Naked Nails, Nail Care… and Polish
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Can naked nails be a polished look? Are unpolished, unmanicured nails unprofessional? Reader A has an important question:
I have a reader question that I'd like advice on. I'm about to start my first job out of law school and would love to have a very low-maintenance nail routine (no color polish) that I can do at home. Mostly, I have terrible cuticles and I'd like to have a more polished appearance, but my job is not flexible about leaving during working hours and I'd rather spend my weekends with my kid. Manicures seem like a waste if I'm avoiding color polish. Can you or readers advise? Should I be trying to fit in weekly/monthly manicures as a requirement of working?
This one speaks to me as I also hate spending time on manicures — so I'm curious to hear what readers say here.
We've talked a lot about beauty over the years, including a great discussion on beauty empties (products we actually finish), which beauty products we can't live without, specific makeup shades we've worn for ages, how I deal with dark circles under my eyes, and easy makeup products to keep at your desk — and we've also had a great discussion on plastic surgery.
We've also talked a lot about nails over the years, including the best nail polish colors for interviews, the best treatments for healthy nails, the most generally acceptable nail length and shape for conservative offices, and what colors are appropriate for conservative offices. Inspired by a conversation with a partner at her firm, Kat's also rounded up what to look for in a nail salon near your office.
Meanwhile, check out some of our most popular posts on beauty, including how to style long hair for interviews, the best nail colors for work, and the best lip tints for work, and how to make a blowout last for days.
Our Latest Favorite Treatments for Healthy Nails
Looking for healthy nail treatments? Readers love Burt's Bees lemon butter cuticle cream, CND Solar Nail & Cuticle Cream, OPI Nail Envy, Deborah Lippmann's The Cure Ultra Nourishing Cuticle Repair Cream, Lush Lemony Flutter, Dior Creme Abricot, and Sally Hansen's cuticle massage creme.
Are Naked Nails Unprofessional?
As I've discussed before, there was about a month of my life (maaaaybe 6 weeks) right after I got engaged that I went for manicures weekly. Then: it got old. I don't particularly enjoy them, I get bored if I can't be reading during it (like one can with pedicures), and with the NYT exposé on nail salons I've just skipped the entire routine this summer.
I have, in the past, advised readers to get a simple manicure (with clear or light pink or beige polish) for job interviews and possibly the first week of the job, on the assumption that you're shaking a lot of people's hands and you want to look as polished as possible.
{related: work-appropriate nails}
But after that: I say, screw it. I type way too much for manicures to last a long time on me, I stink at doing them myself, and I really hate the experience of getting a manicure. (And I keep hearing horrible things about gel manicures, but maybe that's me!)
How to Have attractive but Naked Nails
I keep my nails short and neat… and that's about it. I've been a fan of Nail Envy in the past when I've wanted to do a bit more upkeep (and we had a recent post a few months ago where we talked about nail brightening polishes, which still intrigue me), but for most of my working life I've just left my nails plain.
Raggedy cuticles can be another thing, I suppose, and I have a few thoughts on that point as well.
First, a regular manicure may just make your cuticles worse unless you're getting a treatment done on your nails; I've always read that for health reasons it's best to not clip your cuticles.
Personally I find that regularly moisturizing my hands really helps with my cuticles — just a simple bottle of Curel on your office desk or in your bathroom at home can help with that.
If you're still noticing a problem beyond that, you can always take the next step and use gloves — either plastic gloves to protect your hands while doing the dishes, and/or moisturizing gloves at night to help moisturize your hands.
Ladies, I'm curious: what are your thoughts on naked nails at work? At what point do nails or cuticles become a Problem? What are your best tips for caring for them — any favorite products for cuticle care?
These are some of our favorite nail colors for interviews: Essie's Ballet Slippers, Mademoiselle, Sugar Daddy, and the more purpley Lady Like; Essie's gel Fairy Tailor, and OPI's Bubble Bath. CLASSIC! Two slightly fancier options readers love: Dior Nail Glow and kur's Londontown Illuminating Nail Concealer.
Updated images via Stencil (woman in pink blouse typing on laptop with unpolished, naked nails).
Pictured: My own nails, in a picture taken about 10 minutes after I got engaged. All rights reserved.
I usually leave my nails bare, and just buff an shine them for work. Sometimes I wear a pale pink for a couple of days, but then take it off as it chips.
Sally Hughes wore a column inThe Gaurdian about a resin polish called little odinne apparently, you can peel off the resin based polish after a day! Would love to try this, as you do not need remover..alas shipping charges and customs prevent me from ordering this:(
Bc I bite my cuticles, (gross) I find clear polish adds too much attention-getting shine, and the light pinks show chips. Instead I use the pink clear French manicure top coat, so the color looks natural, easy on (mess ups practically invisible) and you can get it anywhere. It also blends whiter unpainted nails into the color of my skin so biting has less contrast. I put it on every Sunday night, good for court and clients.
+1
Hi all – OP Reader A here. Thanks so much for the suggestions! After reading the comments, I’d like to say that it’s not so much that I was worried if unpolished nails were unprofessional (because I’m not going to polish, that’s a given) but rather if you don’t get manicures, how do you keep your nails from looking totally ratty? Or, are manicures the best/most efficient way to keep nails looking ok? I basically missed this “how to adult” lesson somewhere along the way.
I maybe should have been more specific because I’m a cuticle destroyer and as others have said, it does affect the health and appearance of my nails – to the point where I worry that it reflects poorly on me. Partially, I think it is my own worry about how my anxiety is manifesting itself in a public way, when I usually keep that under control at work. I do think that as a woman I would be unfairly judged for having terrible nails (more than a man with chewed nails would be) but this goes beyond having chipped polish to having actual trauma to the nail that is noticeable. So, while I think this is an unfair burden on women, it’s also not entirely princess beauty standards but a little bit basic hygiene.
Really grateful for the cuticle oil suggestions – that’s something I would have written off as way too futzy and only for people who are into manicures, but if it helps fix the cuticle problem then I’ll get some! And a light neutral polish might help mask some of the trauma to make it less noticeable but yet easy to not visibly screw up applying.
I take a Biotin supplement which helps with skin, hair and nails. I mainly use it because I like my nails longer and stronger but found my husband started taking it at the recommendation of his doctor because his hands and cuticles were extremely ratty looking. So if you feel like your cuticles are super gross that’s something to try. I need ~5000 mg, not the 1000 in some supplements.
I also do cuticle oil and cream and find the oil makes the most difference. I mentioned above I’m hooked on nail wraps because they don’t chip like polish and I can do them at home, and I think they are a brilliant invention for working moms. But even when I’m not wearing them I find basic moisturizing necessary to keep my hands looking nice, especially as I get older.
I wholeheartedly agree with the writers on this one – when did manicures become the standard? If you keep yourself well-groomed and you have to type all day which may ruin long nails and manicures, why is it a “necessity” to get them? I’d rather buy a pair of shoes.
Just discovered little ondine – water based and peels off in one go but fab easy for emergency desk nail tidy up (no usual polish smell) – cuddle is a sheet beige pink – or if you’re a polish picker.
Sheer!! Not sheet!
Dior’s Nail Glow is a fantastic product. It gives my nails a polished look and is super easy to apply (I am pretty clumsy and heavy handed when trying to use regular nail polish and end up with polish everywhere but the nails). I also think it last a fair amount of time. Even when it chips, its unnoticeable.
I recently threw a bottle of Nail Glow into a package of baby shower gifts. I told the mom-to-be it was like a french manicure in a bottle and that I wanted her to have it in case she needed to have a little pick-me up. And it’s done exactly that!
This is such a topic that is close to heart yet unattainable!! I’m an ophthalmologist and the only two times I had a professional manicure in my life was for my pre-wedding photoshoot and wedding day.
So I’m in Team Clean-Nails-No-Polish. I do agree that buffed, polished and manicured nails definitely look better and more polished but my work does not permit it. I sanitize my hands after every patient with alcohol hand rub and when I go to the OR, I scrub my nails. Total havoc on manis…. so I keep my nails short, buffed, naked and neat. IMHO as long as a woman’s nails are well kept, be it whether adorned with polish or not, no judgement should be rained upon her. No sane professional woman in healthcare should be judged on whether her nails or colored or not, and in extreme cases whether her nails or kept in tip-top condition. Nail scrubbing in the OR ruins a nail job and a proper hand sanitizing after seeing a patient is the universal standard of hygiene so there should be no compromise.
Although I do differ when it comes to pedicure because sandals do bare all….
Goodness. What is wrong with simply being neat and clean? Manicures are not necessary. Why do women put all this pressure on themselves to keep up such routines? I’ve never bothered and my career is doing just fine.