Nails are a big deal for some women across Gwent with some spending hundreds of pounds and dozens of hours on making sure they look their best. SOPHIE BROWNSON finds out more.

“I JUST love it,” are the words beautician Tina Howarth used when describing getting her nails done.

“It makes you feel a bit more put together, more confident.”

With the stresses of work and everyday life, Miss Howarth is among a number of women who enjoying taking a bit of time out to have their nails manicured, polished and painted to help keep them feeling good.

For Miss Howarth, 28, as well as it being something she enjoys, it is also her job as she works as a beautician at Euphoria Tanning in Cwmbran.

She said: “I get my nails done every week. I love acrylic and shellac colours.

“The shellac takes around 25 minutes and the acrylic takes around 55 minutes to do.

“[At the salon] we do 30 to 40 sets of acrylic nails every week.

“It can be expensive, but we have competitive prices charging £20 for acrylic with shellac and £10 just for gel."

And it seems that women of all ages enjoy getting their nails done with certain times also showing to be busier than others.

Miss Howarth said: “It is really busy at the moment, especially coming up to Christmas, but we get regular customers [all year round] ranging from 18-year-olds to 67-year-olds.

This includes a line dancer from Cwmbran who gets infill every three weeks when the nail starts to grow over the acrylic as well as 18-year-olds who go in on the weekends with their friends and have their nails done.

Miss Howarth said: “You really to talk about everything [when you get your nails done] that’s why I love it so much-especially when you build up a relationship with a client.”

It’s a booming business, that’s for sure, with some of Miss Howarth’s clients spending up to £80 a month on the upkeep of their nails and some of them getting their nails professionally done every week.

Some nail enthusiasts say it’s a social activity on par with the likes of shopping with friends.

Jodie Westwood, 22, from Newport, works at Sky TV and sees getting her nails done as a chance to catch up with friends.

Miss Westwood gets her nails done with friends every two to three weeks at Angel Nails or Lovely Nails in Newport, spending £40 to £50 a month.

“I get acrylic on my fingers and shellac on my toes,” she said.

“If I am going out and wearing a certain colour I might get my nails to match or go for nude or French manicure.

“It’s always really busy when I go - I usually go with all my friends if there around on a Saturday. I like the social aspect of it, and there’s quite a big group of us who go.

“I don’t like not having my nails done because your hands are on show all of the time.

“I don’t like chipped nails.”

Fellow nail enthusiast Vivienne White agrees that hands are one of the first thing people notice about you, so makes sure her nails are in top condition.

Ms White, business management developer at Kn Office Supplies in Newport, has been getting her nails done at the Health and Serenity Spa for the past 18 months and spends £50 to £60 a month.

“I used to wear false nails but they really ruin your nail,” she said.

“They look false anyway and I don’t want to give a false impression.

“If you go out looking neat and tidy the confidence comes from within.

“I come here [to the spa] every two weeks for an hour and usually get gel nails.

“Hands are the first thing I notice about someone.”

Katie Wenzel, a beautician at the Newport based Health and Serenity Spa; said nails were one of their most popular treatments.

“I think nails have become more popular in recent years,” she said.

“Some people don’t like to treat themselves - they don’t have that luxury, but many people are getting to that point where they like to have something for themselves.

“Nails can do that and make them feel good about themselves.”

Meanwhile some see doing their nails as a relaxing hobby and spend hours perfecting patterns and designs.

Gemma Prance 26, of Crosskeys, loves creating new nail designs herself and sees it as taking some time out for herself when her children have gone to bed.

“I own around 400 nail polishes,” she said.

“I do them myself, painting them every other day.

“It usually takes me around an hour to do using nail polishes from OPI and Barry M- they are the good ones and they give good coverage.

“I am a mum of a five-year-old and a three-year-old so when they go to bed I sit down and get the nail polish out.

“I just like to do it myself- I get pleasure out of doing it.

“I post the pictures on Instagram and Facebook – the online nail art community is massive.

“All over the world, people love painting their nails.

“I think people just like to see nice nails.”