Acrylic nails are a type of nail extension. They should be cared for with respect but not in such a different way as to how you would care for your normal nails. There are a few things that you need to watch out for. One is that you should try not to keep them in water for long periods of time, to avoid this you could use rubber gloves for washing dishes or your hair.



Different people have acrylic nails applied for different reasons. One of the reasons to have acrylic nails is to help prevent the want to bite the natural nail. It is so hard to stop biting nails if you are in the habit, so having acrylic nails would help to prevent this as they are so strong and almost impossible to chew.

Having acrylic nails can be rather expensive in a salon and also it costs to have them removed. Both jobs can now be done in the comfort of your own home. A kit can be purchased from a chemist or drugstore complete with instructions on application and removal. I would say though that it is not as easy as it may seem! Practice makes perfect.

Many people are under the impression that artificial acrylic nails are just "stuck on" to the natural nail. This is not the case at all. To explain it in simple terms, the nail is made up out of two chemicals, one is a powder and one is a liquid. When mixed together they make a soft substance which is applied to the nail. The substance dries hard and is then filed into the desired shape.

Lifting is often a problem with acrylic nails. This is when the acrylic nail begins to come apart from the natural nail. This can occur because of a few reasons, but the main one is that improper nail preparation was carried out. Nail preparation is very important before applying any type of nail extension. The nail has to be cleaned, cuticle removed, dehydrated and any primer added (depended on the artificial nail system being used). Not taking the time and effort over the nail preparation can lead to lifting and peeling of the nails in the future.

Some salons use a substance that adheres extremely well to the natural nail and therefore prevents lifting occurring. This may make the acrylic nails look wonderful, but you must remember that when it comes to the time that the nails come off that they will be taking off the top layer of your natural nail with them. Make sure that your nails are treated with utmost care and products that will not harm your natural nail or nail bed.

A full set of acrylic nails take approximately 1 or 2 hours to be applied, depending on the technician applying them and the system you are having. The maintenance that is needed on the nails is recommended every two weeks and takes approximately 20 minutes. Removal of acrylic nails takes approximately 30 minutes.