Both men and women need to pay attention to their fingernails. Why? Because everyone wants to hold hands with their special someone, and no one wants to hold hands with someone who has fingernails that are ill-groomed.

Date Nail NO-NOs

• Don’t bite your nails! People who bite their nails are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to having good date hands. So you gotta kick the habit, if this is something that you do. Chomped-on fingernails scream, “I’m a nervous person!” Who wants to be with a nervous person? And why are you so nervous? Don’t you have any way to cope with life’s stresses besides making a meal out of your nails? After all, you want share a meal with your someone special – not have a nail-sandwich solo!
• Don’t wear the wrong nail polish! (And men – don’t wear even that clear stuff the manicurist recommends – it’s not masculine, and no woman wants to feel like her man spends more time on grooming than she does!) Wearing the wrong nail polish can give the wrong impression. If you’re wearing black nail polish or something that is so dark it appears black, it may look fashionable, but to most men, it will look like you’re “Vampira”. Clear polish, a French manicure or the softer colors are a better choice. And stay away from red, unless you’re dressed in red clothing because you can look a bit too flamboyant for most men’s tastes.

Date Nail YES YESs

• Do file your nails. It’s best to have, as closely as possible the same length nails on all fingers (and yes, you should try to match your thumbs to each other). Nails that have rough edges are to be avoided; when you’re holding hands, the last thing you want to feel is something scratchy.
• Do make sure that, if you go with false fingernails, they look as natural as possible. Almost nothing is worse than those too-long, can’t do anything with your hands fake fingernails.

Your fingernails say so much. Make sure your nails convey the message you want to send. Take a little time to think about what image you want to present and groom yourself accordingly. As for toenails, we’ll leave that topic for another day….