Aug 10
31
How not to look old: Wear your own nails
When most women over 50 look at their hands, they see their grandmothers staring back at them—Yikes! Whose hands are those?? As we get older, our skin becomes thinner and the veins pop out, and our nails get brittle and soft, and no matter how good our faces look, our hands often give away our true ages.
For women over 50, Charla Krupp writes in her book How Not to Look Old, nothing ages you like “red nail polish, fake nails, dragon-lady nails, ridged nails, discolored nails, age spots on your hands, veiny hands and bony hands,” Pretty strong words for things most of us experience as we get older, through no real fault of our own.
Charla promotes natural nails, not acrylics. Instead of spending the money on fake nails, keep your own nails short, neat and painted in a neutral color. Faux nails just are not “young and hip” any more, and longer nails make it difficult to use a computer, a cell phone and just about anything else electronic, with all the touch-pads these days.
Charla shares these tips for keeping your over-50 fingertips looking their best—you can have them professionally manicured or just do it yourself.
- Shape—“Squoval,” not quite square and not quite oval, is the chic shape for natural-looking nails.
- Length–Trim nails no longer than ¼ inch beyond your fingertips
- Color—On fingernails, use neutral beiges or pinks, colors that go with anything. Light colors make your fingers look longer, dark colors shorten them. And darker colors show nicks more easily. If you are hooked on having a French manicure, use a soft white, not a bright one, with the tip applied in a very thin line. Wide white lines are NOT chic.
- Art—Don’t even think about it! And avoid polish with excessive glitter. Don’t make people think you spent the night at a teenager sleepover.
If you are like me, and cannot imagine life without your solar nails, Charla recommends Creative Nail Design, a technique that is supposed to help your own nails grow long. You can find a salon on their website —I found five in the Austin area.
Here’s what I found on BeautyBlitz.com about this technique.
It’s the first ever hybrid nail color that marries the best of gel manis with your standard mani. What does that mean exactly? Well, first of all, the application process is like a standard bottle of nail polish – you pick a shade (from the 12 hot shades) – and then the manicurist applies the Shellac like you would a regular polish. This makes it easier to get a not-so-thick application, and it’s a more familiar application for the nail technician. This application also includes a base and top coat with two color coats in between. The thing that makes it different, is you cure it under the specially designed UV light. And, yes, that means no drying time!
The Creative Nail Design website states that “your nails are the ultimate fashion accessories.” But the models look very European and very young, definitely not classy over-50 beauties. But the do have a few lighter shades to choose from, that might just work for our “more refined” look.
Finally, it’s never too late to turn back the clock on your hands. Here are some easy tips to achieve that hand-model look.
- Apply an alpha-hydroxy cream with sunscreen every morning, and several times during the day. This improves the texture of the skin and helps lighten dark spots
- Wear rubber gloves when doing the dishes
- Don’t use your nails as tools!
- Put a thick coat of moisturizer on and cover with gloves right before bed. (I can just hear my husband’s comments now)
- Use cuticle oil regularly
- Get regular manicures to keep your nails healthy
I’m tempted to try the new Creative Nail Design process, but first need to check out the cost. I’ll get back to you if I get brave enough to make the change. Until then, I’ll continue to look “old lady” with my acrylic nails, while I slather the Vaseline on my over-50 hands at night before bed. More on my husband’s reaction another time.
Charla Krupp is the author of the bestseller How to Never Look Fat Again, just out in paperback
And Charla’s other great book How Not to Look Old, reviewed on Flourish Over 50:
