Introducing allora

Hi! My name is Jane, and I’m the creator of Allora, my nail brand. Let me introduce myself – I’m a teenager in high school, who regularly struggles with anxiety. Sometimes, when people have anxiety, we tend to unconsciously pick at our skin, which is exactly what I did. Some might consider it as a coping mechanism, but I felt as if I was just trying to fidget to distract myself. It got so bad that I had to have bandages wrapped around my fingers to stop myself from biting and peeling, although that didn’t do much to help, as I would just take the bandages off. I tried everything – fidgets, stress toys, and gloves. Nothing helped.

It wasn’t just me. As I progressed through my academic career, I noticed a lot of my peers would also pick at their skin, also known as a condition called dermatillomania. One of my closest friends, especially, would have bloody, ragged skin around her cuticles and fingers. We would try to recommend temporary solutions to each other, because we knew we were similar in that aspect and didn’t know what would help. In fact, there were a lot of people I knew who also suffered from the same condition.

That leads me to Allora. I had never worn nails before, but on a whim, I decided to purchase some nail supplies. I mean, I always knew I was artistic, so I determined that I could probably do my own nails and maybe make some money off of a press-on nail business. After I’d finished my own set, I looked at my hands and sighed. My nails looked so cute, but the skin around them? Not so much. However, later in the day, when I was absent-mindedly picking at my skin, I realized something. I couldn’t actually do it. My fake nails literally prevented me from doing it, and I couldn’t take them off, either, since I’d attached them with glue. I was insanely happy – I’d finally figured out a solution for a huge problem of mine and my peers.

I started dispersing press-ons for my friends, but I decided I needed a bigger reach. I wanted to tell everyone that they could have cute, cozy nails that they could feel confident in. A lot of my friends also complained that some press on websites were too expensive, and going to a salon was even more so, with prices ranging from $40 to $100. That’s when I decided to make a website – I could reach everyone on the internet and make it accessible too! I designed dozens of nails, making sure that they looked good so that they could make you feel good. I got strong nail glue so that my customers couldn’t take off their nails to go back to peeling and scratching. And of course, I made sure the prices were reasonable, but not too small, because guess what – a 100% of our proceeds go to mental health organizations for teens and young adults! Finally, Allora was born, and we’ve never looked back since.