A HORRIFIED student was forced to spend two months with green “mouldy fungus” sprouting out of her nails – thanks to back-to-back acrylic manicures.

Phoebe Sheppard has warned anyone thinking of getting their nails done for Christmas to be careful after her last set of festive manicures left her with green fingers.

After flaunting her £30 floral acrylic nails for two weeks, the 19-year-old returned to the salon to have her nails infilled for £25 and a new style painted on ahead of last Christmas.

It was only when the business management student decided to have her red festive nails removed in January that she discovered her talons covered in green “mouldy” splodges.

Horrifying photos show all 10 of the student's nails dotted with green, murky spots – as a fungus had grown under them from water becoming trapped.

After making the grim discovery, Phoebe went to a pharmacy for advice and was handed a fungal serum to apply to her infected nails.

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But when her blotches didn't disappear after using the ointment and trying several other remedies, the teenager had no choice but to leave the spots to grow out on their own.

Phoebe said she spent two months “embarrassed” as she waited for them to grow out and said her friends joked about her having “mouldy” claws.

The beauty-loving teen is now urging people to give their nails a chance to “breathe” between manicures to avoid the same fate this Christmas.

Phoebe, from Birmingham in the West Midlands, said: "After getting my first set of acrylics in October for my birthday, the nail lady told me it was okay for me to keep getting them infilled instead of having them removed every time.

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"It was only after having them infilled twice that she suggested I had a fresh set put on and this is when I found the green spots on my nails.

"I was just using everything I could to treat it but nothing was really working so I just had to wait for it to grow out.

"They didn't hurt at all but it was a bit embarrassing having funny-looking nails for a while. Lots of my friends joked that I had mouldy nails.

"I think lots of people looked at my nails and thought I was really dirty but I was washing my hands a lot and this is how it happened by getting moisture trapped down my nails.

"It was just not a very nice thing to look at. At first look they just looked mouldy or dirty.

What to do if your nails go ‘mouldy’

Pseudomonas bacteria can harbour on the skin and turn your nails blue, green or even black.

It can happen in two places – between the main plate and the bed, or between the gel and the nail.

And unfortunately, the only cure is to take the nail off completely.

Podiatrist Keira Moore thinks the best thing you can do to avoid the problem is get your gels removed every fortnight.

Keira, owner of the York Foot Clinic and working in collaboration with Pavers, said: "I regularly see nails that have turned green or blue because the gel has harboured pseudomonas bacteria under the nail.

"Sadly, the only cure for this is to remove the nail, kill the bacterial infection and wait months for a new nail to grow back."

Pseudomonas is a type of germ that can cause infections in humans.

It can lead to conditions like pneumonia, UTIs and sepsis.

When enhancements lift off the nails – including gels and acrylics – it creates a small, sometimes unnoticeable gap.

Moisture can build in that area every time the hand comes into contact with water, making it the perfect environment for bacteria to grow.

This can result in what technicians call green nail syndrome, or "greenies".

Thankfully, the problem can be avoided by using disinfected equipment and getting fake nails removed regularly.

The problem area should also be kept dry, and free from any further enhancements until it has properly healed.

"It took a few months for them to fully grow out. I had a green splodge on every single nail, it was in the same spot on every single nail.

Phoebe posted a video on TikTok to raise awareness about what happened to her, which has racked up more than 800,000 views.

Stunned Phoebe said she received conflicting advice over her nails, with her technician reassuring her it was 'normal' while horrified social media users urged her to get treatment.

After researching her symptoms, Phoebe now believes the green spots were caused by moisture getting trapped under her nails, which is known as chloronychia or green nail syndrome.

Green nail syndrome is often caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes the green discolouration.

Phoebe, a student at Falmouth University, said: "My nail tech told me that the green spots were normal but everyone on TikTok was telling me it wasn't and I needed to get treatment.

"It's just trapped water under my nails.

"It's when the acrylic isn't completely sealed onto your nails and moisture gets in. It's completely put me off having acrylics done.

"I would say to people to not get their nails infilled more than once.

"You need to let your nails breath [and have them taken off] so moisture doesn't get stuck down them.

"Greens on your nails can be normal but it isn't normal to get them on every nail like I did and in the same spot."

One user wrote: "Your sign to change your nail technician."

Another added: "It's caused by moisture being trapped between your nail and enhancement."

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A third commented: "That's due to moisture under the acrylics lovely. Nails don't actually need a break."

A fourth added: "This is why I paint them at home now."

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