After the nails have been applied or filled, they can be painted with regular nail polish. The false nails can also be trimmed normally if they get too long. What was the longest tip Monica every wore? “Oh I went crazy one time and got them, like, out to here,” she said, indicating about one and a half inches.

Monica also told me that she never had any problems with molding or infections. So what eventually made her decide to take the tips off? Cost, for one thing. A routine fill will set you back $20-$25. There was another, more personal reason. “I realized I wouldn't be taken seriously... I mean, I couldn't even take myself seriously with those things on.”

She described removing the nails as “a horrible process.”

“You soak your hands in acetone until [the tips] sort of fall off... Your hands dry out and it's really painful.”

Once the tips are off, the remaining acrylic is filed down. “They file almost down to the skin. Your nails are so thin.”

All in all, it's taken almost six months for Monica's nails to return to their normal thickness. “It's nice to have your nails their natural color sometimes. You can't rally do that with acrylics. And it's nice to be able to wear normal jewelry and not feel like it's too much.”

So after all that, would Monica ever get acrylic nails again?

“Maybe, if I was bored. I mean, people don't expect me to have pimped-out nails. I sit around wearing a hunting jacket.

“I like that it's not expected. That's what makes it fun.”