natural clear coat or sheers or french with shorter tips...but I find that even a little bit of nail makes my hands look nicer. I can't keep them totally short or else they look like 'boy hands' (according to Greg). Sometimes I grow them out a little longer, like right now but I plan to file them down a little before I paint them later today!

 

[monarch64]

I get manicures and pedicures occasionally, usually prior to an event like a wedding or other special occasion, and sometimes just for fun with my friends. I have had acrylic nails in the past, but I really can''t stand those things...they feel so fake on my fingers and I don''t really like long nails. The last time I got them was for my wedding--my own nails were really nice nad looking good until about a week before the wedding, but as fate would have it, half of them got chipped or broke and I decided to bite the bullet and have fakes put on. We had a "free" day between the wedding and leaving for our honeymoon, and I spent three hours soaking those fake nails off because I hated the way they felt on my hands!

I am forever filing down my nails because I type all day at work and play piano, and I just can''t deal with long nails. I keep them polished either with clear or a translucent pink color, and use cuticle cream or oil which definitely cuts down on hangnails and dry looking nails.

 

[lilmaria]

I had acrylic nails for apporx 7 yrs, with a week of in between a few times. I loved the stronger nails, or atleast they seemed stronger and teh nailpolish that wouldn''t budge. But, once I moved in with my fiance (heheheh still sounds strange) we couldn''t afford the extra stuff on his income alone. So I stopped getting them done, anyway I was cleaning way more than I did at my mother''s house and dishwater + acrlyic = disaster.

I still like the look of french and white gel, but I hate how they wreck my nails - it takes 7 mos for them to grow bk fully. I went for a mani after my ring, but didn''t like the way they did it and the paint chipped off the next day so I recut, refiled and repolished w/clear. I think that''s what I will stick to.

 

[divergrrl]

I do my own nails 75% of the time....manicures 25% of the time.

Usually I just wear clear, or Essie Mademoiselle (fab sheer pink...glossy stays on) ,

I used to love acrylics because the polish stayed on, but I love the way natural nails look better, and I love that if I break a nail, I can just take off my polish in 2 seconds flat,and not have to get a repair. I found that I could extend the life of my manicures to 10 days if wore rubber gloves to do dishes & put a clear coat on every few days to protect it. And my nails grew longer (they usually break or peel).

I''d get weekly manicures when I was working, but now i only get one when I go in for my monthly pedicure (I teach yoga & can''t have nasty feet) now that I''m a stay at home mom & 2x a week yoga instructor.

Jeannine

 

[MissAva]

Okay I hope no one on here has acrylics, I think they are tacky. I always see people with squared off nails that do not fit their hand shape and it just looks awful.

The end of your nails ought to be the same shape as your nail bed, it provides a pleasing, but indistinct symmetry. This is one of my pet peeves though...so ignore me if it bothers you.

If you have trouble growing your nails try taking prenatal vitamins and up your levels of potassium and vitamin K. Also try to avoid overly long hot showers or washing dishes without gloves because this strips your nails of their natural oils.