I stopped spending $2,000 a year at the nail salon. A $10 press-on find helps me still feel put together.

• I stopped getting hard gel nails in January when I realized I was spending over $2,000 a year.
• My nails were damaged and required some TLC, but I also didn’t feel put-together with bare nails.
• I bought a set of press-on nails just to try, and this might be the solution I was looking for.

Earlier this year, I decided, for the first time, to see how much money I was spending on getting hard gel on my nails.

The number came to over $2,000, which took my breath away. I didn’t realize I was spending so much money, not to mention time, on my nails. With money becoming increasingly tight due to the higher cost of living and childcare, I knew I had to stop indulging in self-care.

So four months ago, I stopped getting my nails done. And while at first I was excited to let my nails grow naturally, I quickly realized that I felt less put-together without my bright nails.

My nails needed a lot of care

Right after my gel was removed for the last time, I noticed how damaged my nails were. No surprises here, while my nail tech is incredible, I had been getting gel on and off since 2010, when I moved to the US.

What first drew me to gel was that my nails have always been super brittle. I joke that I can break a nail while folding a T-shirt. That said, after so many years of gel, they were paper-thin and bent so easily. So I decided the first step in this no-manicure phase of my life was to try to bring my nails back to life.

My coworker Katie Notopoulos recommended I try Nailtiques Formula 2, an old-school nail polish. The nail polish has keratin and calcium, among other things, to help strengthen brittle nails and prevent breakage. I followed Katie’s instructions: I applied a thin layer every day, removed it after about five or six days, and started over.

To my surprise, formula 2 worked like magic on my nails, and while they were still much shorter than I was used to, they were even, strong, and healthy-looking.

My bare nails didn’t make me feel put-together

Now that my nails were healthy, I was excited to start using regular nail polish again and have a little pop of color. I dusted off the box of nail polishes I’ve had for many years (and which I should probably declutter) and started painting my nails.

But I quickly remembered how easily nail polish chips, and I was frustrated at how often I was touching up my nails while not doing anything outside the ordinary. It made me miss getting gel nails for a second.

I also missed having long nails. My fingers are short and chubby, I like wearing lots of different rings, and with short nails, I just didn’t feel put together enough. I know it sounds silly, but I felt self-conscious about my nails.

I decided to try on press-on nails

My twin daughters had gotten press-on nails for their birthday, and recently asked me to help them put them on. That’s when I first thought of trying press-on nails for myself.

Weeks later, my entire social media feed was full of influencer GRWM videos, and nine out of 10 were talking about their press-on nails. It felt like the algorithm was listening to my brain, and I decided to give it a try.

I bought a pack of 30 nails for $9.99 in a French manicure style to try out. At first, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the different nail sizes (you get 30 nails because you are supposed to pick the ones that better fit your natural nails), and I was ready to give up before I even started.

But I persevered and successfully managed to glue all 10 nails in the correct sizes onto my own nails.

I’m kind of obsessed now

At first, I didn’t like them. I felt like they looked too obviously fake and plastic. Soon after gluing them on, my right thumbnail came undone while playing video games. I imagined I’d wake up with no nails in the morning based on that alone.

I did some research online and realized I had been too modest with my glue application. These nails are supposed to last 14 days, and I just needed to add a bit more than a drop.

The more I’ve had them on, the more I’ve been liking the press-on nails. While it took a bit to adjust to long nails again, these are much thinner than the hard gel nails I was accustomed to, and doing things like taking out my contact lenses or doing laundry are far easier.

A week later, and several showers in, all 10 nails are still attached, and now I’m looking forward to trying different styles and colors. While I don’t see myself wearing press-on nails all the time, they do feel like the perfect solution for when I have an event or want to go into the office.