While states are moving through phases of reopening, some beauty businesses still remain unopened, including nail salons. Nail lovers continue to be tasked with their own gel reups, polish changes, and nail health care.
But it can be more fun than daunting if you get creative with it. And one way to do that is to explore new shapes. OPI’s Rebecca Reller and Polish & Co’s Theresa Williams share some insights on how to identify which nail shapes best complement your hands and the looks you want to achieve.
If you have short fingers or full hands the experts say try round nails. They will help elongate your fingers and make your nail beds appear slender. To round your nails follow along the natural shape of your fingertip and check the symmetry of the curve by flipping your nails over, according to Reller.
If you want to lengthen and slim your fingers go with an almond-shape. This shape is slender at the sides and slim at the base. File the nails at each side and create a narrow peak at the top.
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If you have wide nail beds and long nails try an oval shape. Similar to the almond, this shape elongates nails in width and length but has a more egg-like shape toward the center.
Ballerina and coffin nails are two huge trends we see all over social media, and Williams says they’re the most popular. They’re similar, except coffin nails tend to be slimmer at the free edge. They’re great for longer nails or slender fingers, and look so pretty and delicate when done properly. “The ballerina trend is going to stay forever,” she says. “It’s going to be a staple.”
If you love a low maintenance nail go for a square shape. This looks great if you have long and narrow nail beds and don’t like your nails too long. This style was big in the early 2000s and has come back with renewed energy. File nails in a straight line across the free edge of the nail to achieve.
If you have short fingers and long nails, dabble in the stiletto shape. Formerly known in many professional nail circles as pointy nails, because they’re, well, pointy, this shape is made for long nails. We still see it on the red carpet on many of our favorite celebrity beauties.
If you’re not sure what to do, stick with the tried-and-true, universally flattering squoval (square + oval) shape nail. You might have gotten this without knowing—all those times you told your tech to make it square but round the corners, you were asking for the squoval. Whether your fingers are long or short, full or slender, this shape looks good.
And when it comes to complementary colors, more ladies are sticking with neutrals this season according to Williams.
“People are still gravitating to nails in natural and soft tones because they’re polishing at home,” she says. “So when they grow out, they don’t have to worry about [quickly] getting back to the salon. People are scared to go back into the salon. They’re doing their nails at home so they just want something natural to blend in just for coverage.”