Forget the Windsor knot or a Four-in-hand. Never mind Oxford vs Derbys. The most pertinent stylist decision among young men today is shellac or gel, square or rounded. Because the male manicure has become a booming business.
A new survey by Clearpay has found that nail care in male grooming has doubled year on year, at a 103 per cent rise. Which tallies neatly with what we’ve been seeing on the digits of the Gen Z bellwethers of men’s style today: Harry Styles with a rainbow array of nail colours, ASAP Rocky with quirky designs, and even elder statesmen like Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves have dabbled in the past, teaming a touch of polish with their pinstripes.
Jeremy Allen White - star of the hit TV series The Bear - just stepped out with nails painted a jolly turquoise colour. The chirpy young guy who hands me my latte each morning does so with nails in glorious hues. As does a colleague’s teenage son. Time was when a fellow would match his pocket square to his tie – are we now matching our nail colour to our matcha?
“There has been a rise in men having manicures, wearing polish and having nail treatments,” says Leighton Denny MBE, founder of his namesake nail care brand. “Previously, men who wore nail polish were associated with some sort of sub-culture - emos, punks, drag queens. These days it’s much more common. It’s no longer a sign of rebellion, and there’s far less judgment around what typically has been associated with gender norms.”
The celebrity endorsem*nt is a factor, says Thea Green, founder of Nails Inc. “These guys - Harry Styles, Brad Pitt, Lil Nas X - opt to make nails an accessory to their outfits. At our nail bar in Selfridges we have regular male clients, it’s definitely something that men are becoming attuned to.”
“You just have to cross through Instagram or TikTok to see how many men experiment with colours on their nails,” adds Denny.
Harry Styles has a great deal to answer for, from men in pearls to men in pearlescent polishes. In 2021, his Pleasing lifestyle range - think Goop with a Gen Z twist - debuted a range of unisex nail polishes showcased on the Mick Jagger-lite singer himself. American singer Paul Klein is famous for his vibrantly patterned nails, having slogans and sentiments inked on them (I guess it beats a “Mum” tattoo…).
What’s notable about the new crop of men having their cuticles tended to is that, as Denny says, it isn’t your average Goth but guys who are perfectly at home in their masculinity happily applying a bit of polish. But if the full assault of a daub of canary yellow or aeolian blue (nice for August sojourns, perhaps) isn’t your thing, a more “entry level” approach is having a manicure without the tints and twinkly touches.
“Typically, men are most likely to opt for simple treatments such as a classic manicure or pedicure to maintain healthy, well-groomed attractive nails,” says Denny. “This is an easy ‘in’, which includes shaping and buffing of the nails and cuticle. The end result is just neat and healthy-looking.”
I confess that I’ve never had a manicure myself, but firmly believe it’s basic good manners to have a pedicure ahead of summer holidays if you intend to be in sandals – there’s nothing worse than grotty, yellowing toenails joining you as 10 unwanted guests under the table at aperitivo time. Pedicures where the nails are just tidied up aren’t that much of a leap, perhaps? After all, manicure kits for men have been available at some of the most historic barber shops in Mayfair for centuries.
I grant you, the thought of sitting in a glitzy nail salon having your cuticles tended to alongside a gaggle of gals shopping on a Saturday likely doesn’t appeal to a lot of men, but there’s no reason not to head to the more patrician barbershop emporiums. London’s Geo F Trumper, for example, provides a manicure service, performed as you have your beard trimmed and sip a whisky, if that’s more your scene.
As for whether you opt for a high-octane hue to up the ante, we’ll hand that over to you.
