How to Cope Without Your Nail Lady

The nail salons are temporarily closed for an undetermined amount of time because of COVID-19. Here’s how to cope without your nail lady!

First of all- stop worrying about how awful your nails look. Nobody gives a shit…really. We’re now in the “coping phase” of living without regular nail appointments, so don’t try to fix those nails because you’re going to leave that to the pros when the nail salons opens back up!

You’re welcome to try and do your nails, but let’s be real here- no one does it like your nail lady. I came to terms with this fact of life after several attempts at doing my own nails.(over the years…every time I decided that I could do just as good a job).

Even though I went to cosmetology school it’s still a challenge. I don’t know what it is(because I think I’m very good at nails), but it’s just not the same when I do them. So save yourself the trouble and be content with the way things are for now.

Here’s what you can do in the meantime!

How to Cope Without Your Nail Lady

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Keep up with regular nail maintenance.

The most important things here are moisturization and cuticle care. Keeping your hands and feet moisturized will definitely help! Your hands and feet will look better, and you’ll be helping your nail lady out(less work for her when you get to go back to the nail salon).

You can use a cuticle pusher to gently push back your cuticles(weekly or as needed) and clip the excess skin with a cuticle nipper. Be careful- don’t nip too close!

Those of you that have acrylics or gel that you’re not going to remove- keep in mind that pushing back your cuticles will make your nails look worse(but who cares…really). In my opinion it’s best to go ahead and do it so you’re nails won’t get out of hand.

 

Do what’s necessary to “live with” your current nail situation.

This all depends on how you get your nails done, how fast your nails grow,  and how good your nail lady is. In my opinion…some of you should just let it go…let your nails do their thing and hope for the best!

If you’re like me and you love acrylics/gel then you have a few options:

1. 1. Your nail lady is awesome and you’re not experiencing any lifting. If this is you- then I’m super jelly! As long as you’re okay with the length then all you need to do is keep them lightly filed and take care of those cuticles. Apply cuticle oil twice a day, and if you get any hangnails just give them a quick clip with some cuticle nippers.

 

1. If you’re in my shoes and your nail lady isn’t as good or you just happened to try a new nail salon right before the quarantine(yes…my mistake)- then you may need to do a little more. So far…two of my nails are lifting and getting caught in my hair! It’s the absolute worst! Right now I’m debating on whether I should deal with it and let them grow out enough to clip them, or removing them now. I’m not desperate enough to go ahead and remove them so we’ll see.

If you decide to remove your acrylics/gel then get comfortable…it takes a while if you don’t have the proper supplies. With patience you can remove them easily by using 100% acetone nail polish remover(a nail scraper helps too)! Just soak your nails and scrape off the soft layer of product as it becomes easy to remove until all of it is gone.

 

If you only have gel nail polish on…

You’re among the lucky ones! Most of you have probably picked off your gel nail polish by now…along with the first soft layer or two of your nails, but that’s okay! Just give them a quick buffing to even things out and if you feel the need to be a little extra then polish them and you’re good to go.

If you want to remove your gel polish the proper way- just check out the instructions above for removing acrylics! You can also get a gel polish removal kit on Amazon that will make things a lot easier!

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This is a hard time for all of us…I’m bored, you’re bored, everyone’s bored! I don’t want you to think that I’m discouraging you from doing your own nails. You’ve got plenty of time to waste, so if you want to then go for it! Just don’t be discouraged when it doesn’t turn out the way you’d hoped and remember you’ve got time to keep practicing!