When I was 14, I got my first pair of acrylic nails.

The tips of the nail were wider than the base, the acrylic was laid on SO thick, they were short, stubby, & I got a french manicure on them. You guys have to know what I am talking about, but if not, here’s an example.

Thankfully, as I got older, my taste in nails had changed. In college I was all about the stiletto nail, then I went natural for a hot minute, back to a coffin shape, & now I am so happily settled on a square shape w/ just a touch of coffin shape (i.e. tapers in a tiny tiny bit at the top). I’ve played around with my nails A LOT. I’ve even tried some of these super UNIQUE & CHIC Halloween Nail Designs.

I will say though, the road to fake nail happiness is not an easy one. It’s taken me a full year to figure out what I want, find the perfect nail lady, & learn how to convey to the nail salon exactly what I want.

I swear, the whole thing is a science & I finally think I’ve got it down. SO- today I am sharing my top tips to make sure your faux claws turn out flawless.

How To Do Acrylic Nails – Flawlessly:

1. Do your research. first, search for salons near you & read Yelp reviews. See who people are mentioning & also go through uploaded images to see if any particular manicurists work catches your eye. Finding a great manicurist takes work & a lot of trial/error. Every nail technician has a very different style, so you just have to find someone who can do what you’re looking for. For example: I only go to people who make my acrylics thin & natural looking, while tons of nail techs do them way too thick.

2. Gather Inspo: get on Pinterest or Instagram and gather loads of nail inspo. Whether you want a Kylie nail, a stiletto nail, or a coffin shape- do some searching to make sure you have a visual example to show your nail tech. Also, start figuring out which colors do/do not work with your skin. I have to be really careful with nudes because they blend in too much with my skin tone, so I stick to bright colors or dark colors.

3. What to Ask For at the Salon: okay- so you are looking to get an acrylic full set with gel polish. You can also do regular polish, butI prefer gel. Choose your color, decide on a nail shape (see below), & show the nail tech your reference photos. They start with very long nails, & cut them down to your liking… always erring on the side of caution by starting off with them way too long. Don’t be shy to grab your phone & try to text. If I have a hard time texting, they gotta be trimmed down. Also, be sure to tell them you want them to look natural and not be so bulky.

Lastly, acrylics do not come with a cuticle clean up, so if you need that done, tell them before they polish your nails!

4. Keep them Clean: I just learned this tip & it’s been major. My nails always get dyed from make-up & sunscreen, but my nail girl Sarah said to just wipe my nails with acetone after doing my makeup/putting on sunscreen to keep them from getting dirty looking. This totally prolonged the life of my mani.

5. Growing Your Nails Out: right now I am kinda/sorta on the road to growing out my natural nails so we can ditch the tip and just do acrylic overlays. I have tried it before and it was a fail cause my nails were breaking too much (they were too thin I think). This time, it’s going much better so we will see. If you want to grow your nails out with acrylics, talk to your nail tech & they will make a plan. Basically- they won’t file off your  real nail underneath & when they get long enough they will gently soak off the acrylics to reveal your natural nail & they will strengthen it with an acrylic overlay.

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