Long nails versus short nails, pros and cons

xoxo · January 14th, 2007, 06:39 PM

so my whole life i kept my nails clean and neatly trimmed/short. lately this year i have decided to try a more glamorous look and i have grown them long, so now they are long and nice (except for one that broke but is slowling growing back haha.)

there aare more pros and cons to this situation than i relaized however..

1) with long nails it can be more hazardous to play with pets..i accidentally scratched one of my mom's dogs on the snout when we were playing on the lawn *lame*

2) it is harder to type emails and whatnot..i am trying to get used to typing with the nail and not my finger-pad thing lol

3) self-grooming is a bit more tricky, like i am finding i have to be really careful when applying lotion, shampoo etc or i scrape myself.

this sounds pretty retarded but i guess after having short nails my whole life i am not used to all this.

the pros are that they look really pretty tho!!

do you guys keep your nails long, short or medium?

and do you use acrylics or go natural?

enquiring minds wish to know lol

Laurent · January 14th, 2007, 06:43 PM

When I was younger I would get acrylics occasionally, but now I keep mine at the tips of my fingers and either buffed or with clear polish.

I hate the way my own nails look long - like talons. Most acrylics I see around here are shaped to be extremely square and I don't care for that look, for myself at least.

xoxo · January 14th, 2007, 06:46 PM

^^
hi laurent! totally agree that the talon look is awful, like long claws *ugly*
but slightly long and lightly colored helps the nails to not look quite so talon-esque lol

**NoDayButToday** · January 14th, 2007, 07:17 PM

I have acrylics because my natural nails do not grow past the fingertip without breaking, they're very thin and weak no matter what my diet is like or how many supplements I'm taking. I just do a very thin acrylic overlay and keep them only slightly past my fingertips in a square shape, but the edges are very rounded off. They're usually a pale pink.

o0Amber0o · January 14th, 2007, 07:59 PM

I've gotten acrylics twice in my life and I get so pissed after they start to come off because my nails feel like shit! So I learned to do a French manicure myself and I've been happy with that. I don't have my nails long because it just doesn't look good on me, I have short stubby fingers so long nails would look stupid so they go slightly above the finger and that's that. My nails grow SO fast, which is ironic because I'm not exactly the most healthiest person in the world and I don't take vitamins or anything but they flake like crazy! I know if they're starting to flake and chip, they're too long.

tictac · January 14th, 2007, 08:07 PM

I keep mine right at the fingertips and either just buff them for a little shine, or paint them pale pink or beige. Long nails kinda gross me out thinking of all the bacteria and fungi that can grow underneath them. Even if you're a very clean person, it's GOT to be growing under those things.

Honey · January 14th, 2007, 08:42 PM

I keep mine short-ish, I really like them like that. And of course clean.

SweetPea · January 14th, 2007, 08:44 PM

I can't function with long nails. Either I'm stabbing someone or one breaks and they look awful. So now I keep them nice and short with darker polish.

Dean James · January 14th, 2007, 09:23 PM

I got fabulous acrylic french manicure for my wedding and that was it, I ended up ripping them off on the way to the Honeymoon. I function better with short nails but when I was younger, I lived-breathed-and died for Lee Press On Nails.

NawdleZouss · January 14th, 2007, 11:19 PM

Short nails, all the way. I keep them pretty short (cut as soon as I see that white bit), which is hard since they grow very, very fast and are extremely hard.

I used to have the nails on my right hand very long (I played classical guitar, so they had to be about 1/2 an inch long, and filed almost to points to avoid snagging), and it was just awful. I ended up scratching myself, everyone around me, and because of the aforementioned hellish strength of them, they would never break easily, but rip off to the quick on two painful occasions.

pacific breeze · January 15th, 2007, 02:08 AM

I've pretty much run the gamut from natural to acrylic nails to gel back to natural. I keep them shortish, and give myself a French manicure every week. It's fast and easy. And I give myself a pedicure at least a month.

A*O · January 15th, 2007, 03:12 AM

One gene I'm grateful to my dad for is some really great hands and nails. I went into a nail salon recently to get my polish redone and they ladies there thought they were acrylics! Go me. I can have them long or short and they still look good so it comes down to practicality.

Long nails are glamorous but very high maintenance, even if you don't use polish on them. Short is more practical but I don't think they look as good with Slut Red polish on them (the only colour worth having). I tried those gelcoat nails once - BIG mistake. They are bombproof but they totally ruin the nailbed underneath which gets all yellow and flakey.

So I keep mine kinda medium but if there's a big event coming up I grow them. You gotta work with what you've got, eh?

Aella · January 15th, 2007, 03:13 AM

Mine are very brittle, so I keep them short out of necessity more than anything. I did managed to grow them once, and found out that I hated longer nails.They got in the way of tasks all the time (typing comes to mind), I kept scratching myself by accident, and they just looked silly.

Martirio · January 15th, 2007, 03:28 AM

I hate long nails, so I keep mine quite short. I'd be totally handicapped with long fingernails! And I disagree with A*O, I think short nails can look very good with red polish. Long, red nails usually look slutty, and not in a good way.

xoxo · January 15th, 2007, 03:32 AM

slutty is always good haha!!