How to shape your nails at home? Manicure tips

How to choose and model the right shape for short and long, natural and extended nails.

The ideal female image consists of small, seemingly unimportant details. But only those who manage to create this image know how to combine hair and eyebrow colors, what length of chain to wear with a neckline of a certain shape, etc. If we talk about manicure, an important detail is that you need to pay attention not only to the color of the varnish and the length of the nails, but also to their shape.

Which nail shape to choose: types of nail shapes and names

The grace of women's hands depends on the choice of the correct shape of the nails. If you make a mistake, you can make your fingers short, like sausages, or, conversely, thin and long, like the legs of a spider.

When discussing the details of a manicure with a client and choosing a nail shape, the master must take into account:

• Will the manicure be performed on your own nail or on an extension?
• what are the features of the anatomy of the hand
• what are the woman's personal wishes?
• criterion of fashionability

Basic nail shapes.
Previously, only four classic forms of the free edge of the nail plate were identified:

• round
• oval
• square
• triangular

Today this range has been supplemented with new forms:

• rounded square
• almond-shaped
• stylet
• peak
• ballerina
• blade
• corner

Modern nail shapes.

IMPORTANT: Before asking a manicurist to give her nails some unusual shape, a woman should realize whether she will be comfortable with it in everyday life

When deciding how to file your nails, you need to pay attention to the shape of the cuticle. And it can be oval, square or triangular.

1. An oval cuticle shape is ideal. It goes with absolutely any nail shape.
2. The free edge of the nail plate is filed in the shape of a square or a rounded square if the woman’s cuticle is also square
3. With a triangle-shaped cuticle, pointed or oval nails look natural

IMPORTANT: If there are doubts about whether a particular nail plate shape is suitable for a woman, you can ask the master to apply a tip, filed accordingly, to the finger

Nail shapes in comparison.
Here are some more principles for choosing the right nail shape:

1. If a woman has a naturally short nail plate, its edge does not grow more than 0.3 cm from the tip of the finger, it is best for her to wear round nails. On long claws, the round shape looks a little rough
2. If a woman has very thin and long fingers, an elongated nail plate, a square or rounded (soft) square shape will harmonize her image.
3. If a woman has thin fingers, medium length or long nails, she can choose one of their pointed forms (stiletto, pike, blade, etc.)
4. If a woman's work involves a computer, she should not wear square or too pointed nails, as they will quickly break. The ideal option is a soft square, in which the corners are filed
5. Almond-shaped nails are very fashionable now. But they look really good only on medium-length nail plates
6. If a woman has long, extremely strong or perhaps extended nails, they can be shaped into a corner. It's fashionable and unusual, but it requires courage and a desire to experiment

Who is suitable for sharp nail shapes?

After the nails have undergone treatment, have stopped peeling and have reached the desired length, you can think about what shape will suit your fingers and hands. The acute form is not suitable for all girls, one might even say on the contrary, it suits few people. Therefore, it is worth considering the physiological characteristics of your hands. For example, sharp nails will not suit small hands with short fingers; in this option, neat nails of medium or short length will look best. Long and sharp nails will look out of place.

Long, sharp nails will suit neat fingers, as long as they are fairly elongated and thin. In this case, the sharp length will give them femininity and elegance, and any manicure will look appropriate.

The sharp shape suits smooth fingers that have oval pads. In the process of selecting the shape of your nails, you need to pay special attention to the pads of your fingers, since they are often the ones that indicate the correct shape of your nails. So, if your fingers are not long and have square pads, sharp nails will not look good.

How and what shape to give to short nails? How to make round nails?

Short nails are usually given a round or square shape. It is better not to make a pointed one, because:

• the sharp tips of short nails can look ridiculous, even intimidating, making a woman’s hands look like the clawed paws of an animal
• The sharp tips of short nails will quickly break off

For short nails, a round shape is ideal.

IMPORTANT: Round nails are considered the most natural. French manicure is the most organic on them.

Round shape on short nails.
To make your nails round, you need:

1. Perform a hygienic manicure
2. Give the plates the same length. To do this, you need to find the shortest nail and fit all the others to it.
3. Using a nail file, file all nails into a square.
4. Moving from the edges of the plate to its center, round the corners
5. Ideally, a round nail should follow the shape of your fingertip.

Beautiful nails at home

Every year the fashion for one form or another changes

How to shape eyebrows at home

Women should know how to make beautiful nail shapes without a salon at home. Professional manicurists usually give their nails the following shape:

• Square;
• Round;
• Pointed;
• Oval. Oval is the most common option.

For your information. Every year the fashion for one form or another changes. For everyday manicure, oval and rounded shapes seem to be the most convenient. Square and pointed nail plates are not suitable for everyone; most often this shape can be created in a model manicure. They go well with gel polish.

Acute form

In order to achieve the ideal sharp shape, you must use the following step-by-step algorithm:

• Trim the nail slightly on both sides without touching the center;
• Carefully file the nail plate along the entire length so that there are no irregularities or nicks;
• Visually mark the middle of the nail;
• Start filing from the left edge to the middle;
• Then file in the same way from the right edge, heading towards the center. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that symmetry is maintained.

If done correctly, you should end up with a nice pointed shape, a bit like a cat's claw.

Important! The center should not be too thin and sharp, otherwise the nail will quickly break. This manicure is best created for a holiday, because when doing household chores, the shape of the nail plate may change.

Round form

It is much easier to give the correct round shape. To do this, you need to follow the simplified step-by-step instructions:

• Make the plate short and round using scissors;
• Carefully file the nail along its entire length, performing smooth circular movements with the file in one direction;
• If the center looks too sharp, this sharpness should be smoothed out using a file and scissors;
• In order for the semicircle to look symmetrical, at the end of the work you need to file the plate a little on the right and then on the left side.

The round shape is ideal for everyday manicure.

How to make your nails square? How to shape your nails into a soft square?

If round nails seem natural, then a square, regular shape indicates well-groomed hands and the fact that the woman regularly visits a nail salon. It is necessary to maintain this shape, since the sharp corners quickly grind off.

The square is formed as follows:

1. First, the parallel sides of the nail plate are filed
2. The free edge of the nail is filed perpendicular to them in a straight line with clear angles.

The scheme was written down to a square.
The shape is a rounded (soft) square or squoval, more delicate.

1. First, the nails are given a square shape.
2. The corners of the square are rounded using a file. The rounding does not go to the center of the nail plate, but only along its corners!

Soft square.

Ballerina uniform

How to do it: cut off the unnecessary length using wire cutters and work with a medium-grain file diagonally, achieving right angles on both sides. Adjust the shape of your nails with a buff so that they resemble pointe shoes.

Matching Shades and Nail Designs: Nude shades, as well as shiny silver and gold finishes look beautiful on a ballerina uniform. Graphic lines and contrasting shades, as well as tracks made of rhinestones, would be appropriate.

Expand to full screen Back 1 / 3 Forward

When choosing a shade and shape, you need to take into account the skin tone and type of fingers
Yulia Burdiyan Top manicurist
And it is also worth considering that light shades of varnish visually enlarge the nail plate, while dark shades, on the contrary, help to reduce and narrow it.

If you do not have very long square-shaped nails, when creating nail art, place the designs vertically and in the center of the nail to visually lengthen them, and also avoid large round decorative elements.

Almond-shaped nails are more difficult to paint than square or round nails. Paint your nails from the middle and finish the tips last.

At home, I do not recommend creating the “stiletto” shape yourself: it rarely works on natural nails (strengthening with acrylic powder is required, otherwise the tip of the nail may break).

How to make beautiful almond-shaped nails?

Both the almond and the ballerina and the stiletto are derivatives of the triangle nail shape.

Scheme for filing nails into an almond shape.

An almond-shaped nail turns a woman into a coquette. You don’t have to think that it only looks like a classic French jacket. In the portfolio of every more or less experienced master there are enough examples of beautiful design for this form.

1. The nails are filed into a square
2. The sides of the nail are filed at an angle to create a triangle with a blunt end.
3. The corners of the triangle formed on the sides of the nail plate (at its base) and at the tip of the nail (at its apex) are rounded

Almond-shaped nails of medium length.

Long almond shaped nails.

Types of nail shapes

There are 7 types of nail shapes, but they are all created based on three basic shapes: square, round (oval) and triangular. Let's take a closer look at what nail shapes there are.

Square shape and its derivatives

It's very easy to do. It is enough to file your nails evenly, strictly perpendicular to the tip of your fingers. It is suitable for owners of long thin fingers and looks good on nails of any length. A derivative of this shape is the “soft square”, obtained by rounding sharp corners. It is ideal for thin, brittle nails and looks most impressive with a French manicure.

Oval or round (almond-shaped)

Rounded nails are the choice of girls with wide palms and large fingers. Rounded nails visually lengthen your fingers. Good for short nails. “Circle” can be called a win-win option for those who do not like to grow their nails or whose work involves manual labor and small children. It is preferred by lovers of active sports.

Derivatives of the “circle” are oval and almond-shaped. They make the hand feminine and sophisticated, but are only suitable for strong nails or extensions. Looks good on medium and long nails.

Triangle, stiletto, lance

The triangular shape is chosen by girls prone to extravagance. Sharp nail tips visually lengthen the palm and make the fingers longer. The tip of the “triangle” can be sharp, faceted, gothic (rounded edges and a sharp tip). The form is quite brittle, so it is most often used on extended nails.

Beveled-twisted shape

A rare solution that is chosen for fashion shows, demonstration of new products in the nail industry, new varnishes, and design ideas. In everyday life it is extremely impractical and inconvenient. It can only be created on extended nails.

Pipe or oval-square shape

The combination of almond and square shapes can only be created on artificial nails. The shape looks like half a tube in cross-section, hence its English name. It is universal, suitable for long and medium nails.

Which nail shape is best? It depends on the condition of your natural nail plate (if you are not into extensions) and your preferences.

No matter what nail shape you decide to choose, it is important to follow a few basic principles for its creation.

How to make a beautiful ballerina nail shape?

Ballerina is a fashionable and interesting nail shape in which the free edge of the nail is rounded at the base, narrowed and filed into a square at the end. The shape really resembles a ballerina's pointe shoe. Interestingly, it has another, less attractive name - coffin, which means coffin in English.

Nail shape “Ballerina” or “Coffin”.

1. After a hygienic manicure, the nail, which should be long or medium length, is filed into a square
2. By moving the file at an angle, the square is transformed into a trapezoid
3. The corners at the base of the trapezoid are rounded

Nail design Ballerina.

Pipe nail shape: step by step

The C-line of the nail pipe looks like an arch or pipe, hence the name. Such nails are modeled from gel or acrylic on lower forms.

Pipe nails.

IMPORTANT: Usually, when building up, the C-line is about 30% of the circle. For pipe form – 50%

To achieve this angle, the nails are lightly pinched with tweezers.

Pipe step by step.

Shape of toenails

The ideal shape for a healthy toenail is a square. It is also possible to make a soft square, only slightly rounding the ends.

Toenails are soft square.

By filing your toenails into an oval or circle, you can provoke ingrown nails.

1. Feet steamed in a bath
2. Correct the length of the nails. The free edge of the thumb should be 0.1 cm. If the nails are too thick, they are trimmed with scissors; if just a little, they are filed with a nail file