Nail file I'm using:
- Mont Bleu Premium Glass Nail File (from Amazon)
Hi all, I've always wanted to have my nails somewhere between an almond shape & oval shape. I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong since they never end up looking the shape I want them to be and they also don't look uneven 😖🥲
I've included some Inspo pics at the very end.
Some things I'm struggling with:
- Accidentally over-filing my nails & they still turn out uneven
- My left hand middle finger looks way different compared to my right middle finger??? (I don't know how to fix it)
- The nails on both hands of my ring fingers grow way faster than all my other nails + they're always so squared shape for some reason
Any tips for a beginner who wants almond/oval shaped nails? Thanks!!!
by Expensive-Branch9687
8 Comments
You would need a lot more length for anything that could start to approach almond shape but you can definitely do oval. Filing with polish on really helps since you can just look at the shape of your nail without using the end of your nail bed as a reference on accident
Also if you hold a straight edge up along the middle of your finger it’ll give you a reference for the center of your nail in relation to your hand rather than your nail bed. When I do extensions my nails always come out crooked as hell if I try to shape them in relation to the nail itself
I don’t have a tip for shape, but something that helps is filing with polish on. When my nails are long, my free edge is rarely the same length on all of my nails but because my nail line is visible that’s what my brain wants as a reference point, so if I’m shaping my nails I do it right before I’m getting ready to change my mani out.
Plus one to filing with polish on.
I can kind of do it by eye now, but I often find the centre of the top edge of the nail (as someone else suggested) then file downward from that centre point at an appx 45 degree angle to each side of my nail. Then gently round off the pointed corners (a tiny bit at a time. It’s easy to over file)
I struggle with this too. one thing I’ve learned is that I was filing the side walls way too much. Look really closely at the inspo pics – they basically just round off the corners at the ends, but they leave the sides to be straight. So my advice is just to go slowly and don’t file the whole side wall.Â
It is normal for middle fingers to have different growth beds, just like how bag hardware can patina differently depending on use.
I used to put a coat of polish on then shape. I’ve also used a marker and sketched the shape (with polish under). Do this enough times you eventually learn how to shape freehand.
Looks at your nails from the back of your fingers/palm side to check if they’re similar lengths and shapes to each other.
Thanks for posting OP cause I also struggle with this and am glad to see these tips!