In this regular new series, Ageless Beauty, The Telegraph’s beauty experts Annabel Jones and Lisa Armstrong tackle the conundrums they’ve been searching for answers to, and share their favourite tips and tricks. This week, they discuss how to have healthy nails after 50. Ask them your questions below...

Nails have become big theatre – the West End musical of the beauty world. If you’re not intimately acquainted with the definitions of acrylics versus gels it’s easy to feel overwhelmed – not a sensation the world of manicures should ever induce. 

At the end of this article, there’s a glossary of the most common options currently available. Meanwhile, do know that it’s OK not to have 1½in-long rainbow nails. That said, acrylics can be a highly effective ally if you’re a nail-biter who wants to stop.

Even moderate neglect is not an option. Nails can get dry and ridgy and – if you garden, cook with turmeric, or, Heaven forbid, have a sneaky ciggie even though you’ve officially given up – discoloured. You may not be a comestible but you should still look appetising.

Annabel’s a dab hand – literally in this case – at doing her own manicures. I’ve never mastered cuticle trimming, so for me it’s a salon job. Since I don’t want to hang out with a bunch of toxic fumes, I’m quite fussy about where I go. I like a salon with some free-from options, or someone who comes to you. The excellent Ruuby app operates inside the M25, Kent, Manchester and the Cotswolds.

As my nails and cuticles incline to dryness, I generally go for a classic manicure. At Nails & Brows Mayfair (nailsandbrows.me) I can get eight days out of a Kure Bazaar manicure – pale colours last better than bright ones. They’re more versatile, too, and for my skin tone, more flattering. If I’m going away for work I’ll have gel on my fingernails, and if I’m off on a summer holiday – with lots of climbing in and out of pools and rocky coves – I might have one on my toes, too. Biosculpt seems kinder than other gels and the manicurists have all been properly trained. 

I love how long the shine on gel lasts, although I think it’s a myth that nails look good for weeks – you often see regrowth by week two. After a lecture from Annabel, I now regard my nails as an extension of my face, so they get an application of any vitamin C or hyaluronic acid I might be using. I’m impressed, too, by Kure Bazaar’s new hand and foot balm, which contains hyaluronic acid and vtamin E, comes in a hefty tub and feels nourishing the moment you apply it.

It’s also worth switching to an ultra-gentle hand wash, such as Neal’s Yard Defend & Protect. I also apply almond oil to my cuticles at night and, if I remember, during the day. And these days, SPF – I recommend La Rosée Sun Stick factor 50, a “clean” formulation that’s easy to apply just to the backs of your hands, non-messy and absorbs quickly.

Lisa’s top picks

Kure Bazaar Super Hyaluronic Balm, £49, Content; Defend and Protect hand wash, £10, Neal’s Yard; La Rosée Sun stick SPF 50, £13.90, The French Pharmacy

Essie Gel Couture in Multi-Faceted, £10.99, Boots; CND Vinylux in Oxblood, £13.95, Nail Polish Direct

Alas, I’ve relented and gone back to nail extensions. Awfully déclassé, I know, but the boost I get from a fresh set of acrylic nails in an elegant almond shape outweighs the niggling notion that I should go au naturel. The way I see it, perennially groomed nails take the focus off age spots and crepey skin on the hands, much in the same way a great haircut does for the face. And since I haven’t been blessed with strong nails that grow of their own accord, I’ve had to lean on my manicurist to recreate what I lack. 

I run hot and cold on nail extensions, and when I have them I keep the length short enough to type this article, but long enough to give the illusion of slim dainty digits. I flit between a French manicure and bright colours – I hold firm the idea that manicures and pedicures are excluded from rules and should be the one beauty zone you can adorn untethered by ageist ideals. Lately I’ve been leaning into opaque pastels such as lemon and lilac – or a bright orange-toned red like I’m wearing right now. I was told once by an exceptionally stylish New Yorker that red is classified as a neutral and I’ve adhered to that notion ever since. 

After a couple of months of infills, I always give my nails a breather. Often I use my annual summer holiday to do so. The climate and omission of stress tends to do my nails a world of good – that said, I smother high-factor SPF over my hands hourly; something I wish I’d done as far back as my 20s. During a two-week holiday I’ll apply nail oil nightly and keep the cuticles pushed back with a cuticle pusher, which slightly elongates the nail bed. 

After a lengthy break, a course of Biosculpture or BIAB (builder in a bottle) tends to be the best option for protecting the nail bed and giving a stay-put gel finish. I have friends with otherwise weak nails who’ve grown theirs long and strong with builder gels. The key here is to have them regularly and use a reputable nail artist or salon with the correct brands (some use copycat formulations and advertise them as BIAB). 

French brand Manucurist Paris is an interesting concept I’m excited to try next. A natural-as-possible gel polish that excludes a “black list” of toxic chemicals, the plant-based gel polish is cured under an LED lamp. Unlike some like other gels, this one peels off in one go with the brand’s 97 per cent plant-based castor-oil-enriched nail polish remover that avoids the traditional chemical soak-off. Though some salons have begun introducing Manucurist manis, you can do all this at home with its starter kit (including LED lamp) which, let’s face it, is more cost-effective – if you have the patience. I’ll report back. 

I should point out that the best my nails have ever been was during a stint of supplementation prescribed to me by the facialist Sarah Chapman. She sent me home with an omega-3, 6 and 9 supplement along with a nail and skin vitamin complex. As it was many moons ago, I can’t recall the brand, but suffice to say good-quality supplements do help the state of your nails, as does a protein and vitamin-rich diet – especially during the menopause transition, when collagen depletes drastically. Which reminds me: I also take a spoonful of marine collagen powder in my morning coffee daily. There’s much debate as to whether this actually works, but if you get a good one it certainly can’t do any harm. 

Reading Lisa’s advice, I feel a pang of guilt over not sticking to natural manicures for longer. But part of the ageing process is about knowing what you’re content to let go and what you’re not. For me, glossy pillar-box nails represent the polished aesthetic I long for without an arduous commitment of weekly blow-dries or a full face of make-up. And unlike the latter, a poppy manicure will never look dated – even in your 100s. 

Annabel’s top picks

Manicurist Paris Green Flash LED Nail Polish in Red Cherry, £19, Cult Beauty; Institut Esthederm Into Repair SPF50+ Smoothing and Firming Face Care, £66, Space NK; Brushworks Cuticle Pusher, £4.49, Lookfantastic.com; Pure Encapsulations Hair Skin Nails Ultra, £42.99, Amazon; Gel Bottle Inc Hema-Free Paint Pastel in V005, £19.14, The Gel Bottle

Ask Annabel and Lisa

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