Men and Manicures

A big thank you to guest blogger John Watson (The Inked Writer) for this post. Enjoy!

If you hang out with the lads supping beer down at the local pub, you’ll be sure to hear colorful discussions on everything from politics to football, but you certainly wouldn’t expect to hear any of them talking about their latest pedicure and what type of nail polish they are sporting. You may not hear it, but that doesn’t mean that men aren’t embracing nail care.

Most men’s idea of nail care means gnawing off a chunk with their teeth and then spitting it into the garbage can, but given that their nails grow faster and thicker than women’s, it might be a good idea to start looking after them before you chip a tooth during grooming. According to online stat’s men only account for around 30% of all manicure treatments, but that’s a number that is probably much higher than most people, especially women would have guessed.

That upward trend may be due in large part to the number of male celebrities that take the time to look after their skin and nails with luxurious spa treatments; sure, they have to look good when they are up on the silver screen, but if a macho action star can get a pedicure and a splash of nail polish, then why not big Dave down at the boozer? The reason is probably down to perception more than anything else, with most of the lads probably thinking the man in question has switched sides.

What most of those narrow-minded types might be surprised to find out is that women are actually very attracted to a clean-cut man, and studies have actually shown that they believe a man in nail polish, particularly if it’s a matte black or similarly dark color, is actually very masculine. Of course, those numbers could be skewed due to the fact that the ladies have only seen the nail polish on the likes of David Beckham and not the aforementioned big Dave.

When Naomi asked me to write a piece for her blog, I’m not sure whether she noticed that the profile picture on my site features yours truly sporting black nail polish. So you see, I am living proof that women do find nail polish attractive, as that is the very picture that my wife responded to when she saw it on an internet dating site. She never once assumed that I had doubts about my own sexuality, simply that I was confident enough to sport the basic black. Perhaps more men should follow suit, just so that me and Becks don’t’ have to feel like outcasts.

Photo courtesy of badlyricpolice on Flickr