A 35-year-old Russian woman spent the last 4 years growing her fingernails, to win a bet against a friend who said she couldn’t do it.
Elena Shilenkova who grew her ‘babies’ to 12cm (4.7 inches) long in order to win the bet, reportedly refused to swim in the sea, play tennis or wear gloves despite Russia’s freezing temperatures – all to protect her talons, which she refers to as her ‘babies’.
The YouTuber from Saint Petersburg who broke a record by growing Russia’s longest nails, further explained how it’s not a breeze growing your claws to award-winning status.
“My nails are now the longest I have had, I have been growing them for four years and three months.
“It started over a bet with my friend, and now everyone is just used to my ‘long nail’ status.“I call them ‘my babies’, as they are four years old and I take care of them as I would do with babies.”
The Russian woman who spent four years growing her nails, also disclosed that she did face any difficulties in her everyday life. According to her, she had long nails since her teenage years but is now racked with the constant fear one might break – and often has nightmares she will wake up with short talons.
Elena said: “I don’t have any problems with the things I do daily, I just do some things in a different way than most people.
“For example, I would say that my way of typing is a little bit different.
“I just need to constantly control all my movements.
“I have to think beforehand about all my actions and movements and try to avoid sharp movements and ‘behave’ softly – sharp movements are my enemy.
“I am most worried about breaking the nails in my sleep and I often have nightmares that I wake up with short nails.
“The dreams are quite real so I wake up in panic and check closely my nails to make sure they are alright.
“I am afraid to break them as I would have to waste my time on fixing them – they do break sometimes but I always fix them.
“Total control helps – I also take vitamin pills for nails and hair every six months.
“I would love to swim or play tennis.
“Also, I miss gloves –it can be quite cold in Russia and I have to put my hands in MY pockets” she said.
The woman who spent 4 years growing her fingernails, further disclosed that when it comes to people’s reactions on the street, there are as many positive as negative comments – especially from older people.
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