While architectural, museum-worthy nail art is a delight to behold and just as fun to wear, some folks are in the camp of wanting to keep their digits in a natural-looking state. If this describes your preferences, you’ll be happy to know about the latest manicure craze: “soap nails.” Soap nails refers to painting your nails with a sheer, high-shine natural color (think a baby pink, pale beige or milky white) so your nails look like they’re practically bare but clean and polished, as though you just washed your hands — hence the soapy name.
Interested in trying it out for yourself? We’re pleased to report this latest take on the idea of “your nails but better” can be achieved quickly and for cheap, with a polish from a HuffPost reader-favorite brand.
The brand Londontown is perhaps best known for its milky Illuminating Nail Concealer, which is a longtime bestseller among HuffPost readers. But the nail care brand makes another home-run product: the Perfecting Nail Veil. At $20 a bottle, this “veil” can deliver both a high-shine sheen and some protection to your nails, so you can save money on manicures, try out a trend and help your nails stay healthy all in one product.
The Nail Veil and the Nail Concealer may look similar, but they have slightly different formulas.
The Nail Veil isn’t a brightener like the Nail Concealer, but instead offers a bit of color and focuses on providing nourishing ingredients for your nails like alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs). AHAs can gently exfoliate your skin (which includes your nails) and remove dead skin cells to promote cell turnover, which naturally slows as we age. So, using a product with AHAs on your nails like the Nail Veil can reduce your nails’ visible signs of aging. Plenty of reviewers also mention using this product while letting their nails grow out and heal from gel manicures.
The Nail Veil comes in nine shades, ranging from muted tints that can look natural on different skin tones to get the “soap nails” look to slightly bolder colors, like a lilac or red that are both still sheer. No. 4, a dusty rose tint, appears to be the most popular.
One of the best parts of the Nail Veil is that, like the Nail Concealer, you can put one to two coats directly on your bare nails and go about your day — no base or top coat required. Your at-home manicure just got the easiest it’s ever been, and it might even last longer: Multiple reviewers mention the polish not chipping for weeks.
Soap nails may just be a trend for now, but with how timeless and classic the look is, we have a feeling this one will be sticking around for a while.
Below, check out some promising reviews of the Nail Veil from people who have used and loved it.
“I wanted a neutral, natural looking nail polish and this is an excellent choice. It is surprisingly durable and worth the cost. The manicure lasted over a week without chipping and I use my hands for the usual cooking, cleaning, and all the stuff that you do around the house – those things that usually chip your nails. I took them off for a few days and my nails are beginning to peel again so I will be using solar oil for a day or two then reapplying the polish to save them.” — Book Lady
“I LOVE the quick dry time, and hard finish of this product. Yes, it is more expensive, but especially if you aren’t great at painting your own nails, I would recommend this product because it smooths itself so easily and dries much more quickly than regular nail polish. NOTE* It’s not a traditional polish, it’s a nail correcting pigment, but I love natural and neutral colors and two coats of this is a beautiful light pink/purple tone, not to mention it’s a harder, more chip resistant result. Will be buying more colors!” — Amazon Customer
“As a stay at home Mom, I needed a simple way to protect my nails during the day. This nail veil fits the bill. It protects and nourishes my nails while being a color that looks natural and compliments my skin tone.” — Meghan S.
“I love this product and gave already recommended it to others. When I don’t want a lot of color, just a clean, polished, natural look, this is my go to. The best part is, it makes my nails stronger and visibly BETTER within days after application. I don’t know how, but every time, it works. They grow longer, look better, and don’t break. This product has changed my nails and I love it.” — RJ
Want more nail care products for aging nails? Check out these dermatologist-recommended picks, rounded up by HuffPost shopping writer Tessa Flores:
Mian said that topically applied keratin can be helpful in improving the strength of brittle nails since that’s the protein that provides structural support and protection to nails in the first place. Based on this guidance, we found this keratin treatment that claims to offer visible improvement to nails in just three days, while also preventing cracking and peeling. The quick-drying and invisible formula is also well-received among Amazon reviewers who say that Nail-Aid is their “secret weapon for nail growth.”
According to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Kiran Mian, just as peptides can boost collagen production in the skin to improve elasticity and plumpness, they can add resiliency to nails. That’s one of the reasons she likes this peptide-infused base coat by Dermelect, which applies and wears like a clear nail polish. Mian said that she also likes how it contains biotin and hydrolyzed keratin, which can all help to prevent nail yellowing and fortify the nail structure, allowing the nail to grow longer without breaking.
Both Camp and Mian suggested this clinical-grade nail and cuticle serum that targets virtually all signs of nail aging, from dryness to fragility to irregular texture.
“It has castor oil, triglycerides, and hydroxypropyltrimonium hyaluronate, which is great for increasing hydration and strength of nails,” Mian said.
According to Camp, the keratin-supporting formula, easily dispensed and applied with a brush-tipped pen, increases nail density and thickness. The serum’s maker also claims that silanediol salicylate promotes the production of one of the most predominant minerals in the nail.
Also from Nail-Aid is this maximum collagen builder that we chose based on Mian’s suggestion that, although more research is needed to support evidence of oral collagen, topical collagen can prove to be helpful when it comes to improving the look and feel of nails. This clear polish prevents splitting and cracking while also providing a thick, extra-hard coating for nails and an ultra-healthy shine that lasts up to two weeks.
Double board-certified dermatologist Dr. Brendan Camp suggested this reparative nail conditioner for its lanolin-rich base and beeswax-containing formula, which claims to promote the growth of healthy, smooth nails.
“Lanolin helps soften nails by helping to restore moisture, which can make nails more pliable and durable so that they chip and crack less often,” Camp said.
He explained that rich emollients help improve the texture of nails and the skin around nails by filling in gaps or cracks in skin and improving moisture retention.
“Occlusive agents like petrolatum and paraffin trap moisture into nails and fingertips to soften them and make nails more pliant,” Camp said, suggesting this multi-purpose healing ointment that he said can be used just like cuticle butter to improve hydration and reduce the risk of hangnails.
This skin protectant from Cetaphil isn’t unlike more well-known ointments like Vaseline or Aquaphor, however it’s also enriched with antioxidant-rich vitamin E to promote resilience, as well as shea butter, an ingredient that Camp recommends for its ability to help improve the texture of nails through better moisture retention.
“Oils with fatty acids like jojoba oil can help combat the dry and brittleness of nails, increasing nail hydration,” Mian said. We’ve talked about this incredibly popular nail and cuticle care oil before, which doesn’t just contain jojoba, but also conditioning sweet almond oil, rice bran oil and vitamin E, an antioxidant that’s commonly found in skin care for its ability to prevent premature skin aging by neutralizing environmental stressors.
Promising review: “As I got older my nails started to split from the tip to the nail bed. Growing up I never had this problem and I missed having natural long nails. I started coating my nails with the product at night while watching TV. The results were pretty quick. I have not had a split nail since I started using the product. My only complaint is that it doesn’t come with an applicator. I used a small cheap paint brush I had at home. There really isn’t a scent to the product either, which I like. I will continue to use the product every couple of days now that the nails no longer split.” — GigiKDK
“One of my favorite practices as part of my self care Sunday is rubbing coconut oil into my nails,” Mian said. “Coconut oil, while not great for facial skin, [has a] rich fatty acid profile [that] is great for hair and nails.”
We chose this extra-virgin coconut oil which is cold pressed, unrefined and a best seller on Amazon with over 89,000 5-star ratings and 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Among Camp’s top ingredients for targeting aging nails are shea butter and glycerin, a dermatologist-approved humectant that draws moisture into the skin and keeps it there. We found this hand and nail cream by French beauty brand Embryolisse, which contains both. The nourishing and reparative formula claims to soften, moisturize and protect.
“The beeswax in this product envelops the nails, cuticles, and hands in an occlusive layer of protection to seal in moisture to improve texture and prevent dryness,” Camp said of Cutemol’s emollient skin cream that offers an intense level of hydration to severely dry, cracked and compromised skin. The lightweight balm also contains allantoin, an ingredient that can enhance smoothness and soothe skin.
“Biotin is a vitamin crucial for nail health, and supplements can help maintain strength of the nail,” Mian said.
There are tons of biotin supplements on the market to choose from, but board-certified dermatologist Dr. Purvisha Patel suggested Nutrafol specifically. The women’s balance formulation features a proprietary blend of 21 vitamins and minerals, including biotin, and natural ingredients like saw palmetto.
This bottle contains a 30-day supply of capsules and, as is the case with all supplements, it’s important to seek guidance from your medical health care professional before taking Nutrafol.