Are Fake Nails Safe?
Many people are attracted to fake nails for various reasons.
In this article you’ll learn
- If fake nails, also called artificial enhancements, are best for you.
- What is the best enhancement removal process? This one is important!
- What are your options if you choose natural nails?
ASK ANA
Hi Ana, I was wondering if you could help me. I am fairly new to nail art nail care and maintenance.
My nails are growing but not as fast as I’d like.
If I were to use fake nails is there one kind better over another or should I muster up all the patience I have as I would be doing more damage than anything? Any advice would help!! Thanks for your time. xo” ~Stefani
ANSWER
Stefani, this is a great question. It’s understandable that you want your nails to grow faster, especially if they keep chipping or breaking.
I did write an article about the three scientifically proven ways to make your nails grow faster.
Since I am not a licensed nail professional, my knowledge comes from reading Doug Schoon’s book, Nail Structure and Product Chemistry.
I also have 20 years of past experience applying hard gel to my own nails, since they are very thin. I explain why I moved away from using gel enhancements in this article.
According to Mr. Schoon, all products (acrylic, gels, and lacquers) are completely safe.
The biggest problem occurs when they are improperly applied and improperly removed by poorly trained nail technicians.
You Get What You Pay For
In the world of fake nails (or nail enhancements), the motto, “What you pay for is what you get,” is completely true.
The well trained and passionate nail professional does not come cheap. Their servicing time will also be longer than other nail techs.
Today’s new soak-off-gels strengthen natural nails really well but can be damaging if not removed properly.
Gels can be an also be expensive, either at the salon or getting yourself set up to do at home.
If I were to pick one that is the least damaging and cheap, it would be the glue on nails—But I also have a huge warning!
Removal
If you pry or pop off any nail enhancements, you will take layers of the nail with the glue!
With plastic glue on nails, you need to file down the plastic until it’s thin and then soak in acetone. Completely submerge your fingertips up to the cuticle line in pure acetone until it has worked it’s way under the plastic nail and dissolved the plastic and the glue.
The acetone evaporation is extremely cold and drying to your skin, so you will want to coat your skin with olive oil before doing the 5-10 minute acetone dip.
A Better Way!
In 2017, I discovered that using manicure clips can warm the acetone as you wait for it to dissolve the nail tips and nail glue.
This is actually a better solution to removing all nail enhancements.
The clips are easy to apply compared to the “foil method”. Your body heat warms the acetone causing it to work better.
You will love them and wonder how you ever lived without them!
Want to Go Natural?
The first thing is to understand why your nails break and peel … and how to prevent it.
I can tell you that anyone who is unhappy with their nails has dry, brittle nails. This comes from water absorption, harsh soaps, and polish removal.
The most damaging elements to our skin and nails are water and soap. I wrote an in-depth article to help you understand how to strengthen your brittle nails.
Embrace Your Ridges
For some strange reason, our world has decided that smooth nails are fashionable, myself included, until I saw Doug Schoon’s electron microscope photos.
We DON’T want to buff off the ridges and make them thinner. Here’s why…
If you think about the ridges in your nails like mountains and valleys, which has more dirt?
The mountains!
It’s the same with our nails. The ridges are filled with more layers of keratin. The ridges are the healthy part of the nail.
It’s the valleys that are weaker. So filing your nails smooth takes away healthy keratin layers to match the weakest portion of your nails.
The solution is simple.
Use two coats of your favorite ridge filling base coat to even out the look of ridges.
Oh, and throw out the darn buffers!
Protect Your Natural Nails with Polish
Many people think that polish is a bad thing for nails, but it can actually help protect your nails from absorbing water.
Too much water absorption can lead to peeling and splitting.
I wrote this in more detail in my article explaining how our nails absorb water and how to use polish to prevent it.
Polish layers also provide temporary strength while you’re wearing it.
It is true that acetone is drying to your skin and nails, but it’s a necessity to dissolve the protective polish.
Rather than fearing acetone, it’s very easy to simply work with it.
Before you remove your polish, apply any cheap kitchen oil to your skin. Let the acetone dissolve the cheap oil instead of your body oil.
Then apply a penetrating, jojoba wax ester based nail and cuticle oil every hour for 2 to 8 hours. Your nails will have absorbed enough oil to “glue” your 50ish layers of keratin back together.
Cleanse your nails with rubbing alcohol to remove surface dust and oil. Then apply your base coat.
Image used with permission from Katy at Nailed It
In Conclusion
My recommendation is to be patient with yourself and your nails.
Learn how to care for them properly while they’re short.
Two bloggers with gorgeous short nails are Sammy from The Nailasaurus and Katy from Nailed It.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from watching the nail art community for over 7 years is that short nails can be really beautiful when well maintained.
Proper care and protection of your short nails will reward you in the long run.
They will just stop breaking. And you will be very proud of your nails.
Excellent advice as always! I love it when i see people rockin’ shorties. Mine are rather short at the moment, and I have to say – I hate breaks, but when I rock shorties, I love them. Long nails are beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not meant for all of us. Short nails can be just as beautiful. And we all know what I’m going to say next…..if you have problems gaining length, pure Nail Oil can help!
Thanks so much Kimber! I agree—I think short nails that are well groomed are beautiful…and I’m so happy there are a few nail art bloggers who prove this to us with every post. ~Ana
“According to Mr. Schoon, all products (acrylic, gels, and lacquers) are completely safe. The biggest problem occurs when they are improperly applied and improperly removed by poorly trained nail technicians.
In the world of fake nails (nail enhancements), the motto, “What you pay is what you get,” is completely true. The well trained and passionate nail professional does not come cheap.”
Thank you for this! As a soak of gel user and gel polish blogger, I am constantly bombarded by people who think soak off gel ruins your nails. It is a breath of fresh air to see gel get the fair representation it deserves. 🙂
Michelle,
Thank you for your kind words. It means a lot to me. <3 ~Ana
“Today’s new soak-off-gels strengthen natural nails really well, but can be damaging if not removed properly. Gels can be an also be expensive, either at the salon or getting your self set up to do at home.”
Thank you for this! As a soak of gel user and gel polish blogger, I am constantly bombarded by people who think soak off gel ruins your nails. It is a breath of fresh air to see gel get the fair representation it deserves.
I completely agree with Ana’s answer and explanation. These days we have lots of tutorial available online. Which makes us think its easy to do extension at home. But we do not realize it that if not done properly, we end up damaging our nails for life time. For e.g. over buffing, or choosing wrong grit of filer. So its better to go for experienced nail tech help or have patience for natural nails to grow.