This will be a funny and unusual post you will not see everyday.
DISCLAIMER: I do not in any way recommend anybody to try this. I'm only narrating this weird and challenging experiment I did with extreme caution during my stay-at-home period due to ECQ. It can potentially be hazardous!
I managed to salvage my bridal nails during quarantine. Can you already imagine how I did that?
Captured by Mayad Studios
First off, don't judge! I am not some princess doing nothing at home. I do the usual chores such as washing the dishes, laundry, taking baths and even typing up my blog articles so to speak. Yes, I did not use my fingers, but my nails to type. Of course, I took extra precaution in hygiene such as always washing my hands rigorously given nails are one of the habitats for bacteria.
It's just that these acrylic gel nail art I got from Azhua Nail are very, VERY, tough. And pretty! They were recommended to me by an office colleague (Thanks, Hazel!). One of the reasons for its durability is because its base and coat are used with acrylic. So, no matter how much I scratch or put friction on these nails, they didn't budge. Everything stayed intact.
I first had these awesome nail art during my Tinghun and I got hooked! The price was also acceptable to me, around Php1500 for both hands and feet if I remember correctly. It also took them about 4 hours to finish everything. They're really pretty. But one big con of having acrylic gel nails is that as much as they are very durable, it's equally as hard to remove them. You have to soak your nails in acetone just to remove them and your nails would be weak and all dried out after. I bought this OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener as my maintenance after removing the nail art to moisturize and revitalize them.
The upper left photo was the peg I shown my manicurist with changes only on the color to match my Tinghun look. The result was impeccable and just exactly as the photo. This convinced me to trust them once again for my wedding nails.
It was hard work and a pain to remove the nail art as well as to maintain my nails' health, but I can't resist to get them again (at least for the last time) for my wedding. So, I searched all over the net for thousands of possible designs and finally found one with a few modification to suit my taste and motif.
The only change I did was to put an ombre background color to the nails in peach and sky blue as you can see in my photos above to match my wedding color motif, as well as going for square cut. I really loved the result! For my wedding nails with a few crystals, pearls and beads used plus rigorous flower drawing, they charged me Php2,200 for both hands and feet, which was still reasonable for me. Like previously, it took about half a day again for my manicurists to finish the art.
I had my nails done last February 6, 2020. So, in around first week of March, I was once again faced with the problem of what to do with my nails when they started to grow too long. I planned to just let them grow, gradually cut them directly using a heavy duty nail cutter without using any acetone or chemicals to remove them. A few days before we were placed under ECQ, my hubby joked, telling me I might not want to cut it and preserve all nails instead before cutting to keep as memento.
Then hello ECQ! At this point I was already seriously considering what my hubby said. I had a hunch it's possible to achieve. So, I decided to endure and get used to these extremely long nails to see if i can be successful with my attempt of salvaging them. And to test my tolerance! It wasn't easy. I had hurt myself a couple of times while shampooing, typing, washing dishes. I also had to adjust when it comes to my phone's touchscreen, as well as applying skin care products to my face.
After about mid-May, here they are, almost ready to be removed!
Finally, as of May 28, 2020, after nearly 4 months, all my fingernails were finally back to normal, and still as healthy as ever! I did not remove my nails all in one sitting as some grew faster than the others. First to come off was the little fingers, then the index and middle, and lastly the ring and thumbnails.
Of course, with about 4 months of wear and tear, they aren't really in perfect condition. Plus, I'm not necessarily being all that careful as well. I tend to scratch them to surfaces, and at times bite them.
Two crystals came off from my left ring and thumb nails, a small crack is visible at the edge of my right index fingernail, and all remaining crystals have darkened, as expected.
As for my feet, I'm still waiting as toe nails tend to grow much slower than fingernails. Although, the last 2 toenails from both left and right feet have already come off since it's shorter and smaller. The others were also nearly there. The last to be possibly removed is definitely the big toe.
There you have it! I did not really expect this experiment to turn out well, and I get to keep one of my most beautiful wedding elements too. I'll update this post once I get to successfully remove my remaining toe nails as well. Yey, I missed it! It's nice to have normal hands again. What a bother I run myself into?!
Although to be honest, I think this is still possible to achieve even if we're not staying at home, as I only have regular office work facing the laptop everyday. What's stopping me is simply people seeing me and grossing out and thinking I have no proper hygiene with witch hands and feet, since I can't actually cover my toe nails by wearing closed shoes, or wearing gloves for the hands, right?
But hey! Please do not try this if your hands and feet are very busy, doing rough work or in constant contact with food. Don't attempt if you believe you lack discipline in hygiene, as nails are one of the easiest breeding grounds for dirt and bacteria. Not really the time to blame yourself especially during this pandemic! You can also hurt yourself, and others, if you're not careful. So, I do not recommend this to anybody. I'm only trying this out for fun and for challenging myself while staying at home.
Acrylic Gel Nail Art by Azhua Nail
***All my posts are in no way sponsored or paid. I narrate our wedding details like a diary, with only actual facts and experiences.***
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