Yahoo Lifestyle Wait, What Are Fluffy Nails? The Truth Behind the Fuzzy Nail Trend
Nail art trends come and go pretty fast (especially if it’s a fad). Remember the crackle nail polishes of our youth? But you also have classic nail trends and styles like a French manicure that are timeless. Ultimately, nails are a personal choice based on someone’s style and sure, sometimes that means that the latest trend catches your attention. And if you’ve seen fluffy nails online recently, you might have thought 1) What the heck is that? and 2) Maybe those would look cute on me!
If you’ve seen fluffy nails, you can probably guess why they’ve popped up a lot recently; they’re intriguing and look kind of cool. But what gives the nails that fluffy, velvety effect? And are there any drawbacks to fluffy nails? Do they smell? We’ve got your fluffy nail answers!
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What Are Fluffy Nails?
Again, if you’re on the beauty and nail sides of TikTok, you might have seen fluffy nails on your FYP. These are nails that have a fluffy or fuzzy texture on them when they’re finished. Almost like a fuzzy sweater or velvet fabric.
According to Cosmopolitan, Jan Arnold is credited as starting the furry or fluffy nail trend. She’s the style director and co-founder of CND nail polish and in 2016 she gave furry manicures to the models at the Libertine fall/winter show that year. They used actual faux fur so that the models had actual patches of longer fur on their nails, which really gives off Chewbacca vibes (sorry Chewie).
But the current trend of fluffy nails is more of a velvet or fuzzy look as we mentioned before. Instead of adhering strips of faux fur to the nails, people are using flocking powder to give that fluffy or fuzzy effect.
How Do You Do Fluffy Nails?
The thing that makes fluffy nails look fuzzy or fluffy is flocking powder. It’s similar to what people use to flock a Christmas tree to distribute white fibers on it to make it look like it has snow on it. And there are a couple of ways to do fluffy nails with said flocking powder.
The Instagram account @make.up.holics shows one technique (seen above). After you’ve painted your nails how you want and put the last layer of top coat on, you spray flocking powder from a bottle on the wet nails. You can’t put a top coat on that or you’d lose the textured effect you’re going for.
Another way to use flocking powder is by just putting it on with tweezers (if the powder comes in a jar or something like it). Nail technician and artist Sara Cady, @glamourphile on Instagram, posted her take on fluffy nails last year and she used this flocking method.
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Do Fluffy Nails Smell?
There are tons of videos on TikTok that share horror stories about these nails smelling. While some of them seem extreme (like someone claiming that a woman’s fluffy nails smelled like they were “ rotting”) others are just pointing out the fact that it’s a breeding ground for more bacteria.
When you get any manicure or nail process done (gel extensions, acrylic nails, press-ons, etc.), you have to follow certain steps so that you don’t cause infections or bacteria growth. For example, if you leave space between your realm nail and press-on nails, or it’s not completely dry when you apply them, you can turn your nails green because of the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
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With nails that are porous, plush or furry, you’re creating an environment for bacteria build-up. You use the toilet, cook and eat with your hands. So it’s not far-fetched to believe that fluffy nails can get smelly.
And while you can wash your hands with them—according to a subreddit r/RedditLaqueristas post from over a decade ago, these fluffy nails can get wet and “dry off again pretty quickly”—these nails might make it harder to get a good clean.
So: Are you adventurous enough to try fluffy nails?
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