Hey everyone, first time posting here – my natural nails are finally the longest they’ve ever been (yay!), but they’re uneven lengths because some break more than others (the ones I use most, of course). I don’t mind the slight differences at all – I just really want a classic almond shape.
My new salon says they “can’t” do almond on natural nails unless I get tips/extensions, which I absolutely do not want. I have a pretty strong C-curve, and the sides dig into my skin a bit, so last time they just filed the edges to ease that. But almond would taper the sides and fix the digging issue perfectly, right?
Am I being unreasonable thinking a skilled tech should be able to file natural nails into almond without tips? Or is my C-curve making it tricky/impossible without weakening them?
Options: Stick it out and push them to try, or just find a new salon that works with natural nails better?
TIA for any advice/experiences! 💅
by RudeEsthetician
19 Comments
They can do almond on natural nails but they need to be long. Your natural nails are way too short.
Not possible. Especially with the middle finger. They always try to make them all the same length so it looks professional.
Your nails aren’t quite long enough for almond. Forcing the shape would mean filing too much of the side walls, to the point where it’s harmful. Grow out your nails a bit longer 🙂 I find that long almond nails bother me less than square nails because of the taper.
I think you lack the length for them to be filed properly into that shape.
In theory, yes, you can file a natural nail onto a more almond shape but it requires length to do so properly. So, tips aren’t a hard requirement but if you came to me and said “I want almond” I would probably have that loading symbol start swirling around my brain.
With your existing length you might be able to manage a squoval type shape which could then be filed into an almond as you gain length.
Congrats on the growth though!
Your salon cares about your nail health. That is very hard to find. They are correct, almond on your length would not be possible unless they damaged the structure of your nails.
Is it possible a nail tech COULD do it? Yes absolutely;however, your side walls would be over-filed and damaged, causing breakage upon grow out or early side onycholysis.
Too short
Your nails are too short for almond.
I’ve been getting almond shaped natural nails with hard gel for over a year. I think they just need to be a little longer.
I suggest doing oval at your length, and growing out a little more before going almond. Here’s my no-tip almonds 🙂
https://preview.redd.it/17ztvl09ee7g1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f2ad3b0761051d3c38b55174eb8db5c6254e51a
(Ps I haven’t had a single broken nail since I started BIAB)
Almond shape on short nails looks like tiny little mouse claws
You need to have natural nail length to have your nails shaped into almond. Their only option is to offer tips, if you don’t want that, then you gotta stick with what works for your natural nails in the moment.
Not enough length for the shape to taper into an almond, sadly. That’s why they suggested adding tips, specially for the broken middle one.
I would try to find someone who can work with natural nails, someone who specializes in that versus nail art. I think a lot of “Russian manicure” techs are taught to focus more on nail and cuticle health rather than length and style, so that might be a good option! If your natural nails are a bit weak and break when growing them out, doing a strong gel overlay would help immensely.
I could never get my nails past my fingertips, and now I have legit “claws” that look like I get tips. All natural, just a Russian manicure with strong gel every 4 weeks. I never thought I’d have nails like this without Gel X, but after a year of consistency with my tech, we got there.
I do structured hard gel on my natural nails, it helps them grow to a long enough length so that I have the almond shape and the hard gel prevents them from cracking easily. Ask if your tech does structural hard gel next visit!
https://preview.redd.it/4pk1sg91fe7g1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8554023a7ae32b1c4a86c82c0f4a7afa2909bb4b
That’s actually a good thing! Your nail tech cares about your nail health.
Like it’s been said you need more length!
Maybe starting with an oval shape while they grow to length you need them for an almond shape that looks elongated without damaging your natural nails.
I feel like the transition to the almond from oval might be easier and the oval looks lovely in my opinion!
Yes the salon is correct, your nails are too short to be able to accommodate an almond shape unfortunately. You’d be filing off sidewall, which is not good for your nails.
I got almond nails done a few months ago, I had to grow my nails out for them to be done. Short nails tend to be shaped to be square/squoval, or slightly rounded, but almond needs a bit of length
They’re way too short. Definitely not gatekeeping.
You’d have to grow them out a little more before you ask them. They’re not quite long enough yet.