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When false fingernails or acrylic nails first came into fashion, I indulged and trod a regular path to the nail salon. Like a disciple paying homage to the god of perfect-looking nails, I would happily breathe in my half hour of toxic chemicals and shell out $20 all in the name of beauty.

Of course prices have nearly doubled since those days but back then those perfect nails made my hands look elegant and seemed somewhat more self indulgent than a trip to the hairdresser.

The acrylic cost of femaleness ran into the hundreds over a year and strained my already tight budget. There were the regular visits every 3-weekly to fill in the gaping areas at the cuticles where my real nails grew. All that acrylic weight on my nails made them grow faster than a baseball player on steroids.

There were also the emergency trips to the nail salon in between the regular ones to fix a broken nail. I'd discovered the amazing strength of acrylic nails and not only did I have an elegant set of nails but a great set of leverage and scraping tools.

So surely part of the cost should be allocated to home maintenance as I could pry things open with a single nail and scrape off even the most baked on residue of food. Granted I looked like some weird being as I attempted to pick up things but it seemed worth it.

There were also the associated costs of the nails with increased spending of jewelry. My nails were the perfect backdrop to showcase my rings and bracelets. Not to mention an increased interest in nail colors.

My dalliance with false nails came to an abrupt end when backpacking around Europe. At that time, finding a nail salon was like searching for the Holy Grail they just didn't exist at least not in the areas I traveled.

As the gaps of my unfilled nails grew larger, so did my obsession with getting them off. I was worse than a nail biter, I was a picker. However it did while away the hours of arduous bus tours and deter strangers from taking up seats next to me.

Once my nails were off, I may have been better off financially but my real nails that had carried the burden of falsies for the past couple of years had become as fragile and as thin as rice paper. I came to understand why the removal of nails is considered torture in POW camps.

Every time my thin fragile natural nails came in contact with a hard surface or bumped against anything it was excruciating pain. It took many months for my nails to become painless and years for them to return to normal healthy nails.

Although I never went back for another hand of false fingernails, the money I spent on them disappeared on other things and is probably comparable to the overpriced lattes I buy in a year. The lattes just don't look as good in my hands.

False fingernails are a continual money pit, like so many things in our material world, the cost is ongoing. If you can afford them and the time it takes for their upkeep then they're worth the money.

For some women having nice nails makes them feel good and if that's what it takes, then price isn't an issue.

Learn more about this author, Belinda Youlten.
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