Hate Nail Polish? Try Press-On Nails

I love having pretty nails. They're an instant way to make me feel more glamorous and put together. But, I hate the process of waiting for nail polish to dry and every time I get acrylics, I take them off way too soon. You see, I love having long, beautiful nails, but I also love the functionality of my short stubby fingers. I can't type, clean, or cook well if I constantly have long nails, so I always end up removing them. This brings me to press-on nails.

Don't they look super fake?

Surprisingly, if you use some strategy when putting on press-ons, they can look just as real as acrylics, and even more real. The most important part about picking good press-ons is to make sure that the shape of the nail will fit on your nail bed as closely as possible. If there are gaps because the nail shape doesn't fit well, then it will be obvious that your nails are fake. This involves some trial and error, but a pretty reliable and easily accessible brand is KISS, which is offered in most drug stores. If you absolutely can't find any nails that fit your cuticles well, you can reshape ones to get a better fit.

Won't they fall off?

Press-on nails are less hardy than acrylics as far as fake nails and nail extensions go, but considering how much less damage they do to your nails and the cost-friendliness, these are caveats I'm willing to overlook. I've found that if you use a liberal amount of glue, a strong one like KISS Maximum Speed nail glue or Tailor Bond by Dashing Diva, the nails will stay on for most activities. If you're someone who is constantly using your hands for high impact activities (think rock climbing, kneading and other baking activities, or hair dressing) then press-on nails might not be for you. But, for the average person, press-ons will be able to weather your average cooking and cleaning activities.

What about damage the glue causes?

Decorating your nails in any way will usually cause some level of damage, whether it's removing nail polish with acetone or filing the nail surface to give acrylics better grip. Unfortunately, press-ons are no exception, but they cause significantly less damage than acrylics would. I'm guilty of not removing my press-ons correctly, I just pull them off by peeling up one edge of the nail, which causes more damage to the nail than soaking the nails in acetone and wiping them off would. Even so, I've found that the damage to my nails after wearing press-ons is minimal compared to after I get acrylics removed. And if you care deeply about nail damage, soaking in acetone virtually removes all the glue and nail debris from your nail, which eliminates the need to force nails off and damage the surface of the nail.

I'm sold. Tell me more.

One of the reasons I love press-ons is their cost and convenience. Not only will a set of pre-painted press-ons set you back only about $10, they're also much easier to apply and remove than acrylics or even nail polish. With press-ons there's no risk of messing up your manicure because you didn't wait long enough for the polish to dry and there's no travel to a nail salon necessary. The ability to change my nails as frequently as I want for $10 a pop is a huge factor in my unending love of press-ons. Give them a try and you might be converted too.