I Got Pampered at a Men’s Nail Bar

On a Friday afternoon, with my pretty little fingers tired from toiling away at my keyboard all week, I decided to get a manicure. But not just any manicure—a “man-e-cure.”

Tucked away in a small corner of a mall near my house is the lone outlet of a “men’s nail bar,” the first and only that I’ve ever heard of. When men are free to get their nails clipped and even painted at any salon, and while people around the world embrace genderless brands, not just in hygiene and grooming but also in fashion, I asked myself: What the hell is the point of a nail bar specifically for men? 

As I walked through the salon’s frosted glass doors into its black-and-maroon interiors, I became determined to find out. 

One of the four nail technicians explained that the 3-year-old establishment is owned and operated by the same people behind another well-loved nail salon. That salon, like many others, caters more to women in the conventional sense. I know because I’ve been there and have gotten my nails done, amidst its pink walls and floral upholstery. Other men go there, too, but the manicurist I was speaking with said that they probably don’t take so well to the design and often feel uncomfortable being the only guys in the room. 

In this men’s nail bar, the manicurist said as she massaged my hand and wrapped it in a warm gray towel, a man could enjoy a quiet and relaxed environment, without feeling self-conscious. Perhaps it’s the same logic that guides the rise of “makeup for men.” Regular makeup likely works the same on men as it does on women, but labeling something “for men,” for better or worse, somehow soothes what the internet often calls our fragile male egos. 

Another staff member also said that many of their customers say they’re just thankful to finally have a nail salon that specifically caters to them. No matter how unnecessary and even backwards something like a men’s nail bar might seem to people at first, it must be doing some good if it provides people with places they feel welcome to enter. And if they leave those places with moisturized hands and feet, and clean and colorful nails, is anybody really at a loss?

Well, lone women, apparently. 

Women can only enter this nail bar “if they’re with their male partner,” said one of the manicurists.

She said the strange rule came after a guy complained about a woman being in the bar with him. Before that, the place was open to everyone, but the “men’s nail bar” sign and the logo of a bow tie-and-top hat-wearing gentleman on the door made it handsomely clear who the ideal customer was. 

Whatever caused that one customer to complain, I don’t think it merits banning all lone women. It seems easier to explain to that one man that the point of branding a nail salon more traditionally masculine is not to exclude women, but to make it more obvious that men and other folk are welcome, too. 

But what about lesbians, trans men, and those who don’t fit the gender binary? 

“If a woman walks in and their heart is male, then it shouldn’t be a problem,” said one staff member. 

Much of the actual manicuring and pedicuring process was the same as it would be in a regular nail salon, but the staff here seemed to be in less of a rush to get the job done. Whether that was by design or simply because there wasn’t a line of waiting customers felt irrelevant as I chose the color of my polish.

Unfortunately, there were fewer options than there normally are in nail salons that cater to women, but they could go get any color I wanted from their other nail salon, the staff said. 

I’m still not entirely sure what the point of a men’s nail bar is—is getting our nails done in a hot pink chair instead of a leather one such a blow to our masculinity?—but after getting my manicure-pedicure-massage combo, I figured that they may actually serve some purpose: to validate men’s needs for pampering and self-care—needs that don’t always fit into the macho male ideal.

A lot of this might seem to pander to and perpetuate rather tired and even toxic gender norms: Men like darker colors, don’t like to talk, and don’t like to be in places and situations that are generally perceived to be feminine. But a lot of it also responds to needs that many men and masculine-presenting people might not even realize they have—spaces for them to sit back, relax, and get their nails painted baby blue.

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