I Really Nailed
That One!!

By Leslee Anthony
I am an expert on nails.

Most definitely and assuredly. I am certain that I know the difference between a 16 penny box bright and a finishing nail, so there!! Now fingernails, to use the masculine parlance, is another matter. Anyway, back to finishing nails, and now I mean our much sought after feminine nails, and finishing them.

One personal feature in which I take special pride is my nails. I care for them, protect them and watch over more carefully than I do my waist line, and that my dears is a lot of caring.

But, as fate and gloom of night would have it, I occasionally break one. No biggy, a broken nail. Until last week when, in an act of unforgivable carelessness I broke two of them. Poor babies, both were short, uneven and totally out of sync with my image and the other 8 babies. This called for emergency action, real trauma center treatment. But what to do??

In the past with one nail it was simple. File it smooth so it looked reasonably nice and wait for it to grow out again. But two of them broken down to a critically short level isn't the same. Yeah, I know, come on Leslee, it isn't that big a deal. Not to you maybe.

Well, I made a marvelous discovery and one to be shared with all who have nails to protect, add-on, or wear either temporarily or permanently. What I discovered is that the new sculptured gel nail kits, also known as acrylic nail kits, are the greatest thing since silicon breast enhancers. Previously I had tried, with limited success, the full nail press-on and the full nail glue-on and a couple of failures with the glue-on tips. Older nail tips never seemed to stay on under normal daily wear and were a nuisance for temporary wear. They pulled off easily and, they didn't look natural.

But progress comes from desperation, and I was desperate.

I went to a beauty supply store and found a great collection of nail repair kits. I later discovered these same kits at my local supermarket, and not in the hardware section either. The selection was impressive, three brands, which I later learned is but a small part of the total available. Being a cheap skate, I shopped price and was encouraged by the sales person who assured me that the more expensive brands were marginally better. The major difference being in the quality of the nail tips themselves. I have not tested that thought so I don't really know, so I will accept her comments.

My choices ran from Lee, Le Joie, Nailene to Jonel, Fing'rs and a couple of others. I took the Nailene. A sculptured gel kit in clear gloss, it also comes in a sort of peach or pink gel. I also selected the action-length, as it is called. You can get French, square and who knows what else?? In addition I liked the Nailene because it is inexpensive and showed clearly that it used tips and not full nails.

Why not full nails?? Because when combined with my natural nails they look exactly like what they are, artificial. Besides, full nails usually require polish and I very seldom ever wear polish. But that is a personal choice and has little to do with your choice or how you want your nails to look. But then, if you are doing an entire set and not a two finger repair job I think the full nail will work fine, especially for temporary wear.

Anyway, I had examined several kits and found that they are all similar in application technique and varied mostly in price. I suspect that, if I had taken more time, I would have discovered other differences.

So, Nailene in hand I went home to care for my babies and get them back to a public presentation form.

I found that the tips were attached using the acrylic gel and not the old fashioned glue. Good bonus #1. Acrylic is stronger but takes longer to set than glue, but not a lot longer . I smoothed my broken nails, buffed them as ordered and applied a very narrow line of the gel. I allowed the artificial tip to overlap my natural nail by about 1/16th on an inch, as stated by the kit. If I ever do this again, God forbid I would ever break two nails at the same time again, I would make sure that 1/16th is the maximum overlap. At 1/16th, there is enough natural pink flesh under the nail showing so that polish or not, they look real and enough for a solid bond with the tip.The overlap can be less, but I suggest no more.

By the way, all the kits that I saw come with tips, gel and gel set, or drying agent.

Once the gel dried, about 2 minutes to be on the safe side, I applied a second, sort of leveling layer of gel followed by a drop or two of gel set and I was done. The tips are thin but do leave a slight ridge that should be smoothed over by using a second layer of gel as an edge filler and then finishing (see?? finishing nail??) with a buffer (provided in the kit).

The tips do require some shaping since they are quite long and not every one can fit perfectly. I trimmed them to about 1/4 of an inch longer than my finger tips, then smoothed and applied my clear polish. The tips are also fairly transparent, more so even than a natural nail, so if left very long they will definitely look artificial. When trimmed to a very feminine 1/4 inch beyond your finger they look perfectly natural. Besides, they are more durable at the shorter length, and for regular daily wear, this is important.

I tested the nails for durability by simply wearing them permanently and doing what I usually do, everything. The result was most encouraging, they wear well and are very tough. Not once did one snag or pull off, as happened so often when I tried the full nail with glue or press-on. And, joy of joys, even I had to admit, they look very natural.

So, how about getting them off?? What if I merely wanted to wear nails for a special occasion such as occasional dressing, to a support group, or an evening out?? Are they easy enough and quick enough to put on and easy to get off?? A qualified "yes". It depends upon what you want to call "quick". I call them fast because I got quality results in a brief time.

"Quick" is dependent upon how much patience you have. I would estimate about 30 minutes to do all of your nails starting from scratch. If you decide to add polish then add polish and drying time. The same applies to getting them off. About 30 minutes. I tested this by removing my two and reapplying them. Simple really. All you need is the new artificial nail remover kit. Remover kits come in two sizes, one finger and a long kit that can do 4 fingers at once. Removal is a matter of patience, but they come off cleanly.

I might point out that my application and removal times are based on a first time trial and my rather finicky need to be neat and careful. I am sure that these times can be reduced with practice.

The sculptured gel kits run anywhere from around $6.00 up to $12.00. The remover kits run from $2.00 to $6.00. So take your pick and try one. There is one major weakness in all of the kits and that is in nail size variety. By that I mean, the tips come in feminine widths which, in most cases is not adequate for a male set of nails. The widest I have is still not wide enough for my thumb, and I am blessed with small, quite feminine but still male hands. (Thumbs??) Unfortunately I have no answer to the obvious question, so now what do I do?? Shop for separate nail sets that are wide enough and use them with your kit. If I ever break a thumb nail I will have a way to fix it.

My conclusion is that the new nail kits are great whether you are repairing a nail, wear the nails permanently, or wear them only temporarily for that special occasion. I saw a lady in the Post Office with absolutely to kill and die for nails. I complimented her and was surprised when she admitted they were from a home nail kit. Makes me wonder why I bother with all the fuss and turmoil of caring for my own nails. Feminine ego trip I am sure. I need all the natural femininity I can get, so I will stick with natural nails and occasional repair jobs but hope I never have to use my kit again.


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