Printable View
I'm trying to learn to play the guitar as well. So, my nails need to be short, for sure, because I need all the help I can get. I do polish them from time to time, sometimes with an opaque flesh color that I will wear even in drab. It doesn't make me play any better.
Hi Macey,
Yet another guitar player here so I keep my fretting hand nails short , but grow my pick hand nails as I finger style at times and hybrid pick. My mother actually complimented my nails recently . Those nails have gone to crap this week as the job I?m doing at work has really sharp edges . I literally only have something substantial for nails on the ring and pinky fingers. My hand is pretty beat up. This particular job will be 3 weeks, so kiss the nails buy bye.
I used to work in the photo industry so explaining to people why I had long nails was easy...to handle negatives without touching them. Stick a corner into the quick and the nail acts like a shelf...no fingerprints. Then people who know me say "but that was 30 years ago". My reply..."old habits are hard to kill". My nails were usually about a 1/4 inch+ past the end and in a semi-almond shape tip. Now-a-days they stay about an 1/8 or so past. Working with horses and other livestock is difficult to keep long nails from being broken.
Wearing a set of long painted acrylics is wonderful but definitely gets in the way of playing guitar or typing. I can actually play chords reasonably well with them but shredding licks? Forget it. Same for banging out code or emails. My priorities dictate short nails.
Well, I wear clear nail polish on my nails all the time. No one has ever noticed, because I use a matte top coat that truly works to put them in "stealth mode". Completely undetectable. I've even been able to wear a coat of Essie "Sheers to You" sheer pink, with the matte top coat. My wife and I are the only ones who know, and even she can't tell when I have the pink polish on. And it does help to keep them from cracking and chipping. That might be paetly becuase I'm a little more careful about not beating up my nails after all the work I put into filing, buffing, and applying the polish!
Just out of curiosity, and since you said you were on a smoke break, do you handle your cigarette in a feminine manner?
Like BeingDarlene, I wear matte nail polish most of the time. In a semi-amusing incident a couple of weekends ago, though, I decided to redo my nails while tired and slightly drunk, and ended up going to bed with only the base coat on, which dries slightly shiny (under dull, indoor lighting), and very obviously shiny in daylight. I woke up, had to rush to a meeting with some friends, and forgot that I'd not put the matte layer on. I didn't notice until I arrived at my friends house, by which time it was too late. My hands spent a lot more time than they normally would in my pockets, but we were eating brunch, so they couldn't stay hidden. And the friends had invited a woman I'd not met before; I was mortified, as there were lots of double-take glances at my fingers. That said, no one said anything, and I got an unexpectedly cheery goodbye from their visiting friend, but I felt ridiculously self conscious throughout.
It's strange how circumstances (and knowing people) makes such a difference to how we feel. Not long before this I'd flown back to the UK wearing very obvious shiny gloss, as an experiment, and though many people, including the air stewardesses and waitresses noticed (and even a work colleague I bumped into unexpectedly) they all seemed quite chilled about it, and I felt fine the whole way.
I would love to start wearing colours in public, but feel I could only do it where I wasn't known.
By the way, guitar player here too, but after retiring from performing, I haven't gigged in a few years, having picked up the guitar in months, but if the desire gets to me, OUT will come the nailclippers!
After lot of hesitation and having fear of unknown, I made the appointment and went to the nail salon. Oh what a good time it turned out. Had manicure and pedicure for the first time ever. It is an amazing experience. The nail tech was friendly and I got lovely pink color on my hands and on the toes. There were few GG customers, and no one really gave any attention when I was being attended to. Now made a note to self, to do it regularly. It has been a week now and no one really said anything. I feel happy that I did it.