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Chrome French tips and polka dots may have been huge last year, but nail artists say this year’s trending manicures are more low-maintenance.
“The reasoning is pretty much always some combo of ‘I want my nails to look natural’, and being over chipped polish and constant infills, work environments where loud nails feel like a lot, or just wanting that effortless low-maintenance style,” says celebrity manicurist Iram Shelton.
At Marc Jacobs’ spring/summer 2026 show, models walked the runway with short, bare-looking, deliberately unpolished nails.
The runway chimed with a wider trend known as “naked nails”, where natural-looking nail beds, neat shapes and healthy shine replaced elaborate art and obvious colour – perhaps an extension of the “clean girl make-up” look.
Social media is taking the trend one step further with “nailmaxxing” – a term for maximising the appearance and health of your natural nails.
“It’s probably the biggest shift I’ve seen in my chair this past year,” Shelton says. “People who used to come in begging for chrome or crazy nail art are now like ‘make it look like I’m not wearing anything’, which is kind of funny because that look actually takes way more skill than people think.”
If you want to master nailmaxxing, here is how to perfect a manicure so it looks like you barely have one at all.

What actually is nailmaxxing?
Much like “looksmaxxing” or “sleepmaxxing”, nailmaxxing essentially means maximising every element of how your nails look.
“Nailmaxxing is essentially about maximising the appearance and health of your natural nails, looking at everything from the shape and length of the nail to the condition of the cuticles and surrounding skin,” explains nail technician Rhiannon Thayre at Paint Nails London.
“Rather than focusing solely on nail art, there is much more attention on making the natural nail itself look as healthy, elongated and well-groomed as possible.”
Thayre believes its popularity reflects a rejection of obviously “done” beauty in favour of more natural, effortless-looking results.
“There’s also a move towards treating nail care in a similar way to skincare,” she says. “People are increasingly interested in the health of the nail and the skin around it, rather than only thinking about which colour they’re going to choose.”
So what is a ‘naked manicure’?
There are slightly different interpretations of just how naked your nails need to be. For nail artist Hannah Johnson at Shoreditch Nails, also in London, it is about “a well-maintained natural nail [with] no product worn on the nail”.
“The look is defined by a perfectly neat shape and healthy shine, achieved with cuticle oil and buffed to a shine,” Johnson says.
Thayre’s interpretation, however, requires a little more help.
“The naked manicure is all about enhancing what you naturally have rather than covering it up,” she says, suggesting, “a sheer wash of nude, pink or milky colour that allows the natural nail to remain visible”.
And despite the appetite for “bare” nails, Shelton says most of her clients are not abandoning nail varnish altogether – rather looking for their shade, but better.
“As for the split, most people aren’t going fully bare. I’d say it’s like 80/20 towards that ‘glazed doughnut, your nails but better’ look.”

How do you get healthier-looking nails?
If nailmaxxing has encouraged you to scrutinise your nail beds, buying a cupboard full of strengthening products is not necessarily the answer.
Johnson says three of the most important steps are “not to pick or peel your gel [or] BIAB [builder in a bottle] off”, as well as going to a salon where time and care are taken with removals and nail prep, with no over-filing or buffing of the nail plate.
For at home, “oil and protecting your nails with gloves when cleaning” is a must, Johnson says.
Cuticle oil is also top of Thayre’s list.
“If I could get clients to adopt one nail habit, it would be applying a good-quality cuticle oil every day,” she says.
“Keeping the nail and surrounding skin conditioned helps maintain flexibility, and a flexible nail is generally less likely to become brittle and snap.”
She recommends looking for nourishing oils such as jojoba, alongside protecting hands from excessive exposure to water and cleaning chemicals, as Johnson also says.
Do you need to give up gel and BIAB?
While we all know gel manicures are not the healthiest thing for our nails, you do not necessarily need to give them up when you are pursuing nailmaxxing.
“You can absolutely maintain healthy natural nails while wearing gel or builder products such as BIAB,” Thayre says. “In my experience, the biggest factor isn’t simply whether somebody wears an enhancement; it’s how well that product is applied, maintained and removed.”
Johnson similarly says a break is not always required “if your gel or BIAB is intact and not lifting”.
“Taking a break is good when your nails are brittle from dehydration or if there has been any damage from removing or over-prepping the nail,” she says.
Both, however, say peeling products off at home is the worst thing you can do for your nails. Johnson also says not to glue lifted gel back onto the nail and instead head to the salon for a proper application.
“Clients sometimes assume their nails need to ‘breathe’, but the nail plate itself is made from keratinised cells and doesn’t breathe in the way skin does,” Thayre explains. “If there are signs of thinning, soreness, significant peeling or another problem, that’s when I would reassess what’s being used and whether a period without enhancements is best.”

How to recreate a naked manicure at home
The good news is that this viral nail trend does not require a particularly steady hand.
“The easiest way to recreate the naked manicure at home is taking your time to file the perfect shape, and using a nourishing cuticle oil to keep them hydrated and shiny,” Johnson says.
If you want some colour, Thayre recommends a sheer nude, soft pink or milky neutral rather than an opaque nail varnish.
“You want something that subtly blurs imperfections while still allowing the natural nail to show through. One or two very thin coats usually give that effortless ‘your nails but better’ effect.”
Rather than automatically reaching for beige or baby pink, consider your undertones too.
“Some people suit a cooler sheer pink, while others with warm or green undertones look better with a warmer beige, peach or neutral nude,” Thayre says. “Rather than trying to match your skin exactly, look for a shade that makes both the nail and surrounding skin look fresh and healthy.”
Finish with a glossy top coat and cuticle oil – or, for a genuinely naked manicure, skip the polish entirely and carefully buff the natural nail to a shine.


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What is ‘nailmaxxing’? Natural, ‘clean’ trend is hot right now, but it’s not easy to nail

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The latest beauty trend focuses on healthy, natural-looking nails over elaborate art. Experts weigh in on the shift towards simple elegance

The latest beauty trend focuses on healthy, natural-looking nails over elaborate art. Experts weigh in on the shift towards simple elegance