My nails finally look great!

I have written about 200 blog posts but I have never written one about beauty and definitely never about fingernails, but here goes!

Oh, I have had issues with my nails for my whole life. I may have had an issue with biting my nails. It’s not easy to admit, it but I tried all kinds of silly ways to stop that bad habit.

I wore “> bad tasting stuff on my nails – that didn’t work either.

Over the years I have tried going to the nail salon and investing all sorts of time and money to attach tips to my nails and have them filed down to look natural. The first time I went to a nail salon was for my wedding at 25 years of age. I thought I was so glamorous!

I kept at it for a while – having someone else apply fake nails. It was time consuming but it sure made my wedding ring look pretty.

The nails never lasted and chipped off after about a week. I then tried to visit the nail salon more often, but as a busy working mom, I never seemed to have the time.

I would try all sorts of home remedies to strengthen nails, only to head off to the salon for a treat with acrylic nails that would leave them damaged for months to come.

GEL NAILS

The latest trend has been to do GEL nails. They dry fast so you don’t have to sit next to people while they dry in the nail salon. That seemed to be a rule during COVID so GEL nails became super popular. It is a bit of an odd process that necessitates using an ultra-violet lamp to set the chemicals in the GEL.

The problem with them is that as they chipped off, they destroyed your nails. You needed to get back to the salon within 2 weeks or you had major problems removing the polish. My nails became super weak after trying GEL nails and never seemed to get better.

But, here I am, retired with more time on my hands to shuffle off to the nail salon once again. The latest trend at nail salons, at least here in Florida, is Dip powder.

DIP POWDER

When the new salon looked at my sad fingernails, the girl asked me if I would like Dip. She nodded and made it seem like I would. Not being an expert in the field I said sure.

First, she cleaned my nails and filed what was there. Then she attached tips with glue to my regular nail. Next, she used a base polish and dipped each nail in a white powder. This process continued as she stroked each nail with a clear polish and then dipped each nail into the jar of tinted powder. After the dip, she tapped the excess powder back into the jar. Each time, I would watch as the nail begin to change to the expected color. A little bit of filing and a top coat and we were done in half the time it took to get a full set of acrylic nails.

They were super pretty but I wondered how long they would last. No ultra-violet lights? No hours of filing? No wait time under the dryer?

Too good to be true right?

Well, I have to say this process does have staying power! I had my nails done a week before my ski trip in December and just had them removed a few days ago. Almost 5 weeks!! They had grown out a bit but were strong and not chipping or anything.

So what is the catch?

As a responsible blogger, I did my research on the Elle, Cosmopolitan and Glamour websites. Apparently everyone loves the dip powder if done correctly.

I read, that if the salon dips your fingers in the same powder as other clients, it is possible for germs (think finger fungus) to spread. Ewwwww! I don’t want that, BUT I think I have a solution.

I checked AMAZON and wouldn’t you know there are tons of sets of

Thanks for checking out my beauty blog!! Let me know what you think –