When I was in high school, I enjoyed getting my nails done somewhat regularly. There was a small, family-owned salon mere blocks from my house in Minneapolis that was affordable, and the women who worked there knew me well due to my frequent visits. I enjoyed going to the salon, talking with the nail technicians, running into friends from the area and leaving with pretty nails. As false as this is, something about having my nails done made me feel like I had my life that much more together, likely because my hands are often in my line of sight.
However, when my freshman year began last fall, I decided to discontinue the expense of routinely having my nails manicured. Even at the least expensive of places, the cost adds up quickly, particularly with acrylic nails; I also would not have a car on campus to easily run to a nail salon in South Bend. Unfortunately, regular polish often chipped within hours of painting my nails, and I missed the feeling of longer nails that did not break easily. I turned to teaching myself to do my own nails with some acrylic nail tips and a dip powder set from AVVA, hoping that I could achieve a similar effect that I missed from the salon back home.
Teaching myself how to apply these products has been a learning curve — I now have even more appreciation for the talents of the nail technicians with whom I spent so many hours. My first several attempts left much to be desired, and I still struggle at times to prevent them from snapping off near the end of my natural nail. The process takes far longer than simply painting my nails, but the resulting durable nails free of chips for a week or two make the time spent worth it when I have an hour to spare.
However, I was especially grateful that I began working on this skill when the pandemic hit, as nail salons carry a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 that I could not justify with my desire for manicured nails. Sitting and working on my nails for an hour every few weeks became somewhat like an act of self-care, and glancing down at my manicured hands throughout the day reassured me that even just one aspect of my life felt normal. In the midst of uncertainty, there is even greater value in the maintenance of the routines that bring us a sense of normalcy. For me, having long, manicured nails brings me some sense of contentment in a small way. The nails that I do myself will never look as pretty as those I have done back home, and I am sure that I will continue visiting nail salons periodically throughout my life. However, teaching myself a new skill and leaning on a sense of normalcy during an otherwise uncertain time have been valuable aspects of my transition away from routinely paying to have my nails manicured.