The Perfect Hack For Hiding Your Grown-Out Manicure

marigo20/Shutterstock By Lindsay Ray/Nov. 6, 2022 7:18 am EST

If you’re someone who loves getting your nails done, you may have noticed your confidence instantly goes from zero to 100 the moment you strut out of the salon. Your mood is lifted, your spirits are high, and let’s admit it — you’re having a moment. While it can be very similar to getting your hair or makeup done, manicured nails can offer a different sense of permanency and stability that no other beauty treatment can provide. For the next few weeks after getting your nails done, they always look attractive, sleek, and sexy — and you feel it! 

Unfortunately, that confidence boost slowly decreases a few weeks later once that manicure grows out. According to Cosmopolitan, those with a gel manicure will need to visit their nail salon every two weeks, and it’s about the same timeframe for acrylic nails. Don’t have the time to squeeze a salon visit into your busy schedule but need a quick pick-me-up to make your unsightly grown-out nails appear fresh and new? We have good news: There’s a hack for that. Hopefully, you like glitter!

Apply cuticle art to hide regrowth

Instagram / Olivia Thompson

As your nails grow with gel polish or acrylic, it leaves an unpleasant space above the cuticle. Instead of stressing out and vigorously attacking your nails with acetone or a nail file to remove the grown-out manicure, grab chunky glitter to hide that space! This hack was initially shared by hairstylist and beauty creator Olivia Thompson, also known as @omgartisty, on Instagram.

In the Instagram video, Thompson uses a nail file to sharpen the edges of the nails since they tend to round out after a few weeks. “I’m still going along the shape she provided for me; I’m not trying to change the shape,” she says in the clip. She then grabs a chunky glitter nail polish and applies it to the nail’s cuticle where the growth is. You can do what Thompson does and blend the glitter up toward the center for an ombré nail look or leave it in a tight line along the nail bed in a reverse-French manicure shape. If you’re not a fan of glitter, you can even fill that growth in with a different color or make a design to fill that regrowth space (via Allure). Try using a color that compliments the base color of your nail. Or, take some gel nail glue and apply rhinestones on the growth for a sophisticated bejeweled look. Get creative! We bet your manicurist will be very impressed.

The Perfect Hack For Hiding Your Grown-Out Manicure

marigo20/Shutterstock

By Lindsay Ray/Nov. 6, 2022 7:18 am EST

If you’re someone who loves getting your nails done, you may have noticed your confidence instantly goes from zero to 100 the moment you strut out of the salon. Your mood is lifted, your spirits are high, and let’s admit it — you’re having a moment. While it can be very similar to getting your hair or makeup done, manicured nails can offer a different sense of permanency and stability that no other beauty treatment can provide. For the next few weeks after getting your nails done, they always look attractive, sleek, and sexy — and you feel it! 

Unfortunately, that confidence boost slowly decreases a few weeks later once that manicure grows out. According to Cosmopolitan, those with a gel manicure will need to visit their nail salon every two weeks, and it’s about the same timeframe for acrylic nails. Don’t have the time to squeeze a salon visit into your busy schedule but need a quick pick-me-up to make your unsightly grown-out nails appear fresh and new? We have good news: There’s a hack for that. Hopefully, you like glitter!

Unfortunately, that confidence boost slowly decreases a few weeks later once that manicure grows out. According to Cosmopolitan, those with a gel manicure will need to visit their nail salon every two weeks, and it’s about the same timeframe for acrylic nails. Don’t have the time to squeeze a salon visit into your busy schedule but need a quick pick-me-up to make your unsightly grown-out nails appear fresh and new? We have good news: There’s a hack for that. Hopefully, you like glitter!

Apply cuticle art to hide regrowth

Instagram / Olivia Thompson

As your nails grow with gel polish or acrylic, it leaves an unpleasant space above the cuticle. Instead of stressing out and vigorously attacking your nails with acetone or a nail file to remove the grown-out manicure, grab chunky glitter to hide that space! This hack was initially shared by hairstylist and beauty creator Olivia Thompson, also known as @omgartisty, on Instagram.

In the Instagram video, Thompson uses a nail file to sharpen the edges of the nails since they tend to round out after a few weeks. “I’m still going along the shape she provided for me; I’m not trying to change the shape,” she says in the clip. She then grabs a chunky glitter nail polish and applies it to the nail’s cuticle where the growth is. You can do what Thompson does and blend the glitter up toward the center for an ombré nail look or leave it in a tight line along the nail bed in a reverse-French manicure shape. If you’re not a fan of glitter, you can even fill that growth in with a different color or make a design to fill that regrowth space (via Allure). Try using a color that compliments the base color of your nail. Or, take some gel nail glue and apply rhinestones on the growth for a sophisticated bejeweled look. Get creative! We bet your manicurist will be very impressed.

In the Instagram video, Thompson uses a nail file to sharpen the edges of the nails since they tend to round out after a few weeks. “I’m still going along the shape she provided for me; I’m not trying to change the shape,” she says in the clip. She then grabs a chunky glitter nail polish and applies it to the nail’s cuticle where the growth is. You can do what Thompson does and blend the glitter up toward the center for an ombré nail look or leave it in a tight line along the nail bed in a reverse-French manicure shape.

If you’re not a fan of glitter, you can even fill that growth in with a different color or make a design to fill that regrowth space (via Allure). Try using a color that compliments the base color of your nail. Or, take some gel nail glue and apply rhinestones on the growth for a sophisticated bejeweled look. Get creative! We bet your manicurist will be very impressed.

How to remove your manicure at home if the regrowth is too far gone

Andrzej Wilusz/Shutterstock