Nice nails - really, does it matter?

[Merguez]

Doing my nails comes very bottom of my list or priorities. Manicure and polish only for very special occasions. But other mums I know always seem to have immaculate nails.

Does anyone really notice or care? Is it important?

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

I've got really short nail beds....what can I use? I just want then to reach tips of fingers.....which options best? Currently I whack on false ones now and again, but scared of kids choking on them when they inevitably fall off ...
sound like a beauty, eh!

[ArthurSHappeyChristmas]

I do like all the pictures... Us 'can't be taken seriously or professionally' nail types should start our own 'look at my nails thread'.

[Lottapianos]

Always manicured and pedicured here, I do my own nails and I love it. I can see how its not everyone's thing and I think that short clean unvarnished nails look just fine. However I have a colleague whose nails make me feel vaguely sick every time I see her - they're all different lengths, bits broken off and usually polished but chipped to absolute buggery. Makes me want to scream at her to take it all off and cut them FFS!

[Bunbaker]

I don't bother with painting my toenails in winter as no-one ever sees them.

[shortaris1]

Another one laughing at the 'Goodness I'm SOOOOOOO busy brigade' here. Do them or have them utterly manky and vile, I care not one whit but please don't sneer at me for doing mine!

[hotbutteredcrumpet]

Of course it doesn't matter in the general scheme of things but it is clearly important to some people.

Some women find the time because it is a priority for them. I think it is perfectly standard for women in a lot of professions, especially city one with client facing roles, to have painted nails.
I'm a doctor and very few of my colleagues regularly paint their finger nails. I don't think we are expected to be as groomed and well presented as in city roles where you are charging huge amounts per hour. Personally, I always have my toe nails painted when they are exposed during the Summer but only occasionally paint my finger nails, maybe before a special event or for a treat. I dislike fake nails/ jewels, etc but like plain nail polish/ shellac.

[motleymop]

'Nice' nails to me do not have varnish on them! My version of nice nails is clean and fairly short. Personally I think nail varnish looks cheap and tacky, but I appreciate I am totally in the minority.

[rubybleu]

I work in the City in a job that requires quite a lot of education and experience. Despite this, I get shellac on my nails every 2 weeks. They are always short and square though. I have horrifically dry cuticles and hands and this is really the only way to get my hands looking presentable for minimum effort.

I hate scruffy nails/cuticles, long false nails and nail art though. I spend a lot of time in external meetings and I always notice unkempt nails.

[HappyYoni]

Ok, here's a stupid question from someone who has never had her nails done.... If you have very short (bitten to the quick), ugly nails, all sort of jagged and shorter than the skin, is there anything that can be done to them to make them look pretty? Or do you have to have a bit more nail there to work with?

[nottheOP]

Yoni you can do all sorts with false nails or just even them up, shape them and tidy the cuticles.

A manicure twice a month is good motivation to stop biting.

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

I always have painted nails, unless I'm too ill to do it. I do my own - base coat, layer of polish then a blast of quick drying spray, another layer of polish then a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-dry top coat (same as Seche Vitae but half the price). It takes me an hour max and I do them in front of Corrie or something like that. My nails are quite short - if I let them get too long I struggle to take my contact lenses out, plus I prefer them shorter for aesthetic reasons. I do my toes too unless I have black toenails from running in which case I leave them bare to heal.

I've had my nails manicured professionally twice - once free at work and once when friends bought me a voucher for my birthday. I wasn't impressed either time tbh. I detest sitting in front of a strange young girl for an hour making small talk while she does exactly what I prefer to do myself.

[HappyYoni]

I honestly don't know how I'd even shape them, they are way too short to file. But I could try fake ones maybe.

[SofaCanary]

Yoni, it's probably best to leave them to grow out naturally. Massage the cuticles every night with a cream or oil, helps them to grow strong and healthy.

[Glastokitty]

My real nails are soft and bendy and impossible to grow, so I love Shellac on my fingernails. I also keep my toenails painted as I am in Oz and running around in thongs most of the time so a pedicure is a necessity. And pretty cheap too there are nail bars everywhere. I think of it as basic maintenance for me, although I am incredibly low maintenance about everything else. But each to their own, although I think the 'who has time, its a frivolous waste, no lawyers or doctors paint their nails' bunch are being a bit silly! I think its a kindness really to keep my feet maintained in particular, my unadorned trotters aren't pretty!

[FibonacciSeries]

I used to bite my nails and when I dropped the habit I started pulling on the cuticles. The only thing that helps is to have gel nails and I've been squeezing out the time for a manicure every two weeks for the last five years or so. I have a Very a Serious Job and somehow my short, painted nails haven't been a hindrance .

[BlueberryMuffins76]

I don't judge people who don't botber with their nails, what I do judge is narrow minded people who make the assumption that individuals who take time to and enjoy taking care of their nails are bimbos. Most ridiculous thing I've seen here for a while! I work in children's social care and have a panel meeting today, I've also got gunmetal grey shellac on. Oh dear.

I love nails! I think Shellac or similar makes a person instantly more groomed, and it's a nice treat to myself when I have it done. Indulgent perhaps, but I don't drink or smoke, so £30 on my nails every 3 weeks is my vice. I'm really not a fan of naked toes, on myself or anyone else - especially during flip flop season!

[Skinheadmermaid]

I always notice when people have nice coloured nails. I do mine every 2/3 days as I can't stand chips and have so many colours.
I notice if someone has overgrown, long, nasty nails but not if they're relatively neat and bare. I notice more when people don't wear make up.

[Merguez]

I seem to have missed the posts accusing people who do their nails of being bimbos

Each to his own and all that…

[HorsesDogsNails]

Well I dread to think what some of you think of me - not only are my nails gel polished at all times, I am a Nail Technician so I make sure all my clients have lovely nails as well!! I can assure you my clients come from a real variety of jobs/backgrounds and I am far from a vacuous youngster you have to make small talk with.....

Also, to correct a myth nails don't need to breathe, so do not suffer from being under a coating (polish, gel or acrylics) and in fact will often be healthier for being protected. A set of well done nail enhancements look really natural, my clients love that if they break a nail I can extend it to match the others with no noticeable difference in how it looks.

Anyway, I'll let you get back to being busy with your proper jobs while I mess about with nail polish and glitter .

[RojaGato]

I was a nail biter at school and went through a paint them every night phase to cure myself of biting.

The thing I hate most in the world is chipped nail varnish though (close second is nails of differing lengths), so for years I had phase of nicely manicured and buffed nails, kept healthy with application of nail oil. Painted toes in summer as they don't chip as much. So yes, I think it makes a difference whether your nails look nice or not, but nice can just be neat and clean (bit of handcream never goes amiss).

But shellac has been revelation for me, especially with the brisa lite smoothing underlay. Finish lasts 2-3 weeks with care, doesn't chip, makes my nails break less often. it end not to go for nail art, but one of 4 pretty conservative things: plain red old hollywood manicure, a rouge noir type colour for nights out, a glittery red ruby slippers style for Xmas or gold for summer holidays.

Honestly, when I have shellac done, I smile every time I happen to inadvertantly catch sight of my fingertips. So it makes a difference to me, because it cheers me up. having it done is a real self-esteem thing too- taking an hour for yourself and spending a bit of money on yourself can make a big difference. When I've been really skint, doing the filing and buffing and moisturising has had the same effect, because I've taken the time to do something for me.

[Glastokitty]

Yes my nails make me smile when I see them. In fact I had a bad bout of depression a few years ago and stopped getting them done, so now my pretty nails are a bit of a talisman and a reminder that I am looking after myself and happy! They are short and sky blue to match the Aussie sky this Xmas.

[Jemster]

What is shellac, is it just a polish or actually hard gel?
I've always been a biter until I had hard gel put over my nails. Now they look decent and it's lovely being able to have colour if I fancy. Only thing is I find they seem to grow out quite quick & I can only really afford every 3 weeks.

[velourvoyageur]

I don't think you need to always have shiny unchipped nail polish on, or ever if it's not your thing. I've only ever done anything to my nails myself.
But having them be clean and even, not raggedy, overlong etc is essential I think if you want to look groomed in a basic way.

I file my nails maybe every 2-3 days. Doesn't take long.

When you spend an hour in the underground every day with people's dirty overgrown nails in your face you do get to developing some basic rules for how things should be

[Lottapianos]

Glastokitty, my nails are part of more general self care too. I also suffer from depression and find that looking after myself physically - exercise, eating well, nice clothes, make up, nails - boost my confidence and make me feel better about myself