If you learn how to do your own acrylic Nails, you can save $500 a year or more. Thanks to the advice of a woman who does nails professionally, you can have pretty nails at home.
Last night, my husband and I decided to put in our wedding video. We hadn’t viewed it in ages, and our kids had never seen it. “Mom, you look different,” my five-year-old said. “Well, Kid,” I thought to myself, “Three children will do that to you!” But he was right in a sense. In the video, I had been pampered, something I have been neglecting to do for myself for a while.
One of the things I myself noticed about the video is that I has beautiful nails. They were actually my own nails, something that would be nearly impossible today with taking care of three small children and a household. But I have been thinking about acrylic nails.
A relative I know always has beautiful nails. She also has two young children and cleans houses part time, so I am always impressed with her hands. It turns out that she wears acrylic nails in a pretty french manicure style. Until recently, I never knew that they weren’t completely real nails! What is more, she does them herself at home.
“I could never justify spending all of that money for the nails and once-a-week or once-every-two-weeks trips for fill ins,” she told me. By her calculation, professional nails would cost her somewhere between $500 and $1,000, depending on how often she would get the fills done.
My relative introduced me to a friend of hers who does nails in a professional nail shop. This friend was kind enough to offer the following tips on getting a professional acrylic nail result at home.
- Choose fake nails that have a clear nail base. This is the area that actually attaches to your own nail. Avoid ones with a pink or peach color.
- Buy your own brush on glue instead of using the glue that comes with the nails.
- When attaching the nails, press them on as tightly as possible, almost until it hurts. The tighter you press, the less likely you will get air bubbles or imperfections in the nail seal.
- File your nails long enough to be pretty, but short enough to be natural and get your work done. Nails that are too long are awkward and will detach or break more easily.
- At the first sign of a nail getting weak around the edges (in a week or two), redo the nail.
Do you have any frugal nail beauty tips to share?
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