I’ve never gotten one before (mainly due to the fact that I usually feel like I have to have my nails really short to be comfortable). But lately I’ve been thinking about getting one. Do my nails have to be a certain length beforehand? They’ve mostly gotten longer. Also, if they’re oddly shaped at all, do I have to be concerned, or does the manicurist basically take care of everything?
She’ll take care of everything, don’t worry about it. Your nails don’t have to be a certain length but the manicurist is usually happier if you have a little bit of length; if your nails are bitten to the quick, they’re tough to shape. (ETA: I have this problem with pedicures: I keep my toenails very, very short because I frequently wear heels but the pedicurist would rather have a little length to work with.)
Get the pedicure too - you’ll love it!
Cool, thanks! They’re long enough, I think (except for one finger which is a bit shorter). There are a few places I know of that do them for fairly cheap (I think about $12), so I figured, why not? I’ll hold off on the pedicure till it gets warm enough to wear open shoes again.
Make sure you have your hands with you that day 
Put your money somewhere easy to get to. Don’t put it in a pocket or somewhere tight, you’ll ruin the manicure while attempting to pay for it. I usually take out what I will need for services + tip and leave it on top of everything else in my bag - that way I can just reach in and grab the money without digging around.
Just relax and enjoy it. I LOVE getting a manicure it’s a great stress reliever.
ETA: Although I like to keep mine done in a french, Plum and Navy are the “in” colors this season - especially for shorter nails.
If one of your nails is much shorter than the rest, the manicurist will usually cut them all down to that length (unless you ask her not to). And sheer pinks usually last the longest.
The manicurist needs some nail to work with, but she’ll trim it to the desired length if asked. The time I had a manicure done, the manicurist trim it down fairly short (I need it that way, and I don’t like really long nails).
Pedicures are heavenly… I wish I could get another one…
I forget to do this EVERY TIME. Why is it so hard to remember? It’s an excellent tip though, very important.
In my experience, they usually have you remove any watches, bracelets, or rings because in addition to doing your nails, they massage your hands and arms with lotion (up to the elbow).
I just had a mani-pedi this past weekend…sooo relaxing. I had one nail that was shorter than the others, and the manicurist trimmed the others to match. I wanted her to because I have a very typing-intensive week this week, so now my nails are pretty but practical.
I will remove as much old polish as I can, but I don’t concern myself that much about it because my manicurist will take care of it all.
I get a pedi about every 8 weeks. It’s too hard, I find, to clip my own toenails and try to shape them.
I pay in advance when I have a regular manicurist (which I haven’t for a while) who I know what I’m going to tip. Then when I sit down I hand her my car keys good to go. She trims, files, buffs and polishes, and puts me under the dryer, and sets my car keys down in a way I can pick them up without dinging my nails.
If your nails are short and you want to grow them out - weekly manicures will have them to a nice but still managable length over about five weeks - unless you are unfortunate enough to tear one.
Take a couple of painkillers.
Fool that I am, I allowed my wife to persuade me to get a manicure a couple of years ago. Whatever they did to my cuticles hurt like hell. Never again!
Why yes, I am a big pussy. Why do you ask?
You, a man, got a manicure? We didn’t need to ask.
Hehe. Well, I think I’ll be all right. My pain tolerance is low, I admit. But I do get hair ripped out of my body several times a month, so I can probably deal. 
I plead force majeure.
Hey all, thanks again for the advice…got it done Friday night, and I loved it.
shamrock, the woman doing the manicure had me pay right before she put the polish on (but after shaping/filing them). So I guess they’re ahead of the curve, there.
I had a clear-ish polish called “Starter Wife” this time.
I’m thinking next time, I might go for French manicure. It was fun! (And not painful, for me anyway.)
Just a suggestion–throw away your emery boards and buy a glass nail file. They polish the ends of your fingernails so they don’t snag on anything. I’ll never go back to regular nail files.