Cordelia “Dee Dee” Adams, a nail technician from Gary, Indiana, has been growing her fingernails for over 30 years and today they measure over 12 inches in length.

59-year-old Cordelia Adams’ nails are quite something to behold. Not only are they covered in acrylic overlays featuring various artistic designs, but they are all over 12-inches long. She started growing them in 1989, when she became a nail technician and has taught herself to perform all sorts of day-to-day tasks that require her hands without breaking her precious babies. As you can imagine, Adams gets a lot of attention because of her nails, but that’s actually the part she loves most about having unusually-long fingernails.

Photo: Cordelia ‘Dee Dee’ Adams

“The best thing about having the super long nails is the attention,” Cordelia told Truly, adding that the worst thing about her nails is the disrespectful questions that people sometimes ask her, like how she eats or how she takes care of herself with those fingernails.

The Indiana native claims that over the 30 years of growing her fingernails, she has taught herself to perform basically all daily tasks without damaging her keratinous treasures. She has learned how to safely write, drive a car, and hold things in her hands without her nails getting in the way.

Photo: Truly/YouTube

“The nails fold back over my arm, so if I’m holding something they’re out of the way completely. I don’t go at anything fingertip first,” Adams said.

Although she can do most things like a normal person, she does have to adapt to pull off certain basic actions, like using her knuckles when scrolling on her smartphone or doing the laundry. Still, she doesn’t see herself giving up on her long nails simply because it would make her life more convenient.

 

Amazingly, the experienced nail technician has been able to keep her fingernail art in such good condition that some of her artistic designs hardly ever chip or fade, with some of her works lasting for up to five years.