Many press on nail techs leave this important step out of their application instructions: you should be trimming your nails right down.
Often, press on nails are advertised as a simple & easy way to grow out your natural nails & gain length. Absolutely, this can be true. But, not in the way you might imagine. The question is: how simple, easy & even healthy is this 'growth hack'?
Why should you cut them?
As part of many salon treatments, the natural nail is usually trimmed right down before the enhancement is applied (half cover tips for acrylics, full cover tips for gel extensions). This isn't by any means always the case, as some treatments purely rely on the length of your natural nails for the final outcome, like an acrylic overlay or BIAB manicure.
Press on nails, however, are more similar to gel/acrylic extensions as they're normally adding length or altering the shape of your nails. Longevity for all types of nail extensions is increased based on having a short natural nail; for this reason, it makes sense to go for the same approach when it comes to press on nails.
If this hasn't convinced you (don't worry, it wouldn't have convinced me either!), let me share the most important reason why your naturals nails should be cut short.
Bottom line: cutting them will elongate your wear-time.
Your press on nails will (probably) stay on quite a bit longer if you follow this step. Almost all press on nail shapes (excluding most square) taper in as you get closer to the tip.
If your natural nail extends more than a few millimetres beyond the tip of your finger, the press on is going to distort your nail in such a way that the edges have to curl round to fit inside the skinnier width of the press on nail. As your nail grows, these edges are going to naturally push back up in growing in their normal direction.
This is adding unnecessary pressure to the press on, fighting against the glue & encouraging it to pop off sooner.
There are 2 main issues when it comes leaving your natural nails the length they are for application.
- We already established the fact that they're going to pop off sooner. Press on nails (if made with high quality materials), have absolutely every chance of remaining fully intact for 2 weeks or more. It won't just happen though; it's your responsibility as the wearer to give them every chance possible to last - trimming them short is one of the best ways to do this.
- Your nails are forced in an unnatural position and then grow out in an uncomfortable direction. Obviously, this is not a healthy way of wearing nail enhancements - it weakens your nail structure so that when you do take the press ons off, it's unlikely you'll be able to maintain the length without the occurrence of splitting.
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