I recently started getting acrylic nails. I like them, but from the sides, you can really see that they are fake. They are so much thicker than real nails. They also grow out quickly and then you see part of the real nail. This looks fake. I get mine done at a good salon and they don't look cheap like some artificial nails you see, but I would still like them to look a little more real.
I am sure there must be some hack for this! What can I do? I want nails that look better than my natural nails but that look real at the same time.
You really can't do anything about the thickness of the nails. If the tech applies them too think, or if you file them, they will just be weak and break off. And you know that few things look faker or less put together than breaking fake nails!
The best I can suggest is to cover them in one color of solid nail polish. French manis scream fake. If your nails are one uniform color, fewer people will scrutinize them. As for the growing out, you can gently file your nails closer to the cuticles until you can't see ridges, and then apply a new coat of nail polish. Voila!
Hi Phantom,
I would have to agree with Pink on the whole. Fake nails can never look real. They can, however, look awesome. I have been wearing gel nails for 10 years now and I go absolutely crazy with them. Dried flowers? Dead bees? Bits of bling that came off my jeans? Matte? Gloss? Velvet? You name it, I've tried it. When you embrace the fake and really live it out, nobody is under any illusion that you are pretending to have natural nails. My fake nails are as much a part of my beauty routine as going to the rest room is. They don't need to look real to be great. Paradigm shift!
I got em too. I really don't mind that they don't "look real". They're sure prettier than my natural nails are and what else matters? I love em every time I get the nails done new. My only problem is they chip and generally look not nice anymore or plain grow out quite soon, and I'd love to find ways of making my nails last a bit longer, at least so I can get them done twice a month instead of three times a month which costs a fair bit as well.
As for thickness different techs do different things. You want them thick enough to be strong but not so thick as to look ridiculous. There's an art to this. Try a different tech perhaps?
I think you want to concentrate on how to have the best looking artificial nails possible rather than having them look as close to natural nails as possible. Great nails look great for a long time. Unless you have at it with TACKY nail art, they'll be stylish and al people will think is "cool nails", not "oh look, she has fake nails, how plastic!". Remember that and everything will be fine :).