Do you prefer long, short, or fake nails? Do you like to keep yours cut close to the fignertip, or are you more of “grow ’em til I can’t” person? Or do you prefer to have yours done with acrylics or gels? Tell me about your length!
I keep mine short enough (depending on how well I’ve curbed my nail biting bad habit); my desired length is approximately 3-4 mm of white showing.
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I prefer short nails… i agree with your desired length of 3-4mm. I refuse to grow my nails any longer than 5mm. I can’t stand long nails… something about them makes me think ew! I think it might be because long nails are harder to keep clean and… i have a thing with having clean nails to the point where i scratch soap to clean under my nails (god i hope i don’t sound weird admitting that). I also keep them short because of piano… or at least thats my excuse to have short nails 😉
Oh, man, I remember my piano teacher would get on me for not keeping my nails short. I admit, the clicking sound on keys is not so skillful, lol.
I have to have my nails very long with acrylic. I use them as tools for work when I am doing hair and makeup. I usually only keep very light pink clean colors on them so they don’t look so tacky. haha. I really can’t function without them because I am very rough on my hands and my real ones just don’t stand up to that.
That makes sense, Stephanie! It’s funny that you say you can’t function without them, it’s hard for me to imagine what I’d do with nails that were super long!
I’m kind of curious to try gels, since they’re healthier than acrylics, but I’ve never plunked down the money to do so yet. Otherwise, I like to grow my own nails out to a functional, but attractive length. At least…until one chips and I have to cut them all down so they don’t look dumb. 🙂 I figure nature will let me know when it’s time to cut them. Haha. But no, super long nails I don’t care for at all.
Oh, I’m so bad! If it’s just ONE stupid nail that finds itself short, I probably won’t trim the rest down (unless it’s a huge gap, then I might trim them a little bit).
I keep my nails similar to your size Christine & Vinna, not longer than 5 mm ever! Usually they’re short – I don’t bite my nails – but they do gross me out when they’re long. Ditto about the cleaning part – though I brush them when I feel they’re getting discoloured.
I absolutely dislike long toe nails. Ewww.
I haven’t used acrylic nails as yet and keep my nails painted all the month – except for a few days in a month to “air” them. My toe nails are almost always painted.
Oh, toe nails shouldn’t be long, but I have issues with anything that has to do with feet, haha.
I keep mine pretty short – you can see maybe 1-2mm looking at my palm of each nail… but I have deep nail beds, so they LOOK a lot longer than they are.
I hate acrylics and gels, though – I could never do those, I hate the way they look.
Hey Ashlee! I had a friend who loved acrylics, but she wouldn’t get them very long so they looked okay.
i keep mine sorta short, but i love fake nails. They just get on my nerves. lol
lol, how do they get on your nerves?
My nails get really long, really quick and I have a bad tendency to use my nails as tools (to pry things open), so I like to keep them short and squoval shaped 🙂
I’m all about the squoval, haha!
i love short gels
That’s great, Claudine 🙂 I’ve never worn gels myself, but I’ve heard they’re a good alternative to growing them out yourself.
First of all – I too like short nails (it could be a blogger thing) and I get very irritated if I”m not able to type quickly (which long nails don’t let me do).
Secondly: I’ve given you a You Make My Day Award for excellent blogging. You can read more about it on my blog, and give the award to blogs that you love!
xo,
Henna
Hey Henna!
Thanks for the award, I appreciate it 🙂
I think if I were in a coma or something my nails would grow outward like big shovels. Seriously, they don’t know how to grow forward and not outward on the sides. I have to file them all the time. Sometimes I get sick of my shovels and just clip ’em. I think there are a lot of things I’d be kept from doing if I had long nails anyway, and since I type all day it would just get annoying if they were long.
Hey Erin! That sounds so funny! (Though not at all pleasant!) My boyfriend cuts his nearly every other day for guitar playing because his grow weird, too.
well, my nails grow fast …their strong and thick…I keep them long..they some how make my fingers look long..but I dont grow them out too long…because they look tacky ..at least on me…I like the cute short square nails..I do that look alot…but they grow so fast I forget at times.
That’s great that yours are strong and thick 🙂 Mine are fairly healthy, too. Especially if I’m not gnawing on them, lol!
oh yeah mines are 5mm of white showing.
Did you measure? LOL. I eyeballed it myself!
I am a “keep yours cut close to the fignertip” gal. The only reason is because I have very thin, brittle nails. I try to grow them and they just chip and break. Maybe you should follow this up with a “how to get stronger, longer nails” type article/post.
Got it 🙂 It sucks that your nails are naturally brittle 🙁 I will try to find some tips and tricks for better nails!
Short…. But that’s also useful for my job and research (mech/chem lab stuff). I also have fairly brittle nails so it’s a lot of work keeping them all in shape if they are long D:
I’ve never had my nails long in my life… they keep breaking D: Any tips?
Hey kat! I understand how brittle nails can be a pain to keep up with! It’s kind of like hair, haha.
I will try to get an article with tips for nails soon!
My nails grow long and hard but I keep them cut short and natural. Sometimes I’ll use a nude polish but I never use a color.
Lucky you for healthy nails naturally 🙂
Short nails all the way! I can’t stand seeing dirty fingernails on me or anyone else. I work in an airport so your hands get dirty really quickly and I hate the idea of all that grossness being in my nails…ewww!! And plus I like the way it looks more than long nails.
Oh, I hate dirt under nails! Ugh, so yucky.
I keep mine really short. I use the Body Shop nail buffer on them and they have never been healthier!
However, I am a fan of using OPI nail polishes, so sometimes I am sporting that.
That’s great to hear! I’ll have to look into the nail buffer.
i keep mine about your same length. they grow very fast (i have to clip about once a week) but i need them short because i type all day at work. mine will grow VERY long if untended. i think fake nails are so gross, but i’ve never had short/brittle/etc nails so i’m sure that’s a factor with some people who get them.
I think mine grow fairly slowly these days, since I don’t have to trim too often.
I know how typing goes, it’s a pain with too long of nails.
I used to have medium length acrylics but kept them looking real. After I found out I was pregnant I took off the acrylics and haven’t put them back on since giving birth. Now, I keep my natural nails very short, top tip always at fingertip. I do this because I have a toddler at home and can’t have long nails for fear of scratching him. I get a manicure religiously every two weeks and paint my nails everytime. I pick colors depending on my mood and sort of what season it is. Right now I’m wearing Steamy from MAC 🙂
Hey Shefali!
Steamy is a great color! I forget – what’s the reason for no acrylics during pregnancy?
Well, if my darn nails would grow & not break, I’d probably keep them short to medium in length. But since they constantly break/chip/tear, I just went back to acrylics. I do keep them short though, so they look pretty natural. I can’t have them long or I will break them.
How often do you have to change/fill your acrylics? I’ve never worn them personally!
I have to have my nails done but I get sculptured nails as opposed to regular acrylics. They take a pink powder[in various hues] and then a white powder to create a french in any desired length you choose..I’ve seen it run from 30 to 50 dollars, but they are so strong! I also noticed my nails actually seem to be growing and not damaged as they were with acrylics.
Thanks for explaining what sculptured nails are, I didn’t have a clue!
i have mines really short. no white showing at all and for reasons. i have long, skinny fingers so i don’t need to add more length. i have eczema, i might hurt myself scratching. and my nails don’t grow out nicely, it doesn’t curve in nicely so what’s the point. i don’t care of long nails but i do love painting them. my cuticles are very thin so i have to groom them a certain way that’s why i do my own nails.
Hey Victoria! Sounds like you have some high maintenance nails! I’m glad you’ve found a way to work with and tend to them.
Definitely short! I can’t stand long nails (on myself- on others it can look fab)! And the ironic thing with me is my nails grow FAST. I have to cut them down at least once a week. If they get too long they can cause some serious damage (I have like…cat claws. When they grow out I always scratch myself and others accidentally. And I’m constantly washing my hands because I feel like they gather dirt much quicker *shudders*).
It’s weird, I think we almost get used to a certain length, and everything else seems odd. I’m a compulsive hand washer, too!
I like my nails short also. I let them grow a little past the finger and I keep them filed down. I like acrylic/gels too but they’re horrible if you like text messaging!
LOL! I always found I text better with some nails, but nothing too long.
super short! not even reaching the end of my fingers.
That is short! Any particular reason or is it just because that’s the way you like them?
I prefer short. Just a few mm of white tip.. I’ve had acrylics before and went through a phase of liking them but they just look so fake, that now I couldn’t imagine having them on. And they destroyed my nails…
My job pretty much wreaks havoc on my nails so I have to paint them around 3 times a week just to protect them. That’s fine with me though 🙂 I like giving myself manicures 😀
Ditto 🙂 I’ve yet to try acrylics, but I had a friend who really loved them and they looked good on her. What job do you have that’s so rough on the nails?
Work in a pizza place so we have to wear gloves for food prep etc and they cause the nail polish to lift off.. i guess from the heat. and it does the same to my nails, they split and peel. It sucks! Nothing works to make them better… it will probably be a matter of getting a different job, but I’m happy at my work place for now.. It pays my MAC bills!
Got it! Hey, if you’re happy and it pays, it’s all gravy!
been all over with this one — had acrylics for years, silk wraps, etc……..but, i find that i function best with my natural nails. today, they happen to be extremely short, just a smidge of white showing. they grow long naturally, but tend to break easily once they are past the tips of my fingers (and i broke 3 this weekend, so they all had to go LOL). generally, i prefer them this length, since i type all day at my job.
oh no, I hate when you break nails! SO frustrating!
In high school, I grew my nails out to about an inch or so long and would point them. Very Nosferatu of me.
However, now that I’m older and work with computers, makeup, and play the occasional instrument, it makes it hard to have long nails so I keep them short.
Hey JackA! How did you find functioning to me with everyday activities with those kind of nails?
I was tempted to play bass awhile ago, and I was all “noo!” when I was told nails must be super short.
very short and well manicured!
Well manicured, not surprised that that’s a must!
I love the look of long well-manicured nails. However.. my school program won’t allow long nails and nail polish. Long nails harbor LOTS of bacteria. Same goes with nail polish.. chip nail polish harbors bacteria. *sigh* I don’t get it.. most of my professors work in hospitals AND wear nail polish. I guess their philosophy is “Do as I say, not as I do”.
lol, don’t you hate that? “Do as I say, not as I do?” It can be really frustrating. But I do agree that long nails would harbor a ton of bacteria!
i got my nails extremely long and natural i got very very strong nails and they almost never break i can have them even 3-4 cm and they dont break im used to having them long and when i cut them (rarely but i have to do it sometimes) i feel like i lost a half of my fingers!
Wow, that’s amazing! I can’t believe you can have such long natural nails 🙂 Do you just get used to doing things with nails that long? Oh man, I’d fear the pain if one broke, lol.
My nails are all different lengths, hahaha. As a general rule, I try to keep them long. I have somewhat manly hands with short, chubby fingers, and the nails keep my hands looking at least a *little* feminine.
lol! I try to keep mine roughly the same, but I won’t trim them down unless more than one breaks.
I’ve always had short nails – I have never grown them more than 5mm. I don’t like nail polish much either – I stick with beige or clear pinkish shades. Right now I have about 2mm of white – and that’s quite good for me!
Hey Tonee!
I think mine are approaching their longest. I’ll have to trim them soon – I think I’m at or around 5mm! Though one nail is sitting at 2mm lol!
I prefer the look of natural nails. But as I bite mine, I just have gel nails with colour on (blue at the moment). But I have my nails about 3-4mm of white showing. 🙂
I gnaw on my nails, too. It’s such a bad habit, and I can only break it for periods of time, not permanently as of yet!