Back in the day I spent hours doing my nails. Always had them polished and they tended toward long. Age/time/life changed all that. I have never "had my nails done" professionally. Now polish seems to shred my nails and the longer they get the more annoying I find them.

arcy, I could have written your post! I used to love fancy nails and I can even remember when I was a kid and fake/acrylic nails first came out, I even tried to do those myself...I don't remember them looking very good though. I would try those Lee press on nails too. I always kept my nails painted and they looked pretty and grew long. I was the envy of my girl friends in Junior High...HA!

Funny, just yesterday, I was chopping a tomato and nicked my long nail with the knife and started thinking that long nails are really in the way and why the heck do women want to have long nails so badly...really, they just get in the way.

I'm way to active to bother with having my nails done...I haven't bothered painting them for many many years! My nails grow fast and I actually have to cut them off because they just get in the way.

Sometimes I see women with really long fake nails and wonder, how do they do anything with those big long nails.

So the answer to your question is; I don't have my nails done but I used to do them myself years ago.

I've never had my nails done. I do, for special occasions only, take time to do polish. I usually keep my toes done during the summer because I wear flip-flops or sandals most of the time.

I generally do my own and yes, wear polish. I find if I don't keep them polished, I will pick at them. I do occasionally splurge for a mani/pedi though.

I have worn a business-length french manicure for many years. I can do it myself and rather well, but often have it done at the salon

For many years I would go to the nail salon every month to get a fill-in on the acrylic nails but I got so tired of doing that. I let that acrylic grow out and now I just trim and file my own nails. Once in a while I will put on polish, but not often. I can't bend to do my toenails, so they are always plain. Hubby has to trim them for me.

I've had my nails done professionally a handful of times, but have never been comfortable with the cost. But I do love a manicured look, so taught myself (over time) to do them myself. I really like a French manicure, but just can't do them.

I "do" my own nails. About once a week I cut them even with my fingertips with scissors. I don't wear polish. My hands are messed up, so I don't do anything to call attention to them. I had a very bad 3rd degree burn and a gunshot wound to my right hand before I was 5 yrs old that left it mangled. Even if I didn't have messed up hands, and wore polish, I can't see myself paying for something that I can do myself. Plus, I don't like people I don't know "messing" with me. It is bad enough that I have to get haircuts. Anyway, the kind of work I do around here would make a manicure pointless.

I have long fingers and have always kept my nails fairly short. In my young days I took piano lessons and played a lot so it was necessary. Then I just couldn’t see my nails being long. I have maybe had a professional manicure 3-4 times in my life and never really liked the results all that much. I have strong nails so I just use an emery board about once a week to shape and a smoother and that’s it. Last night I put a bit of pale pink polish on for a wedding. I will do that occasionally. Today I will work outside so it will have to come off. Even with gloves it will look bad after a day or two. I do get pedicures every 3-4 weeks as I hate doing my toes and it’s an indulgence I allow myself.

No nail polish. I clip them and then file them when I get a chance. I got one manicure once and messed it up before I even got to the car. I don’t do toenail polish either.

I polish my nails myself but I give them a 'rest' in the winter after the holidays. I keep them shorter.

I've never had my nails professionally done. Doubt I ever will.

Marilyn your story is sad.

I have a bit of a weird looking left pointer finger. When I was 8 and my brother 7 we decided to sword fight using a metal curtain rod...mom was out somewhere maybe at work and my father was on the sofa asleep. Hearing mom comming in my brother grabbed my rod to put away but my finger was inside the metal opening...to make a long story short my finger was reattached where it severed at the joint closest to the tip of finger. Doesn't look great but that's ok..

Anyway I try to file and oil my cuticles weekly. I remember my mom telling me when I was a young teen that others notice certain things about people and whether their nails are clean and cared for is one of those things. Lol.

I clip my toe nails but that's it for them. No one sees them as I only wear closed toe footwear.

I do wear clear coat on my finger nails just no color. I do think I'd like a pink. Something like a pink clear coat...just a hint, barely there pink.

Give my myself a mini-mani every week or so. Basically a manicure without polish. Polish lasts about 10 minutes on me before it starts to chip. I have tried various top coats and at best can get my polish to last a day, unless I use gel. Since gel does my nails no favors I rarely use it. Most often I do my own fingernails although once in awhile I will have them done at the same time as my pedicure. Have had pedicures for years. Love keeping my toes nice and the salon pedicures look far better than my at home jobs. Usually get a pedicure every 2 - 3 weeks. Last time I had to wait almost 6 weeks, trimmed and cleaned nails at home but I left the polish on. When I went for my next pedicure and the polish was taken off, my toenails had white spots. So I had the manicurist leave off the polish to let the nails breathe. A friend of mine told me that this has happened to her when she went too long between pedicures and did not remove the polish.

Enjoy having manicures/pedicures! Don't do it often! Clear polish on my fingernails, and right now on my toes I have a pearly white polish which I love.

Funny, I read the title as "Do you own your own nails" and thought that was rather an odd thing to ask. :)

I had mine done for the first time for my dd's wedding last month, using only clear polish. As a teenager I used to use polish but now it gives me a feeling of suffocation at the tops of my fingers and toes. That sounds weird, but I was happy to take it off. I used to grow out my nails when I was young but now it drives me crazy if they get much more than a quarter of an inch over the tips of my fingers.

Like Gigi, I leave my nails alone if they are polished, so they stay looking good. But, I don't set aside the time for a professional manicure, and I never seem to have a block of time to let them dry when I do them at home, so they start looking bad quickly. I need to take up knitting or something to keep my hands busy when watching tv.

Like outsideplaying, I played piano so had to keep them short. But when I stopped playing regularly, they could finally grow a bit.

Those who do their own, how do you "cure" them before you have to use your hands?

I get pedicures and do the same as you MamaP for my nails. Polish doesn't last on my nails so I don't bother.

I cut my fingernails when needed and always keep them clean. Same with toenails. Nothing else is done. I've had a few pedicures and manicures and can't say I much cared for the experiences.

As a lone male in this thread, I want to point out that many men dislike elaborate nail treatments. Some even dislike nail polish of any kind (I'm one of them). Long fingernails are hideous to me and the styles with different colors, sparkles or other adornments are also very unattractive. Okay on teenagers (they do all kinds of dumb things anyway) but increasingly unattractive as the age of the wearer increases

I can't stand to have long nails, so I keep them just a bit longer than my fingertips. I also can't stand to have anyone touch my feet, so I would never have a
pedicure. Plus, I know several women who came down with nail fungus after salon services, no thanks. I do my own manicures/pedicures and my fingers and toes are painted most of the time. It takes practice, but now I don't make too much of a mess. :)

I do my own.

Last week was pearly white finger nails & a deep raspberry for my toes. I usually like a flesh tone/nude nail polish.

I got one mani-pedi at a very fancy spa as a birthday gift from daughter. I hate having my fingers and toes touched and I took the polish off the next day. I used to use polish decades ago but not in years. My nails are very strong, pink and I file them briefly every night watching TV. They are rather short and square cut.

I don't wear polish on my fingernails. As mentioned above, I don't have the patience to wait for them to dry. Aside from that, making jewelry is tough on nails which are often used as tools in tight spaces. It's also difficult to pick up beads and other small components with long nails so I keep them short. My nails grow really quickly so I clip them quite often.

I do like polish on my toes though. Colors vary from lime green to blue to purple to a subtle pink depending on my mood. One of my favorites this summer was black with a top coat of silver glitter. I change colors once a week so i never have time to get bored with the color nor does the polish have time to start looking tired or becoming chipped.

I do my own pedicures because I don't like people touching my feet.

I garden so my nails are kept short and plain. They grow very fast and strong so I clip them about once a week. Back in the days when I had a business career, I did on occasion use polish.....but it would rapidly chip or flake off and I'd pick at it so stopped that pretty fast :-)

I consider having a pedicure a major indulgence - love the whirlpool, soaking spa and the foot and leg massage. And I always choose a colored polish. But the budget doesn't allow for that too frequently so I alternate between a local salon and doing it myself!

OutsidePlaying - I have the opposite issue. My fingers seem to be short to me. I keep the nails just a hair past the tip of my finger to give the illusion of longer fingers.

For those of you who don't use polish because it chips - I currently exclusively use Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - which isn't a true gel manicure and will remove with nail polish remover. But I can attest that the lighter colors will last almost two weeks - if you aren't too hard on them. The darker colors don't last as long but definitely longer than normal polish. I also hear good things about Essie Gel Couture - but I haven't tried it. Neither polish requires a UV lamp.

Oh, and usually when I do get a professional manicure, I opt for a french manicure as I can't seem to master that. :-\

I do my own, Pure Ice satin ribbon. I use light colors. Never had a mani or pedi, my feet are very ticklish.

Because I am low thyroid my nails are thin and flake easily. In the offices, marketing, banking, etc. that I have worked over the years having your nails done if you could not do them yourself gave the impression of being a professional woman. Some on here will disagree with that but they are not women. It was just considered something that women in management or aspiring to management did. Since it used to be expensive compared to average salaries the average woman just did her own. I have had it done in recent years when I had an important occasion but to cover the staining of my nails from working in dirt. I do enjoy having a pedicure but more for the hot towel that is placed around my legs than the rest of it.

Do you do your own nails? Yes!

Do you wear polish? No on fingers, yes on toes.

had a professional once... and decided to much money... and I had to be to careful with my fingers. ;)

Moni

Nope. Many nail polishes are full of nasty things, so I avoid them. My natural nails vary in length and I keep the cuticles pushed back so I think they look fine.

I've never had a pro mani/pedi either.

Since I cook and garden and teach arts & crafts, the only polish that stays looking OK on my hands is clear, but I rarely do that either, unless I have a fancy function to attend. I try to keep my nails neat and clean, but it can be hard sometimes when working w/ things that stain or break my nails.

I was taught how to do a manicure in Home Ec class in jr. high. Our teacher had her daughter, a ballerina, come in and do a grooming lesson w/ us girls: how to pluck your eyebrows, apply makeup, and do a manicure, etc.. This was back in the early 1970s, when only girls took Home Ec, & when they still had Home Ec. in schools.

During my late teens, 20s & 30s, I wore polish on my nails a lot, and seemed to have plenty of time to keep them looking fancy. Back then, polished toes weren't so popular or common as they are now, it seems, and everyone I knew did their own. Beauty magazines seemed to be filled w/ how-tos & tips too. I don't see that now.

I do my own pedicures, and often just do clear polish, but have some colors as well, but that's usually in hot weather, when I wear sandals most of the time.

I often wonder what it might be like to have manicured & polished fingernails all the time, and still cook, sew, craft & garden w/o damaging them...

The last time I had a pedicure I thought I'd have find a blowtorch to get the polish off. It made me think of a quote from the late Barbara Bush, saying she was happy to be leaving Washington...because she could let her fingernails heal.

Not being 'in the limelight' myself, I go years without having manicures or pedicures. I trim my own nails. I don't use nail polish. My fingernails are naturally white 'underneath', but all my nails are damaged due to age and a lifetime of steroids for asthma. Arthritis has put an end to my 'hand model' hands -- probably because I was busy *using* them! My 'position' in life has not required manicures.

Lessee...what might I have spent over 60 years for this very temporary enhancement?

Nope, no professional nail treatments for me, either. Way back, when I was young, I often wore polish on my fingernails, and occasionally on my toes if I was wearing sandals. I've worn only athletic style shoes for almost 40 years now, so nothing but necessary clipping of toenails. And fingernails I trim as needed while watching TV. Have any of y'all tried a glass emery board? They are great for leaving a smooth edge on your nails, it's all I use now.

When I was young (and slim) I always wanted long fingernails. I have no idea why, it was just sort of 'the thing to have', I guess. But no way my nails would grow, they chipped, split, broke, anything but grow long. Probably because I did so much with my hands. But now that I am older, and have no desire for long nails, they grow long, strong and fast! But I keep them just a tad longer than the tips of my fingers. Anything longer is just a nuisance!

Rusty

FYI for the gardeners on here who end the season with the tips of their nails stained. While in Oregon I saw one young woman whose toe nails that clear polish except for where the nails were. Although not a color I would chose her tips were a dark green. Apparently had been applied while the clear was still wet as there was a creep of color into the clear. I could see an opaque neutral color on the tips with the rest clear. Brought plants in today and looking at my nails and the postings on here brought her nails to mind.

I always have my toenails done, and at a salon. I usually have a gel manicure, which lasts for 2-3 weeks, on my nails. But I have to give them a break because they start getting air deprived and crack and flake. Right now I'm on a break, but they are healed and starting to grow again so I will get them done soon. They look so much better when polished.

Yes, I do my own. I have, off and on, for many years. Just finished them a little bit ago. In the 80's, it was acrylics. In the 90's, gels. Somewhere in there, I also tried fiberglass. Then I stopped for several years. Now, I wear gel polish (soft gels), which isn't quite the same as gel nails (hard gels). I always wear gloves when doing dishes (don't have a dishwasher, so I do a lot of dishes). Gel polish lasts from 3-4 weeks for me. Sometimes I get bored after 2 weeks and will give them a coat or two of another color. And recently I've discovered stamping, which is a lot of fun. I usually wear neutrals, but occasionally get a little crazy. However, not today.

This is what I had on last week.

donna, your nails look very pretty! You are lucky, you have nicely shaped nails. My nails aren't that perfect.

Arkansas girl, thank you for the laugh! Without gel polish, my nail are awful. They're soft and never get more than an eighth of an inch past my fingertips. Gel polish is harder than regular polish and allows them to grow. I can't believe that I actually have to shorten them every time I put new polish on.

I don't do my nail but I maintain them. My fingernails are kept short because I use actively use my hands. If they get past fingertip length they start to annoy me. No polish.

I do paint my toenails during flip flop and sandal season. Thought I was done with that but we got more warm weather. By Nov. no more toenail polish. I keep my toenails very short. Shorter than my fingernails which are short by most standards.

I so admire slender oval nails & tapering fingertips. Mine are round and wide.

i just do pedi's. what a treat!! i never cut my own toenails and they keep my feet and nails so nice. no rough spots, mini massage aaahhh just love get my "toe fingers" done :) DD and I just went yesterday, i got a pumpkin color for my toes!! i usually pick seasonal colors and no pinks or reds (boring!)...usually go purple's, blue's, green's etc... i like looking down to happy colors!! it makes me smile :)

no mani's, just a waste for me... only for weddings or something special!!