The Surprising Reason Press-On Nails Are Perfect for Women Over 50, According to a Celebrity Manicurist

For those of us who want an affordable, professional-looking manicure at home, press-on nails are the best invention, ever. They’re available at a lot of major retailers and drug stores, with even more at online retailers or independent sellers. You can find any nail design, length or shape you want and apply it within minutes. 

While most beauty products are for adults of all ages, there could be some hesitation to use new tools that you're not super familiar with. So, it’s understandable that if you’re over 50, you might be a little intimidated to use press-on nails.

But as Julie Kandalec, celebrity nail artist and nailpreneur, tells Parade, press-ons can actually be the perfect nail alternative for women 50+.

Kandalec, who was just the lead nail artist for the Christian Cowan Fall/Winter 2025 show during New York Fashion Week, shares why you might want to look into press-ons—including a surprising benefit for mature women. Plus, she shares who else might benefit from press-ons and how to take care of your fingernails in between.

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This Surprising Reason Press-on Nails Are Perfect for Women Over 50, According to a Celebrity Manicurist

“I know that for women over 50, what they complain about a lot is that their nails are breaking, they're brittle, they're damaged,” Kandalec tells Parade. “So when you put a press-on on, it's going to give them a little bit of protection and allow their natural nail underneath to grow and stay protected from snagging and things like that.”

So, while your nails are growing stronger and longer, you get to enjoy the cute manicure of your choosing. When you're ready to remove them? It's as easy as can be.

As Kandalec explains, press-on nails come off nicely with acetone because they’re made of plastic, which means you can leave them on for two weeks and soak them off to reveal that the “natural nail underneath is growing out.”

“Soak it off and you have a little bit of length, right?” she says. “And then you can polish them or whatever you want to do.”

And while you might hear “fake nails” and immediately think of extremely long styles, remember: You can buy press-on nails in all shapes and sizes. For Kandalec, “short, rounded” nails are “really flattering” for women over 50 if you don’t know where you want to start with artificial nails.

“If someone over 50 wants to go for like a stiletto, a coffin, a ballerina, like more power to them,” she says. “But, they don't [have to]... Generally, people that I speak to over 50 are like, ‘No, I just want to keep it simple.’ A short rounded nail… I think is beautiful.”

Related: 35 Short Nail Designs to Inspire Your Next Manicure

Who Else Could Benefit From Wearing Press-Ons?

With the logic that fake nails you can glue on are great for protecting the natural nails underneath, you can probably guess that they’re perfect for anyone with thinner nails that they’re trying to strengthen. This can also include people with small nail beds.

“...People don't think about it; press-ons actually fit a nail biter or someone with a very small nail bed better,” Kandalec says. "So I don't want people who have bitten nails, or tiny nail beds to… feel like, ‘Oh, I can't do it, my nail beds are too small.’ They're actually a really good candidate for press-ons.”

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How To Keep Nails Healthy in Between Press-Ons

Using press-ons on brittle nails might protect your real nails and help you grow them out, but if you do use acetone and nail glue, that can still take a toll if you aren’t taking care of them properly. Don’t rip them off, and don’t overdo it with the acetone soaks.

But what is the best way to keep your nails healthy in between press-ons to help them grow underneath? Cuticle oil.

“Cuticle oil is more than just keeping the cuticle hydrated," Kandalec explains. "What it does is it absorbs into the nail plate, so it helps keep the nail flexible so it doesn't break.”

Cuticle oil can be great for pushing cuticles back and cutting off any excess. But as Kandalec shares, it can also make your nails withstand more since the nails are more likely to “bend, not break.”

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• Julie Kandalec is an NYC Celebrity manicurist and educator. She’s also the author of the Nail Art Design Book.