Artificial nails - gel or acrylic?

Filed in archive Beauty on April 4, 2006

I've been writing about artificial nails a while ago, saying how much they've changed my life.

Michelle Perry, a fellow creative writer (also a mother of 4 beautiful children and wife (of 9 years) to one lucky man), shares her opinion of artificial nails:

"I have bad nails. It is a fact of life I've had to learn to deal with. Being severely anemic, my nails and hair have pretty much no chance at survival.

The sad thing is that I have these long, skinny fingers, which look really freaky because of the lack of nails. Before the thought even crosses your mind: no, I don't chew my nails, but you wouldn't believe me if you saw them. As I'm not the one to wallow in self-pity, I've searched long and hard a solution. It soon became clear: fake nails.

I, like so many girls out there, used to cringe at the sound of it, but now I'm a full-fledged convert. acrylic nails have been my saving grace.

Walking around with acrylic nails on I feel like everyone is looking at my beautiful hands. I hang my hand out my car window and let my wedding ring sparkle in the sun. And, not to go over the top, I can open soda cans now. By myself. I love my acrylics.

There are a couple drawbacks about acrylic nails though. First is the expense, second the time involved, and third the pain if one rips off. So, more and more my mind is dwelling on the rising trend of gel artificial nails.

Gel nails supposedly beat out the acrylic nail competition. I have heard they don't need refilling as often (saving money) and that they never need to be completely replaced (saving time). I don't know how they feel if they rip off, but I assume that it would hurt, bad. Also, I must point out, these nails are beautiful! They look so much more natural, thinner. I think I am going to have my acrylics removed and put some gel nails on the next time I'm due for a fill. I'll keep you posted!"