This teenage girl has not cut her nails in three years and she recently admitted having difficulties with everyday tasks.
16-year-old Simone Taylor has not given her fingernails a trim since August 2014 and it takes about three hours to put varnish on them.
Now, they have gotten so long that she finds it difficult to shower, get dressed and even type on her computer. Her thumbnails are now about 14.8cm long while her fingernails are 11.8cm long.
She reveals that she can only type on her computer by using her knuckles. She is unable to hold a pen and this has been making things a lot complicated during exams at school.
Simone said, “I have exams at the moment and it’s hard to write, after one hour of writing my hands really hurt.”
According to her, she got started on this journey after watching nail art tutorial online.
She said: “I’ve been scared of nail clippers ever since. 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.”
To strengthen the nails, she says she uses two coats of nail hardener and cuticle oil every time she paints them. She cleans the underside of the nails with cotton buds daily.
Speaking of her daily routine, Simone said: “Cleaning my teeth and using the toilet aren’t a problem. 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.”
She also explains that she has to be extra careful when getting dressed. According to her, it hurts when her nails get caught in clothing so she always takes her time.
“Buttoning up a shirt can take ages.”
In the years she has been growing her nails, she has only broken one of them once. She admits she was very hysterical when it happened.
She encouraged more people to stick with what they love, regardless of what others thought.
“It’s important not to let other people bring you down because you look unusual. Differences make life interesting,” she said.
