Whilst I am incredibly open about my trichotillomania on this site and other places across t'internet, there is one thing which I am forever embarrassed and ashamed about. I've come to terms with not having eyebrows or eyelashes, but have pushed its sister disorder completely to one side. Dermotillomania has destroyed my nails. Throughout my teens, I would (warning: this sounds disgusting) compulsively pick away at my nails and my cuticles...and I still do to this day. It makes me feel disgusting and has physically ruined my nails. My cuticles are scabby, red and sore (and often picked so much they bleed) and the nails on my thumbs have curved so much they just look abnormal now (my family call them my 'werewolf claws'). I love painting my nails and making them look pretty, but always had hang-ups with the way my fingers looked with dermotillomania- scabby, werewolf claws are just not elegant. Nail varnish never hid the curves in my nails, but I've recently discovered one thing which does: false nails.
Many people may avoid false nails due to the glue being too harsh and ruining the nail underneath, and when you take them off, the surface of the nail does feel a bit uneven due to the excess glue. However, once this has been taken off (dissolved with nail varnish remover), I don't feel as though my nails have been damaged at all through wearing false nails. Recently, I picked up these Brit Rocks false nails- they were around £1.99 in my local Savers so I thought, 'what do I have to lose?'. My nails are ruined anyway, can the glue really damage them more than I've damaged them myself? The glue which comes with these Brit Rocks Vintage nails isn't actually that strong; the nails feel secure but not as if they've been cemented to your nail bed. As I write, I've had them on for 5 days and a couple have fallen off; the nail underneath didn't look damaged or feel too uneven in texture (especially compared to the super-strong Elegant Touch nail glue!). Despite having these couple fall off, it's so easy to just re-apply a bit of glue and stick them back on...good as new!
The nails themselves are pretty sturdy and feel as though they are your own. They've worked a treat at disguising the obscene curve in my thumb nails- for once I am delighted that my nails look normal! It's something I'm so paranoid about (and am sure many other dermotillomania sufferers are too), so I'm glad that I've found something that helps to disguise it a bit. It's a bit like those with no eyelashes discovering false lashes for the first time. I honestly don't know why I haven't tried false nails before now; perhaps they seemed like a faff and you hear horror stories of how they ruin your nails. The beauty industry has developed so much that false nails really aren't the strong, nail-destroying beings they were once considered.
I adore the colours of these nails- they might seem a bit boring to some now the sun is coming out, but I love the neutrality of the grey tones. They seem elegant and classy, and would go with almost any outfit. Within the pack there is 24 nails with a good variety of sizes, meaning you can fit them very accurately to the size of each of your nails. Whilst these were very long and pointed (I was trying to get away from the claw look), some nail scissors and a nail file sorted them out with ease. Styling them to my preferred shorter, more square nail look was such a doddle! I'm not quite sure where else you can get these (I'm assuming they were discontinued, hence why they were in Savers), but if you have a Savers or similar store, you might be able to find the brand there. Regardless, there are so many other false nail brands out there (which I will be featuring soon so stay tuned!); I just wanted to express my excitement for finding something to cover my dermotillomania!
Do you have dermotillomania? Which false nail brands do you love?
How do you open the glue? Thanks
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