How to find the best nail shape for your hands in 2024 (2024)

Whether you’re peeping your friends’ nails, scrolling through curated Pinterest feeds or 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 minimising the not-so-good bits. So, what works for which hand types and how can you get the look at home? Well, we’ll tell you.

But first, a reminder that healthy natural nails are the foundation for any great manicure. Enter our Ultimate Nail Rescue set, the perfect duo to get dry, damaged nails back in tip-top shape.Rest & Repair Mask is proven to fix flaking, peeling or splittingnails while you snooze (it’s called beauty sleep for a reason) while Self Love Oil softens cuticles and helps nails look shinier, smoother and healthier. It’s a win-win.

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How to find the best nail shape for your fingers: avisual guide to nail shapes

How to find the best nail shape for your hands in 2024 (1)

While there are more nail shape types out there than you can count on both hands, here are a few of our favourites for your perusal.

Natural

Whether they’re straight, flared or slightly uneven-shaped, natural nails will grow as they please; as nature intended.

Oval

The oval is a medium to long shape with straight-filed sides that end in a soft semicircle. While you don’t always need long nails to pull this off, a few millimetres of free edge extending over the fingertip will go a long way.

Square

Another low-maintenance style for both long and short nails, characterised by straight-filed sides and a straight-filed free edge. The square nail shape is known to add visible width to the appearance of your nails, so please wield them wisely.

Almond

A.k.a our all-time favourite shape because it looks great on everyone. The almond shapeis achieved by keeping a wide base and filing the sides into a tapered peak at the free edge.

Square Round

The square round nail or soft square is just that; a square shaped nail with softened corners. This is a great low-maintenance shape for growing your nails and can be achieved by straight-filing the sides and straight-filing the top of your nail before gently softening the corners.

Squoval

Imagine a rectangle with soft corners. Nice. Meet the squoval, a shape that captures the elegance of the oval with a flatter tip. Start by filing straight across your free edge, then around the corners in one smooth stroke.

Coffin

Also known as the ballerina, the coffin shape is the perfect blend of edgy and feminine. This lookcan be achieved by filing the nail into a tapered point with a flattened tip. Warning: You will need long and sturdy nails to pullthe coffin shape off.

Stiletto

The striking stiletto shape involves filing your nails into a dramatic pointed tip. While this is usually done with acrylics, you can achieve this look with strong natural nails. Grow your way to greatness with help from our Ultimate Nail Rescue set.

How to find the best nail shape for your fingers: what’s your hand type?

How to find the best nail shape for your hands in 2024 (2)

  • Hi-five hands: long palm, short fingers
  • Groundedhands: wide palm, short fingers
  • Piano hands: wide palm, long fingers
  • Generous hands: long palm, long fingers

You don’t need to be a palm-reader to see that all hands are unique. 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.

How to: Usea glass nail file to file the sides of your nails straight and gently taper the free edge into a semicircle.

Best for:Dramatic texts and even more dramatic selfies.

Not so great for:A casual round of volleyball.

Wear with:Kester Black Nail Polish in Fairy Floss; the“perfect balance between feminine pink and lilac,” according to customer Rhianna K.

Groundedhands: 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.

How to: File the sides of your nails so they gently taper to the tip, then round out the tip into a gentle curve.

Best for: Practical, low-maintenance wear.

Not so great for: Playing guitar or the piano.

Wear with: Kester Black Nail Polish in Petal. Fans like Sophie P. say it’s“exactly what I was looking for!” Not too shabby for this best-selling hazy beige.

Piano hands: wide palm, long fingers

Best nail shape: Coffin (or Ballerina). Theedgy 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.

How to: File the sides of your nails so they gently taper to the tip, then file the tip down parallel to the nail bed.

Best for: Gathering attention.

Not so great for: Weak nails or short nail beds.

Wear with:Kester Black Nail Polish in Black Rose. "So shiny, dark and glam!" saysJacinta G. "It's still on two weeks later."

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.

How to: Use nail clippers to flatten the tip of the nail down to parallel to the nail bed, smooth out witha glass nail file and slightly round the corners on each side.

Best for: Nail art. These little squares create the perfect canvas for your creativity.Have you tried our Bright Delight Nail Stickers?

Not so great for: Getting that last bit of product out of the tub. Sorry.

Wear with: Kester Black Nail Polish in Narcissist.With reviews like “deep, rich and dramatic”(thanks, Julia), just try resisting this decadent dark red.

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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. Read our blog on how to treat damaged nails depending on your concernand restore them back to their former glory with our Ultimate Nail Rescue set.

SHOP NAIL CARE

Summary

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.
  • 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.
  • Almond shaped nails tend to suit everyone.
  • Incorporate natural nailcarelike our Ultimate Nail Rescue setinto your beauty routine for healthy, stronger nails - the perfect foundation for any manicure.

How to find the best nail shape for your hands in 2024 (3)

What next?

You’ve figured out thebestnail shape(s) for your hands (congratulations!), now it’s time to put it all into practice with 5 steps for the perfect at-home manicure.

Still not sure?

If you're still feeling stuck, we've compiled a neat little quiz to help you find your perfect nail shape.

A couple of our favourites

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How to find the best nail shape for your hands in 2024 (2024)

FAQs

How to find the best nail shape for your hands in 2024? ›

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. How to: File the sides of your nails so they gently taper to the tip, then round out the tip into a gentle curve.

What nail shape is in for 2024? ›

According to Shelton, long, almond nail shapes will be big this year. "They're one of the most flattering nail shapes in my opinion," she says. The reason this nail shape is so flattering is that it can elongate the look of your fingers and hands, not to mention the fact that it looks super chic.

How do you decide which nail shape is right for you? ›

When choosing a nail shape, it is important to consider your hand type and personal style. If you have short nails, you may want to choose a round or oval shape to help elongate your fingers. If you have wide nail beds, you may want to choose a round or squoval shape to help make them look narrower.

Which type of nail shape is timeless? ›

square nails

this timeless nail shape is also one of the strongest. because it respects the full width of the nail, those who wear a square shape often notice that their nails withstand bumps and stress much better than their curved or rounded counterparts.

What is the classiest nail shape? ›

The square shape is a classic and elegant choice that offers a clean and polished look. It features straight sides and a flat, squared-off tip. Square nails look very chic because of their sharp edges.

What are cute nail shapes for chubby fingers? ›

Almond and Oval – These elegant nail shapes work best on medium to long nails to create an elongating effect. They help to make wide fingers appear slimmer and short fingers to look longer. Round – If you like to keep your nails short but still want to create the appearance of longer fingers, then use this nail shape.

What is the most feminine nail shape? ›

Oval-shaped nails are considered classic and feminine, being similar to an almond but a bit more blunt. They have softly rounded edges that follow the natural shape of the fingertip, helping elongate nails in both width and length. Square-shaped nails have straight, flat edges and sharp corners.

How to find the best nail shape for your hand? ›

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. Almond shaped nails tend to suit everyone.

What nail shape is natural? ›

Everyone is different some of us have naturally rounded shaped nails, and some of us grow naturally square-shaped nails.

What is the trend in pedicure 2024? ›

Think sunny yellows, sea foam greens, and sunset oranges and channel those warm-weather vibes. One great summer nail trend is 'Skittle Nails' - painting each nail a different, complementary shade or cute nail colour. Red is a timeless shade that will defy fleeting fashion trends and social media algorithms.

Which nail shape is trending? ›

Almond nails aren't the only rounded style gaining attention: Nguyen says that short-to-medium-length oval nails are trending, too. They closely resemble almond nails; the major difference is that the oval has a wider base and softer, rounded tips, giving it a slightly more natural look.

What is the nail color trend for spring 2024? ›

While we're used to seeing pastels and floral-inspired colors in the spring, this year, spring nail colors are bolder and brighter. Think fiery reds, splashy blues, and even vivid yellows alongside classic springtime hues like lavender and pink.

Are ombre nails in style in 2024? ›

Manicure Trends for Spring 2024 – Subtle Ombre

Another trend and inspiration for spring nails is ombre. It can have very different faces.

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