Nail shape inspiration is everywhere, if you’re looking. Whether you’re peeping your friends’ nails, glancing through a glossy mag, you’re bound to be coveting any number of Instagram-worthy styles. But perhaps the answer you seek sits a little closer to home; at your own fingertips. When you play to the shape of your hands, you find the best tricks to accentuating the good bits and minimizing the not-so-good bits. So, what works for which hand types? Well, we’ll tell you.
The proportion of your palm and the length of your fingers all come into play when finding the best nail shape for your hands. Now, let’s take a closer look to see what (great) hands you have:
Hi-Five hands: [long palm, short fingers] Best nail shape: Oval. This shape will help make your fingers appear longer and more slender to balance out the length of your palm. File the sides of your nails straight and gently taper the free edge into a semicircle.
Grounded hands: [wide palm, short fingers] Best nail shape: Almond and Oval. Tapered shapes like almond elongate shorter or wider fingers. We recommend that you opt for rounded shapes in general, especially if you have a wide nail bed.
Piano hands: [wide palm, long fingers]Best nail shape: Coffin (or Ballerina). The edgy coffin shape is enhanced by long fingers and balanced by a square palm. They do require some sturdy nails and regular TLC to avoid breakages.
Generous hands: [long palm, long fingers]Best nail shape: Square, lucky you. You can get away with wearing this blunt look at any length. And they are one of the more practical, low-maintenance shapes to wear to work.
Wait, but what if you have short nails?
That’s cool. Harry Styles happily struts his stuff with perfectly polished shorties. There’s even a hashtag dedicated to celebrating short nails (Look up #tortiesforshorties). But if your nails are short because they’re weak, brittle or damaged then it’s time to get your grow-on.
Before you go choosing nail shapes willy-nilly, we highly recommend you:
• Find out what type of hand you have, by looking at your palm proportion and finger length.
• Enhance and elongate the appearance of your nails by matching your hand type to a suitable shape.
• Review the full set of shapes before deciding.
• Almond shaped nails tend to suit everyone.
• If you have short palms and short fingers, it’s best to opt for rounded oval and almond shapes.
• For longer palms and fingers, consider dramatic stiletto or coffin (or ballerina) shaped styles.
• Incorporate nail nourishment into your beauty routine for stronger nails.
No go out and show some hands!
