@simonechristine/InstagramA 16-year-old student has spent three years growing her nails and now has bird-like talons, measuring nearly 15 centimetres long.
Simone Taylor spends three hours painting her nails and has seen her grades at school suffer as she can’t do PE classes, having never cut her nails since August 2014.
She’s had to relearn how to write and type and takes extra care when showering and getting dressed to avoid any painful breakages.
Simone, from Nuremberg in Germany, said:
I have exams at the moment and it’s hard to write, after one hour of writing my hands really hurt. On the computer, I have to type using my knuckles.
Luckily, German schools don’t have dress codes, so they don’t cause any issues there.
PE is a huge problem, though. I can’t play volleyball, basketball or anything similar. My PE teachers are always trying to convince me to cut my nails. They’ll never succeed in convincing me – but that makes my grades in PE really bad.
Simone’s nail obsession began in 2014 when she watched a few tutorials and learned to paint her nails. She saw a lot of artists had long nails and decided to grow hers.
She says she’s now scared of nail clippers but never intended for her nails to grow as long as they are.
She continued:
It wasn’t my intention to grow them so long, but as they grew, so did the amount of compliments and they became more and more a part of me. During my first year, I always thought to myself, ‘I’m gonna cut them tomorrow,’ but I never did.
Simone’s thumbnails measure 14.8cm while her other nails are around 11.8cm. She has to apply two base coats and a top coat and usually takes around 90 minutes to remove polish.
The nails strength comes from two coats of nail hardener and cuticle oil. To keep them hygienic she cleans the undersides with a cotton bud every day.
Apparently using the toilet is not a problem even though everyone asks her about that the first time they see her nails.
Funnily enough, a lot of people ask the toilet question when they see my nails for the first time.
Showering is a bit more difficult. Sometimes my nails get caught in my hair, so I have to be extra careful.
Incredibly Simone has only ever broken a nail once while climbing a gate that was stuck. As she jumped down, her middle finger got caught and broke in the metal.
She added:
I started crying and remember screaming, ‘Why my nail? Anything but my nail.’ Fortunately, I had my nail glue with me, so I was able to fix it. I’ll never leave the house again without my magical glue.
As you’ll have seen, Simone runs an Instagram account dedicated to her nails and has won online contests for long, natural nails.
As with anything on the Internet, she has her fans as well as her detractors but doesn’t let the haters get to her.
Taking the idea of ‘being woke’ to a whole new level over a decade-long career in sport, court and online news, George has worked for titles and agencies including ESPN FC, Eurosport, LADbible and Court News UK. He may not have a degree but does have an unhealthy obsession with Lord of the Rings.