Questions and answers about press-on nails

Measure every nail separately, because they are rarely the same width. Lay a ruler or tape measure across the nail at its widest point and write down the millimetres for all ten. Compare those numbers with the size chart that came with the set, and always dry-fit the tips before you reach for the glue. The right size covers the nail from cuticle to edge without pressing into the skin at the sides.

Take the larger of the two. A tip that is slightly too big can be filed down at the sides until it fits. One that is too small leaves the corners of your nail bare, and that is where water and soap get in under the edge. Using two different sizes on the same hand is completely normal.

Most sets contain around 24 tips in assorted sizes, a small tube of glue or a sheet of adhesive tabs, a nail file and a stick for pushing back the cuticle. Some sets also include a cleansing wipe. Spare tips in the same sizes are worth looking for, because then you can replace a single nail that comes loose without taking off the whole set.

Adhesive tabs are the better choice when the nails only need to last an evening or two. They hold through a party, they are quick to swap, and they release in warm water without the nail noticing. Glue lasts longer and is what you want for a week or more of wear, but removal takes more time. If your nails are soft or tender, start with tabs.

The price depends on quality and how many tips are included, but a set costs considerably less than an hour in a salon. Cheaper sets tend to have thinner tips that snap more easily, while thicker tips with a proper curve sit better and survive more rounds of wear. If you can reuse a set a couple of times, the cost per wear drops fast.

Wash and dry your hands, push the cuticle gently back and wipe the nail clean so it is completely dry. Lay out all ten tips in order before you open the glue, otherwise you will be rushing halfway through. Put a small drop of glue in the middle of the nail, set the tip down at the cuticle at a slight angle, rock it forward into place and hold for twenty to thirty seconds. Work one nail at a time and save your dominant hand for last.

Wash your hands with soap, dry them well, and push the cuticle back with the soft stick included in the set. Wipe the nail with a little rubbing alcohol to remove oil and traces of hand cream, then let it air dry completely. Do not buff or file the nail itself to help the glue grip, because that is you sanding away your own nail. Clean and dry is all the glue needs.

A drop about the size of a pinhead, in the middle of the nail. It should spread out when you press the tip down, not run over the edges. Too much glue means mess on your skin, white patches under the tip and an edge that lifts because the glue never cured properly. If you spill, wipe it away immediately with a dry cloth.

File the tips before you glue them on, it is far easier to control. Use an ordinary nail file, hold it at a steady angle and file in one direction from the side towards the centre rather than sawing back and forth. To shorten a set you are already wearing, take a little at a time and support the finger underneath so the tip does not flex. Never cut a tip with nail scissors, because the plastic tends to crack across.

Allow twenty to thirty minutes the first time, including measuring and dry-fitting all ten. Once you know your own set it goes faster, and a quarter of an hour is realistic. The gluing is not the slow part, the preparation is, and that is time well spent.

With glue a set usually lasts about a week, and some stay put for two. With adhesive tabs you are looking at a day or two. How long it actually lasts comes down to how dry the nail was when you glued it, how much your hands are in water, and whether the size was right. A set that comes off on day three almost always has one of those three explanations behind it.

Yes, you can shower as normal. Give the glue a few hours first if you can, and skip long, very hot baths for the first couple of days, because hot water over time softens the adhesive. Dry your hands properly afterwards, including along the edges of the tips. Hot tubs, saunas and long swims are what usually starts a nail lifting.

Training is fine, but think about your grip. Barbells, kettlebells and climbing holds press straight on the tip of the nail, and that is where they flex off or snap. Washing up is the most common culprit in everyday life, simply because hot soapy water is exactly the method we recommend for taking them off. Wear gloves for dishes and cleaning and the set will last noticeably longer.

Yes, that is perfectly normal. You may feel them against the pillow for the first few nights, and that usually passes. If you keep waking up with a tip that has lifted, the nails are probably longer than suits you, and a shorter set tends to solve the whole problem.

Fill a bowl with comfortably warm water and a few drops of mild soap, and let your hands sit fully submerged for ten to fifteen minutes. Work a little cuticle oil or cooking oil around the edge while the nails are still warm and damp, then rock the tip gently from the side with a wooden stick. If it does not move, it is not ready, and the hand goes back in the water. Do not use acetone, it pulls the moisture out of the nail plate and leaves the nail brittle. Never rip a set off, and keep metal tools away from the edge of the nail.

Not on their own. The damage almost always comes from two things: buffing or filing the nail before application, and pulling the set off. Skip both, take the set off in warm soapy water, and the nail underneath is largely as thick as it was before. If a nail feels tender or looks thin, wait for it to grow out before you apply a new set.

The nail does not breathe through the nail plate, so it does not need air in that sense. What it needs is to dry out properly and get some oil. Take the set off, wash and dry your hands, apply cuticle oil and leave the nails bare for a few days before the next set, especially if the skin around them is dry. If anything feels tender, wait until that has gone.

Yes, with the same caveats that apply to everyone else. The nail must not be filed or buffed before application, the set comes off in warm soapy water rather than being pulled, and glue must stay nowhere near eyes or mouth. Nail glue is strong superglue, so for the youngest an adult should help, or use adhesive tabs instead. If a nail is sore, swollen or discoloured, leave it alone and speak to a doctor or pharmacist.

That is usually a thin layer of glue residue, or a top layer of nail that has dried out, and not a fungal infection. Do not scrape at it. Put your hands back in warm soapy water, rub gently with a soft cloth, and use cuticle oil and hand cream for a few days. If the patch spreads, turns yellow or green, or the nail starts lifting away from the nail bed, that is one for a doctor or pharmacist.

Then it is not ready. Put your hand back in warm soapy water for another ten minutes, topping it up with more warm water as it cools, and try again with oil around the edge. Two or three rounds in the bowl is entirely normal and does not mean you are doing anything wrong. If it still holds, leave it until tomorrow. It will release on its own as the nail grows, and that always beats pulling.

Often yes, if you took the set off gently. Peel the glue residue off the inside of the tip while it is still soft from the soak, or push it away with the wooden stick. Tips that have cracked, warped out of shape or lost their shine should be replaced. Thicker tips survive more rounds than thin ones.

Clean the tips, let them dry completely, and put them back in the box or into a small pouch with a place for each size. Dark and dry, and not on the windowsill, because sunlight and heat make the plastic brittle and yellow. If the set is not numbered, write the sizes on the back of the box while you still remember them.

Once a day is plenty, and bedtime is the easiest moment to remember. Oil around the cuticle keeps the skin soft and the nail flexible, and a flexible nail cracks far less often. You can use oil while a set is on, just avoid dragging it in under the edge of the tip, because oil there loosens the glue.

Yes, ordinary nail polish works fine on the tips. The problem is getting the polish back off, because remover attacks both the plastic and the glue and leaves the tip dull and rough. If you like changing colour often, it is easier to keep two sets and swap the whole set instead of repainting.

Three explanations cover almost every case. The nail was not fully dry when you glued, so the glue bonded to moisture rather than nail. The tip was too small or too large, so the edges did not sit down against the nail all the way round. Or your hands have been in hot water a lot in the first few days. Wipe the nail with rubbing alcohol before gluing, size up when you are in doubt, and wear gloves for the washing up.

Take it off. A tip that lifts has a gap underneath it, and water and soap collect in that gap, which is exactly what makes a nail go soft or discoloured. Soak that one finger in warm soapy water until the tip releases, clean the nail, let it dry completely, and apply a fresh tip if you have a spare. Do not squirt more glue into the gap to rescue it, because that seals the moisture in.

That white mark is an air bubble, or glue that never made contact with the nail. It happens when you use too much glue, when the nail was damp, or when you press the tip straight down instead of rocking it into place from the cuticle forwards. The mark itself is harmless, but it means there is a gap, and a gap becomes a tip that lifts. Take it off, dry the nail properly, use less glue and rock the tip on.

You have a few seconds. If you notice straight away, rock the tip off while the glue is still wet, wipe both surfaces and start again. Once the glue has cured, do not try to twist it into position, because you are then pulling on your own nail. Soak the finger in warm soapy water, take the tip off, and apply a new one.

It means the tip is too small, or it has been glued down too tightly at the sides. Pain is not something to sit out. Take it off with warm soapy water the same day and apply a larger size. Persistent pain, throbbing, swelling or discolouration belongs with a doctor or pharmacist, not with a home fix.