The shape of your nails sets the base for your whole manicure. If your nails aren’t looking so good shape-wise, no amount of gel polish will bring them up to standard. Many of us don’t have the time or money to regularly get a manicure, so we have to do a little DIY and figure out how to get our nails looking like a professional touched them.
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The first step of filing your nails properly is to choose the right file. A flexible emery board is best as it is much less rough on nail layers than a metal nail file. Clip your nails to the length that you desire, leaving a square edge that can be filed into your desired shape.
There are five main shapes to choose from when filing nails and they’re the same as what you ask for in the nail salon – square, oval, squoval (square with oval corners), almond and round. If you’re interested in a point, you can also do a stiletto shape, which is very popular among celebrities like Rihanna and Lady Gaga. When choosing a shape, look at your cuticles and try to file your nail into a shape that matches. This shape will look best on your nail, but there is no harm in trying out different shapes.
When shaping your nails with the file, you should only file in one direction, working your way from the corner to the middle of the nail until your get your desired shape. Your filing should be long and light to minimise friction and heat build up, which can split your nail later on.
You should never file nails when they are wet as they are softer and will break more easily. Another tip is to actually file with nail polish on as it helps protect your nails from the filing that you are doing, especially if you get a little carried away.
Check out some great celebrity nails in the gallery below.
Images via divinecaroline.com, beautyeditor.ca, seventeen.com and cosmopolitan.co.uk
