Do You Have Long Fingernails?????
Decorating By sweetcravings Updated 15 May 2013 , 8:02pm by hbquikcomjamesl
Well, i thought i'd start this thread since i figure there has got to be someone on CC that has beautiful long nails. What i want to know is how on earth do you keep them sooo beautifully polished with all the baking..handwashing..etc... I have always kept my nails very short, being a nurse i had to. Well since i stopped working i continued to cut them short, no polish etc.. Lately though it seems like my nails are growing like crazy. I trim and they are long again. So i decided to put polish on them the other day and wouldn't you know it by that evening they were already chipped, and they are now looking dreadful. So i'm trying to decide do i just give up on the polished nails as this is impossible to maintain in this line of work or is there a trick you all use??? Please do tell.
My nails stay long, until I do a cake. Im not a professional, but i make sure there's no polish on my nails before i mess with fondant or gumpaste, and i also cut them before i do a cake. I cant stand fingernail marks in he fondant..gag, and if i dont take off the polish, the fondant will take it off for me. Im interested to see what others say, I know a lot of people wear gloves, i bet that helps.
. . . NOT ME . . . but tonedna does . . . as you can see in her viedos . . . .
ya you;re right i did see her polished nails..hmmm wonder how she does it. i don;t want super long just to leave a little growth on them. they sure look nice freshly polished, but if i have to reapply polish daily to keep them beautiful i won't do it.
No nails for me either. I keep mine cut. I hate the fingernail prints in fondant too. I think we notice when they grow because we don't want them; if we wanted them to be long, it would probably be the same amount of time, it would just seem longer because we are continually watching. Just a thought.
Hey sweetcravings, I used to have really long nails, but I found that between having babies and running a cake business, it just didn't work well. Now I keep them pretty short, but I sure do miss 'em! 
Someday I'll let them grow again!
Anyway, I just wanted to say that gloves are a great option, because when you look down and see those chips... where did those little chips go? Blech! Not like it would kill you, but if you're doing a cake for someone else, well you see where I'm going there. Anyway, if you're really into keeping them long and lovely, try a really good topcoat. Check out the beauty supply stores for a good price on a great product! The people that work there can reccomend something for you, too. And then add some gloves, and you should be ok! Good luck!
Hey sweetcravings, I used to have really long nails, but I found that between having babies and running a cake business, it just didn't work well. Now I keep them pretty short, but I sure do miss 'em!
Someday I'll let them grow again! Anyway, I just wanted to say that gloves are a great option, because when you look down and see those chips... where did those little chips go? Blech! Not like it would kill you, but if you're doing a cake for someone else, well you see where I'm going there. Anyway, if you're really into keeping them long and lovely, try a really good topcoat. Check out the beauty supply stores for a good price on a great product! The people that work there can reccomend something for you, too. And then add some gloves, and you should be ok! Good luck!
I know what you mean about the polish chips..yucky. I didn't have any orders this week so i decided to try polishing them. Some good that did for them..i guess even daily life ..gives my hands a beating. Ilm thinking if anything maybe a clear coat would work.
Oh...my...god... you guys. Sorry, going off subject here... I've never seen one of Edna's videos until just now. I am a huge fan of her work from checking out her website, etc. but hadn't seen a video... so I clicked the link up there to check it out.
Hmmmm... how do I say this... when I imagine someone named Edna, I have kind of a preconceived notion of what she'll look like. That is not what I imagined. Good gravy, she is WICKED HOT!! WOW! 
I feel a little silly saying that, but dang, she could easily be a model. I mean, it startled me when it came up! I was like, "Wha..????" 
So, now, we've established that she's sweet, sharing, has a great sense of humor, is intelligent, amazing at all cake skills known to man, now we add 'painfully attractive' to the list? That's it Edna... you have to be eliminated. You are just TOO much for one woman!! Hahahahaha!! Boy... I thought I wanted to be her twenty minutes ago before I saw her... 
now I'm convinced!!
Ha Ha Ha Ha I watched it too. Mel you are too funny. I guess you can have it all; beautiful nails and a successful cake business. Well now I can aspire!
Oh...my...god... you guys. Sorry, going off subject here... I've never seen one of Edna's videos until just now. I am a huge fan of her work from checking out her website, etc. but hadn't seen a video... so I clicked the link up there to check it out.
Hmmmm... how do I say this... when I imagine someone named Edna, I have kind of a preconceived notion of what she'll look like. That is not what I imagined. Good gravy, she is WICKED HOT!! WOW!
I feel a little silly saying that, but dang, she could easily be a model. I mean, it startled me when it came up! I was like, "Wha..????" So, now, we've established that she's sweet, sharing, has a great sense of humor, is intelligent, amazing at all cake skills known to man, now we add 'painfully attractive' to the list? That's it Edna... you have to be eliminated. You are just TOO much for one woman!! Hahahahaha!! Boy... I thought I wanted to be her twenty minutes ago before I saw her... now I'm convinced!!
. . . if you think she's hot in those videos . . . you should see her tango video . . . now that's HOT . . . 
I have short nails also, but another thing to think about is the germs that are under nails. Seems to me that it would be harder to keep them clean enough. Nurses have to keep theirs short, I think partly because of germs. Just a thought!
I have short nails also, but another thing to think about is the germs that are under nails. Seems to me that it would be harder to keep them clean enough. Nurses have to keep theirs short, I think partly because of germs. Just a thought!
That's exactly why nurses have to keep'em short. I know, i was dreaming when i actually thought i could pull this off. My common sense says cut them really short. I just get so jealous when i see a woman with beautifully manicured nails. oh well.
The secret to having nail polish that lasts without chipping is a good base coat and a really good top coat. I don't have long nails now, but when I did I could make my polish last almost ten days without a chip if I took the time to put on all the coats I needed.
That's exactly why nurses have to keep'em short. I know, i was dreaming when i actually thought i could pull this off. My common sense says cut them really short. I just get so jealous when i see a woman with beautifully manicured nails. oh well.
Hey, if you can work with gloves on, you can totally do it! Don't count it out just yet!! If you really want it, try it out!! 
Don't let anyone tell you that you can't have it all, right? I used to think I could have it all, then I realized, I didn't have anywhere to put it.
I tried the long nail thing, even with gloves...no way no thank you. My nails are kept short.
Melvira i use nail tech its basecoat and top coat i get at the salon. It keeps my nails chipless and hard, since my are really soft. I can even where a polish with it but i usually dont. that might help.
Back on the subject...i can't handle people in food service with long nails. About 12 years ago I took the restaurant mgt. classes at the local college and so many things grossed me out that i changed the way I cook and cleaned!
dragonflydreams!!! Don't even go there!!!
(so... where can I get a link??)
On the first day of culinary school, when you hit the lab kitchen, the chef instructors pass around the nail clipers. Anything taller than the end of your finfer gets clipped, or you risk getting removed from the kitchen. And if you've been removed from the kitchen you fail. 'Nuff said.
Now she definitely has to go! (I mean that in the most loving and friendly way of course!)
I wanna be Edna!!!
. . . stand in line . . . the queue starts here . . .
On the first day of culinary school, when you hit the lab kitchen, the chef instructors pass around the nail clipers. Anything taller than the end of your finfer gets clipped, or you risk getting removed from the kitchen. And if you've been removed from the kitchen you fail. 'Nuff said.
I wish I could cut mine that short. A teeny tiny bit of nail shows because if you clip any shorter, you take me with it. My DH can cut his nails so that they are shorter than his fingertips. I cut them as short as I can and then file them down.
Another option is to buff your nails. I bought a file that you use to "sand" down the tops and then "buff" them. It makes them look really shiny, almost like you're wearing a clear polish.
You can have a little bit of a nail and get a french manicure and have your manicurist use a gel topcoat. That way your hands look clean, feminine and no polish rubs off. The shine lasts a couple of weeks. Longer nails become a problem with fondant and gumpaste. My daughter is a manicurist so I got the inside scoop.
I'm a nail tech, and I do have long nails. They definitely do get in the way, but I've had them for so long I can't imagine going without them! I don't use polish though. I ONLY use gel, and keep a permanent french (like Edna's). They don't chip, and the white stays until the next time I fill. There are also gel polishes, I don't like them as they are hard to use and make look even, and, most likely you would have to find a nail tech who does gel to do them for you. I can give you a few pointers to try to help keep your polish longer though.
First, before you polish buff off any shine off your natural nail. Then, wipe them really well with polish remover (acetone kind, not the non-) and don't get any oils from your fingers on them. Then, use a GOOD basecoat like Sticky from Creative, or Orly Bonder. You can get either at Sally's beauty. One or two coats of polish, one coat of topcoat, and let dry reaaaaallly well. When you put your topcoat on make sure you kind of wrap it around the tip edges of your nails; this helps seal in the polish. You can also put a second coat of topcoat on in the next two days as added protection. My manicure clients can go a full two weeks between and their polish looks practically as good as it did on the first day. Of course, they don't have their hands in water, shortening, fondant, etc. all the time like we do, so I can't say how it would work for cake decorators!
I hope this helps, and any other nail questions, don't hesitate to ask!
Okay, this is sooo funny because I had recently used Edna's videos to teach myself how to do roses. I corresponded with her and my first question was: "HOW do you work with nails like that!!! AND why are you so gorgeous!!!" Of course she was gracious in her reply and even told me that they have been long her whole life, that her mom had tried to keep them clipped then gave up clipping them with the warning that if she (Edna) used them as a weapon against her brothers --off they would come again! So, not only is she gorgeous, sweet, humble, and gracious... THOSE ARE REAL AND NOT SALON EXTENSIONS!!!
Not only is Edna all those wonderful things. But I love to listen to her speak !!!
Mine are my own too, except I do keep gel on them. They're so flimsy I couldn't have long nails otherwise. I obviously can't speak for Edna. But it does irritate me when I've had people call them "fake nails". They ARE enhancements, but over my own nails. Actually, that's just what happens when people get enhancements; they may start out as tips or sculpts, but as their own nails grow out the tips get filed off. Then it becomes just an overlay. Just so you know! 
And no, I'm not taking offense at anything said!
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