Last week, Twitter learned an important lesson about self-defense (and looking fabulous) after a 2021 clip from former Royal Marine and safety tip TikToker, @dutchintheusa began making the rounds again, proving that you don’t need to choose between protecting yourself or ruining your nails.


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“Here’s how to throw a punch with acrylics on,” he commenced his viral clip. After explaining that the traditional method of “rolling up my fingers” into a fist doesn’t tend to jive with long nails – “It hurts very, very much,” he offered a few alternatives, including using your palm and the side of your hand to punch would-be attackers.



“It still works, it doesn’t hurt you,” he concluded.


So why did this years-old clip rather than one of @dutchintheusa’s more recent hits, including instructional safety TikToks explaining how to carry a toddler in an emergency and how to survive being waterboarded, make waves online? The answer, like most pop culture phenomena these days, all comes back to Vanderpump Rules.


Last week, Bravo star Scheana Shay singlehandedly (or, well, two-handedly) relaunched questions about acrylic self-defense after citing her long manicure as an alibi in denying the allegations that she punched her co-star, Raquel Leviss after learning Leviss had been engaging in a months-long affair with their pal Tom Sandoval, while he was still dating the duo’s shared close friend, Ariana Madix.



"It is scientifically impossible for me to form, like, an actual fist," Shay explained while flaunting her long, shimmery set of acrylics. "All my nails would break.”



Though the rumors surrounding Shay’s fast-forward reaction to learning of the Sandoval Scandal have yet to be seen, at least one thing is for certain: It is absolutely possible to defend yourself from external threats (and maybe a side chick or two) without destroying your mani.