I was up at midnight scrolling through my Instagram feed and taking in the awkward mixture of amazing and sometimes vapid content the app has to offer, then I stumbled on a beautiful work of art.
For me, nail fashion is all too important in the beauty department. I immensely appreciate beautifully-done nails, the shape and form regardless. But that’s where all of it ends…
I took a quick trip down memory lane and realised the last time I had my artificial nails on was in 2013, my final year in university. At the time, I knew I had to set my insecurities aside and get it done for good. How did I feel after? Completely converted into nail culture, of course. The plan was to be consistent.
Four years down the line and the closest I’ve come to another nail bar is an Instagram doubletap. I could chalk it up to indolence or craft the perfect excuse that goes “my natural nails are long and beautiful so I don’t really need extensions“. But that’s my story.
I decided to throw this nail fixing conversation open to a few other women who are noticeably not into nail adornments and their experiences are surprisingly deeper than I imagined.
‘Toni Oluwole, 25
I wear artificial nails but not often. I’d definitely go for them when I have an event to attend and I want to go all out looking glam. Otherwise, I think they’re not healthy for the nails as I’ve seen a lot of ladies with ugly nail beds that result from too many nail extensions. I could never imagine a time in my life where I’d not be able to go with my natural nails because they got ugly from wearing false ones. No way!
Ultimately, I enjoy my swallows and cannot dig into a morsel of amala or garri with those long, artificial nails. Bits of the food stick beneath the nails and it’s too gross to deal with.
Yemi Joshua, 28
I’ve never tried false nails. Never. I think they look awfully painful and stressful to manage.
Bisade Adeolu, 23
It’s like I don’t fix false nails but I prefer to do it occasionally. It’s a lot stressful because my natural nails are not strong by themselves so they chip off easily. That’s a lot of pain to deal with by itself so it gets worse when I add false ones.
Interestingly, I fancy fixing artificial toe nails but when I wear covered shoes, I feel some pain.
Joke Adeyemo, 24
My nails are really soft and I’m constantly in fear of hurting them with those plastic and glass nails. Also, I get a lot of house chores done and it’s never easy with false nails. I can’t wash, carry heavy stuff or even cook comfortably with those nails.
Roqeebah, 25
For me, it’s religious reasons. The rules of ablution forbid me from fixing artificial nails or even painting my own nails. The only exception is if I have to wear breathable nail polish. So it’s pretty simple. I don’t even think about it.