Angel used to bite her nails. This was not only a childish-looking habit but one that left her fingers shorter than she desired. They were also shapeless and looked ugly.

“I hated everything about those nails and wished I could just stop myself from gnawing at them, more so when thinking hard. However, regardless of hard I tried, I could not stop,” she shared.

That led her to look for artificial remedies for the predicament. Finally, a ‘saviour’ came her way in the form of acrylic nails. Oh, not only did they look amazing, they allowed her to stop biting her nails at last and also  have rock long finger nails. After her first manicure treat, Angel could not have enough of the nails and the cherry on the cake was that they lasted long.

“However, it was somewhat difficult to get some of my chores done. But hey, you win some and lose some. So my loss was that I could not do my washing with ease, but my nails looked great and my confidence was already soaring. I was choosing to dwell on the latter,” she smiled.

Then a few weeks down the road, they started looking tired and peeling. So, rather than nibble at her nails, Angel resorted to peeling off the artificial nails. “Some were easier than others to peel off but the final look was rather annoying. I decided to visit the salon to get a whole manicure treat,” she says.

However, a few nail treatments later, Angel’s nails were as thin as paper and she hated the look. Like Angel, many women battle with this and wonder why the solution now seems dreadful.

According to the women’s magazine, the alternative to acrylic nails may be gel nails.

For instance, acrylic is harsher on the nail plate due to the chemicals used. Do you remember that glue-like substance that sticks those nails to your natural palate? It must be stronger than paper glue, maybe as strong as super glue for those nails to stand even when you take a bath. Additionally, the process by which they are removed is enough to dent the nail.

“The application and removal for acrylic nails is somewhat more rigorous than it is with gel. Needless to say, it can greatly harm your nails because the manicurist must buff the nail a lot, which thins it,” the magazine says. That is not forgetting the need to use an electric filer, which is also harsh.

Ruth Nakayiza, a manicurist adds that indeed, gel nails are more flexible than acrylic nails and also have a natural look and feel.

Nakayiza adds that gel nails can last as long as three weeks and you can choose to change them or have a refill. “The gel refilling is done by adding gel between your cuticle and where the first gel starts from. However, that cannot be done when one applies acrylic nails,” she says.

Nakayiza also shares that the diversity that acrylic nails offer such as the ability to have various styles is also achievable with gel nails.