I see women of all ages at the nail salon I go to- I’d say the average age of a customer there would be 30. I’ve also seen mothers and their adult daughters getting manicures together.
I bet older women just wear more subtle or neutral colors so it’s less obvious that their nails are painted.
ETA: I’m 23 and have always had painted nails since elementary school.
I’m actually a toes-only girl. I’m 33. But I do keep them looking good and crisp.
Most of my female friends do both.
ETA: Nail polish is very very popular on Pinterest. All of my friends on Pinterest (all female) have at least one nail polish pin, if not daily nail polish pins.
I used to wear nail polish on both fingers and toes. The upkeep on the fingers got to be too much, since I use my hands both professionally, to work around the house and for hobbies. When I go for a mani/pedi, if I get nail polish on the fingers, it’s clear. On the toes, however, I’ll go with something flashy.
I’d as soon go outside without pants as without a pedicure (and I sure do wish more people felt that way). I generally polish my fingernails with a very sheer pink that gives some sheen and doesn’t show chips, but I actually just finished painting them a festive red for the season. I’m 41.
I had no idea there would even be an age limit. I don’t wear make-up or jewelry or do anything else much to adorn my body but I share a collection of about 45 colors of polish with my daughter, including sparkly shades of every color. I LOVE doing my nails. Especially when my girls and I paint each other’s right hand fingers and toes. I would be sad to see this end, and I now wonder if at 43 I look ridiculous with my blue glittery toes.
My toes are always done, even if it’s a shameful growing out 3 week old polish job. My fingers are rarely polished because the upkeep is too difficult. Once a month or so I’ll paint my fingernails, but take it off soon after when it starts chipping or growing out.
To the OP, are you taking into account you might see plenty of women with natural-looking acrylic or gel fingernails? The french manicure look is the most popular way to wear fake nails and there might be plenty around you that you haven’t noticed.
I know girls and women of all ages – from toddlers to seniors – who wear polish on their fingers and toes. My mom is 69 and favors fun colors for toes especially, like dark purple or turquoise. It works for her.
Nail polish is huge, huge, huge business, and it’s not all driven by teenagers and 20somethings. But I do think that a lot of older women and professional women go for more neutral looks–pale pinks that read as “nude” or French tips or clear polish on manicured nails–just because it’s seen as more “appropriate” for older women, or because it’s a better idea for an office setting.
If you go to any nail salon you will see women of all ages, lots of whom are getting neutral-looking polish jobs and lots of whom who are getting bright, fun colours.
(Obviously I think anyone of any age should wear whatever polish their heart desires, because that is awesome! But I do understand that not all women feel that way. And now I’m off to paint my nails.)
I’m in my 40s and wear nail polish if I want to. Usually I don’t, but if I get in the mood I’ll put some on. I have traditional soft colors and some bright and glittery kinds too. It’s fun. What annoys me is when it wears off and looks crappy and I have to remember to take it off, and the glittery kinds are very resistant to removal.
Some jobs prohibit nail polish, so those employees would have to limit it to days off.
I voted “no” because it looked like you were only interested in fingernails. I only polish my fingernails (in nude or light pink) for weddings or other big events. Fingernail polish is too hard to maintain.
I almost always have my toes done professionally - a pedicure every two weeks is cheaper than a podiatrist when my toenails get ingrown and infected. I haven’t got the knack (or, um, flexibility) to maintain them myself as well as the pedicurist can.
I prefer having my fingernails painted, but I’m terrible at it, and hate the upkeep. I’m kind of in love with those nail polish strips they’re marketing the hell out of now. They’re easier for me to put on then polish, and I learned I can cut the cost in half by using one strip for two nails. They don’t chip or crack nearly as often as polish, either - they last a week or two! It’s like having my old acrylic nails back in terms of wear time! (The metallic ones tend to crack a bit more than the others, and glitter is the way to go for your first time - they’re a little thicker and don’t tear so easily when you put them on. Just as awful to remove as real glitter polish from a bottle, though. Fair warning.)
But if I’m seeing patients for wound care or IV stuff or other open to the body things, I can’t wear anything on my fingernails at all, due to the risk of bacteria growing under the polish. So sometimes I can’t wear polish of any sort on my fingers, but I still voted Yes to both because I would if I could, all the time.
I do feel this way, even if my pedicures are usually DIY. I run long distances and no one should have to see my un-pedicured feet. In fact, that’s why I usually do it myself. Those girls in the nail salon don’t need to see that shit, either.
I voted fingers and toes, although a lot of time I don’t wear polish on either. My fingernails tend to be short and when they get a little length on them, I tend to do big Forbidden Thing in nail care – use them as tools. Consequently, I have difficulty maintaining either long nails or unchipped polish. But I do like nail polish when my nails are in good shape and long-ish.
I tend not to polish on my toes in the winter because my feet are rarely on public display, but I do in the summer and tend to go for bright colors.
My mother is 68 years old, and I don’t think I have ever, even once in my entire life, seen her without her nails done. I generally keep my nails painted, but sometimes if they chip and I don’t feel like fixing them, I just remove the polish then go without until I’m in the mood to start all over.
I always have painted nails, and on the occasions I don’t feel slightly scruffy! Having said that, I won’t even go the local shop without make-up! (I am 42)
I usually wear clear polish on my fingernails. Sometimes it’s clear, but tinted pink, which still looks like unpolished nails. My nails tend to crack and split horribly if I don’t wear polish. The upkeep is minimal. My nails are pretty short, again because they’ll crack and split and break.
I don’t wear polish on my toenails, but I do enjoy pedis. I love to get my feet and legs wrapped in hot damp cloth and then massaged. I go to a podiatrist, who removes calluses and checks for problems, but getting a pedi treatment at a salon is a completely different animal.
I’ve taken my adult daughter to the salon a couple of times when she’s here visiting, and paid for the deluxe mani and pedi for both of us. She does get polish on her toenails, and she also gets art on her fingernails. She loves it, and we have a nice chat. In between visits, she usually gets manis with nail art, but not pedis.