To want regular manicures?

[StrongCoffeAvalanche]

Mum of young children. Youngest is now in full time nursery for the first time so I have a bit of time to myself (I work part time). I always feel like I have really crap nails and regular manicures would cheer me up and make me feel more like myself. But a manicure is either about £26 a pop or £36 if shellac. This is quite pricey for us. And even a shellac one lasts only 2 weeks, if I'm lucky.

Do normal mums get regular manicures? Do it themselves? Just leave their nails to be natural? I feel a bit lost.

I just do my own with normal nail polish. I wouldn’t want to spend the time on nail appointments.

I used to work in a hospital. My nails would split lengthwise. They are really bendy and weak.
I'm retired now and get my nails done every 3 to 4 weeks and they still look good by the time I return. I still weed the garden, collect wood etc. I just wear gloves, especially for washing up.

I have a really good nail tech who spends 1hr 15 mins on average.
It's my only indulgence and I am quite happy to dye my hair myself.
I love having nice nails.

Good point. I guess normal to me means an average income - not super rich but comfortable ish. Both me and DH work, do not have a nanny.... I just have no idea how often most people in that sort of set up have their nails done professionally.

We’re in that sort of set up. I get my hands done every two weeks and my toes done once a month, so every second nail appointment. I also get my lashes done every 2.5 weeks.

These kind of things keep me feeling good about myself. Struggling with mental health problems I’ve found that feeling like I look nice really does help me personally so these are small things I always keep on top of.

Neither of us drink though so buy no alcohol and go on no nights out involving alcohol. If we did then it probably wouldn’t be as often.

If you can't afford it then don't do it. However, it is definitely worth setting aside some time for yourself each week for a pamper be that a special bath (nice bath salts or bath bombs - even if its a £1 shop job), doing a longer face routine like adding in a mask (again doesnt have to be expensive its more the experience and care), or doing your own nails (when you have the spare money start collecting up cuticle oil, a nice hand lotion, file, buffer and cuticle stick - you then have them for a while until they need replacing and can do a nice manicure yourself).

I just cut mine with nail clippers and otherwise ignore them.

I had a manicure for my wedding and once because my mum was having one and I thought "might as well".

Could you not just file and nail polish them at home if you want to save money but still have nice nails? DM does all the time and her nails always look lovely.

Have you checked cheaper manicures around on treatwell app?

Try local college that has beauty students. Most have their own salons which are cheaper

I've had acrylics and shellac but now do my own with polish every week.
I bought a job lot of polishes on eBay and some quick dry top coat. It takes 5 minutes a week to do my nails.

I used to do my own gels but since having my son, I go and get them done for some time alone you can usually get sensationail gel kits cheap if you can save up. I get my feet and toes done every 2 months but nails every 4 weeks

You can buy builder gel in a bottle for about £12 and an LED lamp, and have nice shellac nails all the time!

I have shellac every 2 weeks and pay £23...£30 if I have a full manicure.
I'm retired and can afford it...but if you can't, you'll have to DIY like my dd does.

I have acrylics and I get them done once a month. £20 ish for infills.

I'm not well off, I earn minimum wage.

I do my own gels. I can do it better than in a nail bar because I know how I like them done. It does take practice though - there’s plenty of YouTube tutorials or you could book onto a gel nail course (I think it’s half a day usually). A beginner’s set is under £50 ish so you’ll be saving after 3 manicures anyway. I can recommend the Blue Sky set 💅

£36 for shellac seems a lot to me. I pay £20 but a bit more if I want something more fancy than plain colour. Might be worth looking for the mobile/individual nail techs rather than salons, assuming you haven't already

Realistically I can't afford it

There’s your answer then

@StrongCoffeAvalanche

Thanks for replies. Realistically I can't afford it. If they lasted a month or so it would feel worth it, but with my lifestyle that'd never happen. I've never done my own cuticles, wouldn't know where to start

YouTube is your friend here. There are thousands of nail videos.

What’s a normal mum? 😂

Get yourself a sensationail kit and you can do your own gel nails. I have one, admittedly I don't use it that often due to laziness on my part but it's actually very easy and the results are really good and long lasting.

My gel nails cost £18 and can last up to 4 weeks

I do my own nails, I got a kit for Christmas a few years ago and you can buy the nail polishes on ebay. I get them done professionally maybe once or twice a year, if I go on holiday

I know how you feel but I can't afford it either.

I do my own and keep it very simple. At least I look reasonably groomed if not exactly glamorous.

No, I have far better things to be spending £70 a month on and I loathe fake nails. They look really tacky to me.

Here it is:

www.amazon.co.uk/Bluesky-Polish-Cleanser-Acetone-Remover/dp/B08XXRYTT8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=bluesky+lamp+set&srpt=NAIL_POLISH&qsid=261-8709320-9466312&sres=B07K1NHBX1%2CB08XXRYTT8%2CB083YGD7MH%2CB09DLCCSMX%2CB07W4CPR6P%2CB07SFQPN9R%2CB09DKWYWMN%2CB0887GPZSV%2CB08HHFSZBT%2CB089BJZWZV%2CB094KH8CDF%2CB00WZIJ4TI%2CB08P4G573B%2CB08P4DYGS2%2CB08HKFY5WF%2CB08Y2CVVHS%2CB08JL3HGR1%2CB08CRZD7MY%2CB08K4D81YG%2CB08HKFFR6G&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1636016520&sr=8-3

Ask for this for Christmas and buy a few favourite classic colours. It took me 3-4 goes to get the hang of it, but I haven’t looked back since, I always have nice nails now.

As a nail tech you'd think my nails were always lovely but my clients are much nicer than mine 😂 I usually wear long acrylics but with a puppy they are not practical at the moment. Most brands that are worth using will make you show your certification before being able to purchase, and a lot of the brands you can buy are made in China and full of shit chemicals that can cause awful reactions. Same as those cheap acrylic nail bars you see which almost exclusively use MMA acrylic (methyl methacrylate) which is also dreadful for nails (it's dental acrylic basically). BUT if you are going to do your own, I recommend Susie at Nail career education on YouTube, her videos are fabulous and educational. And try Halo brand, I think they can be brought my non pros and are one of the better ones.get yourself a Sun uv led lamp, not from amazon most of those are fake, go on the actual site!