Homemade Nail Art Sparks Creativity
Instead of sitting in a salon for an hour with nail polish remover fumes clogging her nose and a nail tech aggressively filing her nails, junior Bella Fitzgerald opts to do her own acrylic nails.
When COVID-19 closed down the world, Fitzgerald began doing nail art, which is little designs on nails, to fill the time. After a while, Fitzgerald would start to do hers and other people’s acrylics. “It’s been really fun. I really like it.” Fitzgerald said.
Like most teen girls Fitzgerald spends hours on Pinterest. But for her, it’s less about the aesthetic photos and more about finding the perfect nail inspiration. This is how she starts her acrylic nail process. After finding what design she wants she has to take her previous acrylic set off. To do this, she soaks her nails in oil and lets them sit for an hour, letting the previous design melt away. After this, she uses a dehydrator so there is no moisture on the nails.
She uses a PH bonder and UV light to attach the acrylic to her natural nails. After the UV light has attached the fake and real nails together, she buffers the extension and fully applies acetone to bond the acrylic to her real nails. Finally, she’s ready to begin the exciting part: the design. The whole process can take anywhere from 3-6 hours.
Fitzgerald doesn’t just do her nails, she also does other family members’ and a couple of girls’ around school. While salons charge around $45 to $100 or more, Fitzgerald does other nails completely free. For her, it’s not about the money and more about bringing other people joy.
“This sounds cheesy, but the payment is them getting to feel good about their nails,” she said.
Waxing Flows More Smoothly
Shaving was becoming more and more of a hassle as time passed, so sophomore Amelia Glasspoole switched to waxing.
She started when she was around 13 and noticed a significant price change just by doing it herself. “Waxing became a lot cheaper and it was a noticeable difference,” she said.
The supplies she uses can be found at any department store, and are all relatively cheap and easy to use. She uses wax beads, baby powder or baking powder, and a soft plastic microwave bowl. With simple steps and tools, she found waxing can become a better and more accessible way to shave.
Glasspoole only spends $15 on all of her materials. The wax beads she uses are $8.49 for a large bag, and the bowl she uses is from her house and the popsicle sticks are $4.99.
With only four simple steps, waxing is her better option. First, she pours the wax beads into the plastic cup and puts it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Then she lets it sit for a minute or two and pours it on her leg. After the wax hardens, all she has to do is rip it off and she’s done.
For shaving, a razor is not the only thing you need. Cosmetologists recommend that you use an exfoliator, which costs around $4.99, and the shaving cream is usually $1.99 but can cost up to $30.00. And unlike waxing, razors only last a short time, and can vary in price, between $6.00 and $70.00, depending on how rust-safe and sharp you want them.
Shaving can be dangerous, many people find themselves getting hurt by just putting the blade at the wrong angle. “Shaving my hair was getting tedious and annoying,” Glasspoole said.
While people may not think that shaving cuts hurt that much it can still be annoying to have to deal with them. While yes, waxing can be painful at the start, once you get used to it the pain will slowly fade away.
“At first it was painful but after a while, I got used to it,” Glasspoole said.
