A broken nail, and my first visit to a NYC Nail Salon

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gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

A broken nail, and my first visit to...

So I visited a Nail Salon. I had no choice. I was helping relocating tons of files from my office archives and –on the very last piece, as it is always ironically a classic- my index finger’s nail cracked half way across its media-luna where the nail attaches to the skin.

Typically, I would sing a trilingual repertory of most degenerate vulgarities, in a fluctuating pitch, before zeroing all my nails at the “let’s start from scratch” level –not without a lowering cloud of sadness.

But not this time. Instead, I visited a Nail Salon. In New York certain businesses are under some tacit ethnic monopoly. Nail Salons are almost entirely operated by Koreans, and these salons are to women what shoe-shines chairs are to men: a relaxing moment, perhaps twisted by a dash of vestigial cast-superiority, but ultimately part of a necessary cosmetic decorum which this city seems to snobbishly expect of its finer citizenry. However, cross-usage of the two NailSalon v. Shoeshine Chair, may send mixed signals of cross-trans-gendering tendencies. Or maybe it is just me.

Salivation was absent as I approached a young lady who greeted me with foreign words I am certain did not translate “it is a pleasure to have you my most masculine sir” but possibly more along the lines of “who wants to deal with this sweetheart, girls?”

I was so embarrassed, blushing and stuttering my intricate explanation of nail repairing needs for a classical/flamenco guitar player. I referred to this concept no less than 45 times in a loud and unusually deep voice, whenever any of the ladies sitting along the long corridor seemed to look interrogatively my way “I play flamenco Guitar, Classical Guitar” and I ridiculously gestured my left hand in the air hoping someone would notice the military disciplined shortness of those nails….

But although a psychological torture, unashamedly displayed by a street window I hope no one I know stopped to witness, it worked and did so quite wonderfully. I played hours with all my nails and will re-submit should it be ever be necessary again (of course next time I will grow a thick beard first, and wear plastic nose and dark shades).

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gj Michelob

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 14 2009 16:10:05

HolyEvil

Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

good on you mate..

real brave!!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 14 2009 18:22:10

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

quote:

Nail Salons are almost entirely operated by Koreans

in Massachusetts, they're all Vietnamese. i've yet to see an exception! are you sure they weren't Vietnamese?

here, you might find this entertaining.

how did they repair your nail? did you get the "kripto jel" (you'll get it when you watch the video

)? i think she meant "acrylics."

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 14 2009 20:07:05

aleksi

Posts: 528
Joined: Nov. 10 2008
From: Helsinki, Finland

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

hi michelob,
I can relate a bit to the confusion and amusement you had there in the shop. I had my experiences when I was trying acrylic nails.
Dont worry, when you visit that shop enough time, it will be just natural and you start to hear all the good things whats going on with customers husbands and families,

just kidding, that was a nice story.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 15 2009 0:06:55

Pimientito

Posts: 2481
Joined: Jul. 30 2007
From: Marbella

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

When I moved to Andalucia I noticed a very refreshing cultural difference to men with long fingernails. If a guy with long hair and a manicured right hand goes in to a bar in Spain the first question is "Do you play guitar?"
If a guy with long hair and a manicured right hand goes into a bar in Northern England he is lucky to leave anatomically intact!!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 15 2009 1:22:01

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

quote:

Typically, I would sing a trilingual repertory of most degenerate vulgarities, in a fluctuating pitch, before zeroing all my nails at the “let’s start from scratch” level –not without a lowering cloud of sadness.

gj you have such a wonderful turn of phrase. I love your writing style.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 15 2009 1:29:30

val

Posts: 800
Joined: Apr. 4 2007

[Deleted]

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Nov. 8 2010 13:30:10

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 15 2009 5:17:19

gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to Pimientito)

quote:

If a guy with long hair and a manicured right hand goes into a bar in Northern England he is lucky to leave anatomically intact!!

Piminetito, that sums up my fears, I couldn’t have put it more bluntly

At_leo_87… yes they were Koreans, and that video you linked is hilarious a classic I forgot about but enjoyed watching so much more after my personal experience.

HolyEvil and Aleksi, thank you for the encouraging words. I must admit that it is so comforting to now realize there is a “cure” to those accidents I have grown so scared of. I might become a “believer” and get to know my crowd there.

Alisa, you are way too kind; I was trying to describe a compound episode of sound, action and feelings I explode into when I break one of those precious gems. I hate playing without nails enough to justify both my obseesive care for them and devastating desperation when they break… (and) my heart.

Val, you naughty gal…“Next time ask if they make house calls. These girls are multi-talented” Mischievous thoughts, but surely a way to confirm that growing nails isn’t necessarily because of some hormonal unbalance inhibiting my Brandon-like manhood. Perhaps I should eat a live-bumble bee as well, to prove the point!!

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gj Michelob

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 15 2009 5:39:43

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

Biotin. Dietary supplement. It's easy (being a pill), cheap (unlike most supplements), and it works. But your nails have to grow all the way out before you get results. 5000mcg. a day (1 pill).

I didn't really believe it when my hair guy told me about it, but he said his wife takes it and he now has to cut her hair twice as often. That sounded like hard data. So it must do something, I figured. It has been 6 months now, and I am seeing results. It works. My nails are far less brittle. Not thicker -- I still need to put on something like Sally Hansen etc., because they would still bend with a lot of strong picado, but they don't tear or break now (knock on wood.). I have noticed that the parallel ridges that my nails used to have are gone. Don't know what that means, but something has changed. Any I used o break nails all the time.
Tony Arnold

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2009 14:24:37

gato

Posts: 322
Joined: Jun. 9 2007

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

gj, if you have brittle nails you do have a problem, but the key in playing and keeping nails is to have pliable and bendable nails, not necessarily hard brittle nails as the more brittle the nails are they crack or just snap.

You might think about soaking your nails in vinnegar if the problem is that your nails are becoming brittle by all of the alcohol in soap or other cosmetic products that contain alcahol as it dries out or even cures the nails and makes them brittle, as the nitric acid in the vinnegar cuts the alcahol and returns them to vitality. Wash or just rinse the hands off, and do this once in a while, and you should see a change as the nails become more free from being dried completely out. My nails are pliable and tear slowly, and I don't suffer from the danger of cracking in the way that you have suggested.

Try emoliating the hands and nails then, with vaseline intensive care to keep the nails nice along with the hands, or use moisturizer, or any thing that you would use, though there is a quite a bit of alcahol in such a product. Try to remember that drying and curing the nails is an enemy. Shampoo can also be a factor. It's just simple chemistry. If shampoo can damage your hair, imagine what shampoo or soap or harsh chemicals can do to your nails. Use gloves when cleaning around the house.

What ever you do good luck....I don't put glue or anything like nail products on my nails, and there is never a problem such as the one that people have with this and do remember that you could be suffering from a fungal infection that is just beginning as that is a terrible way to go. Don't dry out the nails! That is a new concept on the foro I know but it's a worth a try.
Gary

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2009 19:04:13

superboo

Posts: 25
Joined: Oct. 22 2008
From: San Francisco, CA

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to gj Michelob)

quote:

in Massachusetts, they're all Vietnamese. i've yet to see an exception! are you sure they weren't Vietnamese?

after i read "some tacit ethnic monopoly", i walked away to grab a drink in preparation for the ensuing hilarity. as i opened the icebox, i thought to myself "there's sure to be mention of Koreans made next!" as that's usually the case in my observation and gjM did not fail to deliver :)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2009 20:44:08

Adam

Posts: 1156
Joined: Dec. 6 2006
From: Hamilton, ON

RE: A broken nail, and my first visi... (in reply to Pimientito)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Pimientito

When I moved to Andalucia I noticed a very refreshing cultural difference to men with long fingernails. If a guy with long hair and a manicured right hand goes in to a bar in Spain the first question is "Do you play guitar?"
If a guy with long hair and a manicured right hand goes into a bar in Northern England he is lucky to leave anatomically intact!!

That sounds nice! I was in physics lab once when my partner asked me if I played guitar, which was pretty surprising. Most people, though, just note it with confusion. Although to be fair, the first thing they notice usually is the unfortunate side effect of the hardener - "....why are your nails shiny?"

hehe although occasionally they get compliments. I got one from a convenience store cashier at Caltech this summer - that felt nice.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2009 21:41:06