My 14 Inch Nails Cost Me $20,000

LARUE: Okay the last time I measured my nails my longest nail was this one. And it was fourteen inches, and some twelve, ten, eleven and a half, thirteen. So they're all different lengths. And this, out of all my nails this is my baby, I call her miss attitude. COMM: When it comes to extreme looks LaRue Drummond has it nailed. the 57 year old has been growing her fingernails for the last 44 years, and plans to go even longer. LARUE: At this point I think I wanna try to get to 21 inches. As long as I can function with them I'm gonna let them grow. COMM: LaRue even meets up with fellow long nailed aficionados to compare designs. LARUE: I call them my Nail Sisters. WOMAN: Oh my God! COMM: LaRue from New Jersey, USA, became fascinated with nails after a chance encounter as a child. LARUE: When I was a child I was a very bad nail biter. One day I went about and I saw this lady, she had like twelve or thirteen inches of nails, they were beautiful. All these colours, I asked my mom, I was hitting her like "Mom, mom! Look at this lady, look at this lady!" and that was the last day that I bit my nails. COMM: Eight years ago she stopped cutting her nails completely, and loves the attention she gets. 01:22 LARUE: I get comments from guys and they'll say "Oh that's really sexy or I like your nails, they're beautiful. God bless you" and stuff, yeah the guys, all the guys love them. LARUE: Come on get up! Get up, gotta make your bed come on. Up, up, up! COMM: Living with oversized nails isn't without it's problems. LARUE: Okay they ask me how I go to the bathroom and I'll answer them, like y'know the same way you go. One negative thing is like it takes a long time to tie up a shoe. So that's like a drawback, other than that, basically like I have a solution for everything. COMM: Luckily her daughters Khalilah and Venitta are always on hand to help. KHALILIA: I love my mom's nails but I hate going out with her because we get stopped all the time. VENITTA: There's the things that you think that she would;t be able to do on her own, she does on her own, she cooks, she cleans, she's raised four children, grandchildren, she does it all by herself. COMM: Despite their size LaRue says she wouln't dream of cutting them back. LaRue: If I broke a nail, I would be devastated, because they're like a part of me and like it's just something missing, a part of me is missing. COMM: But the years of intensive nail care hasn't come cheap. LARUE: Since I started growing my nails I've spent a lot of money, it's well over maybe twenty thousand dollars or more, I could have bought a car with that much money I've spent. COMM: Today LaRue's having her nails done by long nail technician Maria Ortiz. LARUE: I come to my Miss Maria because she is totally awesome. I would not trust anybody else with my nails except Miss Maria. COMM: New Jersey nail designer Maria is renowned for her colourful and eye catching designs, MARIA: I take it to another level, I'm not scared of taking it to another level, whether it's add-on extend nails, to the longest nails, to the shortest to putting whatever 3D they want on -- I just take it to another extremer level. COMM: And the trip gives LaRou the chance to catch up with her fellow long-nail fans. LARUE: It feels beautiful to be here with other ladies that have long nails, I have a name I call them my Nail Sisters. And like we communicate y'know because sometimes we're judged. By our nails but we're normal, just like everybody else. COMM: With the support of her long nail family behind her, LaRue finds the inspiration to keep on growing. LARUE: Y'know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication and determination, and I worked hard to grow them, so whatever it took, I was going to do it. END