TOENAIL TIPS How to apply yourself

Sunday, August 27, 2006 If you decide to wear fake toenails, here are safety tips from Grace Tallon, a marketing executive at a nail manufacturer based on Long Island, N.Y.: Before application, thoroughly clean toenails with soap and water. This includes removing polish or oil. Fake toenail packages come with 24 nails in 12 different sizes. Test all the nails, and choose the right fit. If nails are a little big, you can file them down before applying. Glue should be placed directly onto the fake nail, not your natural nail. Use enough glue so nails stay on. Have a paper towel or cotton swab handy to wipe off glue that seeps out the sides. If you want the nails to stay on for about a week, apply with lots of glue. If you use the glue sparingly, the nails will fall off after about two or three days. The glue is fast drying, so press on for about five seconds. Do not twist the placement tabs on the tip to remove nail; that will pull the nail off. If bending up and down doesn't work, then cut it off with a cuticle scissors. File the leftover tip off with an Emery board. If you want to protect the fake nail, you can add a top coat. (If you want to change color, acetone-free remover will allow you to reapply polish; regular remover will take off the fake nail.) When you want to remove the fake nail, never force or pull on the them because you might damage your real nails. File the surface of the artificial nail to break through the protective top coat. Then, trim off as much of the nail as possible. Use nail polish remover to soften the nail. The softened acrylic easily lifts off. Buff your natural toe nails, remove glue residue and clean nails. Scripps Howard