8 Things You Need To Know Before Fixing Acrylic Nails

For a longer nail look, I get a gel manicure. They grow with the gel polish, and then I keep going until I want my natural, short nails back with the regular polish.

Edy Ganem

All your mannerisms change easily when you have inch-long acrylic nails.

Margot Robbie

If you’re considering fixing your nails anytime soon, here’s absolutely everything you need to know before, during and after getting the acrylics fixed. Follow the simple steps below, and you will not end up with a horror story.

Preparation is everything: It’s all well and good wanting acrylic nails but first, you need to make sure your own nails can handle whatever pressure the acrylic is going to have on them. If your nails are brittle or weak then you definitely need to get them back to optimal health before going near acrylics.
Do your research: There are about a thousand different ways to fix acrylic. Ok maybe not a thousand, but there’s definitely a lot of options to choose or pick from. Do you want powder, gel or sculptured nails? Salons usually offer one or all of these types of false nails, so if you’re set on a specific one, be sure to ask or check with the attendant before you begin.
Check the instruments: During your appointment, it is important to make sure that the tools that your nail tech is using or will use are sterilized before you start. Unsterilized tools can lead to very nasty infections – which will also ruin the overall look of your manicure.
Don’t skip the manicured side: The significance of the manicured side of your appointment cannot be overemphasized. It should happen in two-fold. Firstly, acrylics cannot stick to your cuticle, so you need to get them taken care of your brand new nails won’t last as long before they need redoing. Secondly, it looks so much neater.
Decide on your shape and length: This is the fun part of the appointment, along with choosing the color. If you’re a complete newbie to nail shapes, opt for the oval shape because it’s the most classic shape. Then you need to decide on the length. Do you want it long, short or medium length? It’s much smarter to start short as you get used to having fancy nails, then get them filled in as they grow longer.
Remove with care: A lot of the damage associated with acrylics happens because of improper removal. The best way is to soak each nail in acetone for 30 minutes, this will help break down the acrylic so that it can be removed without causing long-term damage to your nails.