TikTok users say viral ‘red nail theory’ is the secret to scoring dates

Anyone who is looking to score more dates ahead of cuffing season may want to consider painting their nails bright red. 

The ‘red nail theory’ that has taken over TikTok suggests that a scarlet manicure will make you irresistible to men — and devotees who have put the power color to the test insist that it works. 

‘The red nail theory is so real,’ Melisse Martineau exclaimed in a video this week. ‘I have never been asked out on so many dates or complimented as much as I have been in the past two or three weeks with these nails.’

The ‘red nail theory’ that has taken over TikTok suggests that a scarlet manicure will make you irresistible to men

Melisse Martineau opened up about her experience with having red nails this week, saying she has ‘never been asked out on so many dates’

‘I’ve been asked on may five or six dates, which is not normal,’ she added. ‘I don’t know what it is, but [the red nail theory] is real.’ 

TikTok user @brittany_annc credited her red nails with helping her find her current partner in her recent post. 

‘Just saying, the nail theory worked,’ she said, holding up her red nails for the camera. ‘Now I have a boyfriend.’ 

Fatou, who is known as @sincerelyfatou, shared that she first learned about the power of red nails when she was working in luxury sales for Louis Vuitton. 

‘They wouldn’t let us wear French manicures, but they would actually allow us to wear red nails,’ she recalled. ‘I was just like, “Hmm…”‘

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 ‘I’ve been asked on may five or six dates, which is not normal,’ Melisse added. ‘I don’t know what it is, but [the red nail theory] is real’

TikTok user @brittany_annc credited her red nails with helping her find her current boyfriend in her recent post

Fatou also agreed that ‘red nails attract men’ and encouraged viewers to try out the beauty trend for themselves. 

‘I always get the most compliments when I have red nails,’ she claimed. ‘The girls on TikTok know what they’re talking about.’ 

Meanwhile, Trenna, a celebrity nail artist who goes by @lovetrenna, insisted that red is also a powerful color for women in the workplace. 

‘The red nail theory is true,’ she said. ‘The girls who get red know the power behind it, and just for context, I had a client that would get OPI Big Apple Red every two weeks. She makes $200 million a year.’

In a follow-up video, she explained that as a nail technician, she has seen the effect the color red can have. 

Fatou, who is known as @sincerelyfatou, agreed that ‘red nails attract men’ and encouraged viewers to try out the beauty trend for themselves

Meanwhile, Trenna, a celebrity nail artist who goes by @lovetrenna , insisted that red is also a powerful color for women in the workplace

Other fans just shared footage of themselves flashing their newly painted red nails to show they are testing out the theory for themselves

‘Red is a power color. It’s a bold color. Say you have an interview coming up. I would wear red,’ she advised. ‘On a woman, it screams confidence. It’s more memorable. 

‘Red is seen as a color of prosperity, as well as financial prosperity,’ she added. ‘Men give you more compliments when you do have red nail polish.’

Other fans just shared footage of themselves flashing their newly painted red nails to show they are testing out the theory for themselves. 

The hashtag #rednailtheory has more than 52.9 million views on TikTok, and while there have been a number of recent videos on the topic, it has been trending for nearly a year. 

Robyn Delmonte, who is known as @girlbosstown, went viral when she introduced the red nail theory back in January, insisting that ‘guys are attracted to red nails.’  

Robyn Delmonte, who is known as @girlbosstown , went viral when she introduced the red nail theory back in January, insisting that ‘guys are attracted to red nails’

‘I weirdly think guys are attracted to red nails because it reminds them of their moms when they were growing up, taking care of them,’ she explained 

Delmonte later credited her viral theory for influencing Hailey Bieber to swap her signature ‘glazed donut’ nails for a pop of red this summer

‘Every time I have red nails, every single f**king time, a guy comments on it,’ the TikTok PR guru explained. ‘They’ll be like…”Oh, I like your nail color.”‘

‘I always thought red was a grandma’s nail color,’ she admitted. ‘Then it hit me. In the ’90s, when we were growing up, women had red nails a lot, especially our moms.’ 

‘I weirdly think guys are attracted to red nails because it reminds them of their moms when they were growing up, taking care of them.’

Many commenters couldn’t resist noting that famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud could easily connect the theory to the Oedipus complex. 

‘Sigmund Freud wins every day,’ one person commented, while another agreed, ‘Sigmund Freud would thrive in this generation.’ 

The hashtag #rednailtheory has more than 52.9 million views on TikTok, and there is some science behind the viral trend 

Psychologists Andrew Elliot and Daniela Niesta found in their 2008 study that ‘red leads men to view women as more attractive and more sexually desirable’

‘We have to stop proving Freud right,’ someone else insisted. 

Delmonte later credited her viral theory for influencing Hailey Bieber to swap her signature ‘glazed donut’ nails for a pop of red this summer. 

The TikTok trend has proven there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests men are drawn to the color red, but science also backs up the theory.

‘Red leads men to view women as more attractive and more sexually desirable,’ psychologists Andrew Elliot and Daniela Niesta wrote in their study ‘Romantic Red: Red Enhances Men’s Attraction to Women,’ which was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2008. 

‘Men seem unaware of this red effect, and red does not influence women’s perceptions of the attractiveness of other women, nor men’s perceptions of women’s overall likeability, kindness, or intelligence.’