In an ideal world, we'd all have healthy, strong, natural nails. The Budget Babe's beauty pro Kiki Bella reviews what might just be the next best thing. —BB



by Kiki Bella
It's not news to anyone that the nail industry is big business. With a salon on every street it's pretty obvious that women (and many men) think a lot about how their nails look. Some, like myself, limit this to playing with color and doing at-home manis and pedis, while others take their nail beauty pretty seriously. Getting your own nails done (clipped, filed, painted) at a salon can be costly, but not nearly as costly as getting faux nails put on, which are more lovingly referred to as acrylics. A full set of acrylics (or gels, or whatever your salon does) can cost upwards of fifty dollars. They do last, and they can look pretty fierce. I personally have had an acrylic set more then once in my life, each time during my high school years. Are they worth it though?

My personal opinion is that they really aren't. They have a certain appeal, undoubtedly, but when weighing the pros and cons of this beauty ritual, my scale seems to be tipping to the no…

While one could argue against acrylic sets on many different levels (think green, all the chemicals involved wreaking havoc on the environment; think health, breathing in the toxic fumes while getting them done, which can take an hour at least; think nail damage, once you start it's hard to stop since the nail underneath has been filed down to make the acrylic nail on top look more "natural" and flush with the finger). Let's approach this instead economically: It's just really freaking expensive, ladies! You have to get a set (say $50 at a top salon) to start, and then get the set "filled" (about $20) as the nail grows out, let's say every two weeks so you don't look like a hot mess. Then repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, get a new set, repeat, repeat, repeat… you get the idea. This is money you could be using someplace else. New shoes, for instance. (cont. below)