Nails at Home for Fingerstyle Playing?

[btbliatout]

Hi team. So glad to hear I'm not alone on this. My I also normally go to a salon for acrylics. However I've gone through a few steps before landing on that, and am going through a few alternatives right now.

I saw Alaska Piks as an option, and I fully support that. Even with acrylics, I practice half the time with them on just so I can be used to them. If ever I find myself not able to have acrylics applied for a long time, they are my backup.

I have also tried applying my own acrylics. Both "dip method" and the standard (which uses the powder in conjunction with liquid monomer). Doing it myself never failed me, but doing it well takes about an hour of my time. I recommend the standard way, and my two tips on this are (1) Use high quality product; AND (2) Prep your nails very thoroughly. If lifting occurs, it's 95% likely because we failed to clean the nail as well as we should have. - I can't recommend doing it yourself if you don't have an efile (A.K.A. Nail Drill, which really just a dremel tool). YouTube is my teacher on this.

I have also tried applying glue-on nails. This has the lowest cost and lowest stress levels, with the greatest returns pending (1) you don't care that they don't look natural-ish; AND (2) you can get nails sized and shaped similar enough to your own. - I can only get glue-on nails that fit my i, m, and a. Getting something for p is a joke. They also tend to have a pretty tight curve, so if you have broader and flatter nails, this isn't a great option.

Lastly, the ping pong ball method is tried and true. Your nail doesn't have to be broken to use it, and it will reinforce your nail pretty well. Just keep a bottle of superglue with you. It sure looks ugly, but we're all at home...right?

Anyway, just to share, I ran out of liquid monomer, so I'm stuck not being able to apply acrylics right now. While it's on its way to me in the mail, I'm using glue-on nails on my i, m, and a fingers, and with nothing on my p. I'm always playing with Alaska Piks right now so I can maintain consistency. I am hoping that my liquid monomer gets here quickly.