Christine Walton has won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records this week for her 20ft nails. Enough to make anyone want a manicure pronto, writes Anna Hunter
Here at GTG we’re open to edgy, slightly off-the-wall nail trends. With the exception of fur nails , we’ve embraced most nail adornments and we’re suckers for a statement nail. We go for manis when we can, but we’re guilty of harbouring the odd chip or snag like any girl.
However, with the release of the 2014 Guinness Book of World Records this week, one particular record holder is convincing us to take a trip to the nail bar, stat. Her name is Christine “The Dutchess” Walton, and she has the longest nails in the world at 20ft in total. She hasn’t cut them for EIGHTEEN YEARS. Her nails can legally vote, marry and drive a lorry. Shudder.
According to Christine (who’s also a singer), her seemingly never-ending nails have ‘added’ to her life and made her ‘part of history’. Despite their apparent impracticality, she certainly doesn’t let them hold her back. She drives, plays the piano, writes (‘I can write a good cheque if it’s not my chequebook’), manages trips to the bathroom with reported ease and texts with her knuckles. She manoeuvres around crowds to stop them breaking, often using friends and family members as human shields (she has five children and three grandchildren) and still irons and cooks regularly. She’s admitted that she has trouble with vacuuming as her nails get tangled in the vacuum cord and also admitted to The Huffington Post:
“I don’t swim, but it’s not the nails that stop me. It’s a hair thing.”
Right. Buttons and tight clothing can cause problems, but if sleeves are too tight she won’t compromise, she simply adds a zip to allow easy access. Given that she lives in Las Vegas (of course she does) she probably has little need for a turtleneck anyway.
Discussing her motivation for growing them she muses, “There’s no why. Why not?” And really, it could happen to anyone, she says. “I didn’t grow my nails deliberately - I just stopped getting manicures and started taking care of my nails myself."
Book a mani now people! This is beauty neglect gone nuts.