Thinner nails in 10 minutes or less!

Could your nails stand to loose a few?  Do you have extra saddle bags that seem permanent and unruly.  Well now, your nails can appear thinner with a few simple steps!

 
In a few previous posts, I have shown you just how chubby your nails can get when they consume copious amounts of water.  Look here, here and here.  But what if after shrinkage (i.e. tightening of your C-curve) they still seem to bulge and look obese?  Or what if your triangle shaped nail is making you feel down and out?

No fear!  Here is a techniques you can use when painting your nails to make them appear thinner.

First a little rollie pollie finger okay?

Click on any of these pictures to make them larger.

One coat of China Glaze - Vertical Rush

This nail is fully dried thus the C-curve has done all it can do to make the nail appear thinner.  The bulge is permanent.  Note that, it may look like I have polish on my skin at the sides of the nail bed, but I assure you I don't (pictures below). 





What to do?

If you are proficient at painting your nails, you can skip further down, otherwise....

Grab a fine cosmetic brush and acetone.

Here are a few examples:
The brushes with the black ferrules and white handles are no name brands, while the black handled silver ferrule brush is a Swissco brand, and the white handle silver ferrule brush is by ELF.  

Also grab a small piece of paper towel to wipe off excess acetone and polish.















Here is a shot of one of the sides.

1. Dip your brush in acetone. 
2. Get rid of excess acetone from the brush by lightly touching the brush against the paper towel
3. Run the brush along the nail side walls making a clean line.
4. Wipe off the polish on the paper towel.
5. Repeat steps 1. - 4. until you are happy with the lines.

You can take off more or less.  It seems on this side I took off a bit less polish.





If you are a proficient nail painter, just avoid painting the entire nail; leave a clean line at the side walls.

Here are a few before and after shots, head on. Depending on your own nail shape you may see only a subtle difference.  The flatter your nail (less pronounced C-curve) the greater the affect you will see. 





Here is a schematic for different nail shapes:

Each nail bed shape can appear thinner.  Since no filing of the side wall is necessary, you can maintain the integrity and strength of the nail bed.

Although this is a very effective technique, I am sometimes bothered that a portion of my nail bed is not covered with polish.  It will look good far away or head on, yet when I bring them close to my face and see them from the side, I have a raging desire to fill in the gap.  I struggle with them looking fat vs. thin. 

Do you ever use this technique when painting your nails?

Don't be a square ...

Then again, why not?!  Go grab your favorite nail file for shaping and try it!  I have a long series on nail filing and shaping and am starting to do the video versions.  Here are the posts from the past:

X-Files Post and Video
Nail Shape and Balance Post
Taking Down Nail Length Post
Shaping the Free Edge - Square and Video
Shaping the Free Edge - Oval and Video
Shaping the Free Edge - Squoval and Video
Sealing the Nail Plate
Buffing out a peel

Video: How to file your nails into a square shape: 



My YouTube Channel


Hugs to Arlyn ... it's a start ;)

Ready, Set, FILE! Sealing the nail plate

I am super excited! BlAAAHH. I just uploaded a You Tube video and the endorphins are still kicking, lol. I thought it would be a good idea to start doing videos some time ago in addition to the posts because sometimes pictures aren't enough. Anyway, my hope is that they will be a nice compliment to the written posts.  So, here is the first meaty video ....

There is another introductory video which you can watch, but don't let me bore you.

My channel (if you're into that sorta thing):

http://www.youtube.com/user/loodieloodieloodie

Other posts of interest:
Nail files I prefer: X-Files
What shape is best for your fingers: Nail Shape and Balance
Taking down length: here
Square: here
Oval: here
Squoval: here

Thanks to Lena from The students guide to nail polish :)

Ready, Set, FILE! - Squoval

Here is another addition to the series discussing how to shape the nail free edge. I have previously covered, taking down length, square shape, oval shape, and the files I prefer to use (links below).

If you missed the other posts.
1. Become familiar with different nail shapes and what free edge nail shape suits your nail bed shape here.
2. You need the right nail file for the job. Here I discuss what I prefer and why.
3. Even if you are not interested in certain free edge nail shapes I recommend you peruse the following posts for general useful advice:
Taking down nail length
Square
Oval
Sealing the nail plate 

Personally, I prefer the squoval shape on my hands and nail bed so I am uber excited about going back to this shape :)

As always lets look at what I started with and the finished look of the nail.

Pardon the scratched up surface, the file slipped in this long night of filing from square to oval to squoval!

The before nail on the left is round/oval shaped, at least my best version of such since I have a pretty high C-curve on that particular nail.

The squoval has rounded corners and a semi-flat to flat top, depends on your preference I guess. 

So to go from one to the other you just need to make the top less oval/round like by filing straight across in one direction with your file of choice.  My file of choice is 320 for thick hard nails or a 400 file for thin weak nails.

If you are going from square to squoval, just round the corners, as pictured.

Start with the file at a 45 degree angle and file from corner to middle. By bringing the file perpendicular to the nail at the end of the sweep you can achieve a more flat top tip while keeping the corners rounded.

















Thus far this series of posts have showed how to file a healthy nail free edge into different shapes.  If your nails are problematic, peeling, cracking, chipping, etc you will need to be careful with the types of files you use to shape, i.e. the higher the grit (the more fine) the better in order to prevent further nail plate damage. I will however, do a proper post later.  

After you have shaped your nails free edge, you will want to seal it after taking off the polish.  This will be the next and final post in the series and can be found here.

What shape do you like best on your nails?

Ready, Set, FILE! - Oval

I must travel back underground for work to that special place where I break nails.  I showed the Collateral Damage from my last visit.  In terms of functionality, my nails are a bit long right now. This is a perfect time to show you more free edge shaping since I need to trim them slightly to prevent further catastrophe. Last time I did a post on shaping it was for a square shape, today it will be round/oval. If you are not sure what shape free edge is best for you check out my post on nail shape and balance. Nails Beautiqued has a similar post, but includes more shapes. There are some pretty options, but as she points out they weaken your nail plate since the require sidewall filing and I personally don't recommend them, especially if you want to avoid not only breaking your nails but also tears. However, if your life style allows it, by all means rock it!

My normal free edge nail shape is squoval and since the last shaping post I've been rocken the square. Unfortunately, it was making me feel like I had slight man hands.  You see, I have pretty large wide square palms and wide nail beds and fingers and I felt like the square nail shape was accentuating the butchiness. I must say, I was really looking forward to a change.

Lets start with some before and after shots. I have two fingers to show you.  First my pinkie.

My pinkie has a higher arching C-curve and as a result the free edge is much easier to shape into a square. However, in my opinion, it's also much harder to shape into an oval or round. The degree of the convex shape (more oval or less oval and round like) that you can obtain will depend on your natural C curve. This was really as oval as I could get it. Some could even argue that this is squoval like. What ev's.

This is my ring finger. This finger slightly flairs at the free edge because the C-curve is not as high, therefore whenever I try to shape the nail into the square shape it looks slightly softer than my pinkie, pictured above. It was much easier to shape into the oval shape.

Before we begin, I suggest getting familiar with some nail file lingo. You must use the right file for the job to prevent damaging the nail plate, preventing peels and maintain the overall health of the nail plate. That post can be found here. It describes my preference and suggestions as well as explanations for the files I use, grit strength, etc. Furthermore, the following posts are helpful for general filing, and tips:
Taking down length
Shaping into a square



Lets start.

The oval and round shapes have no corners, duuh pretty obvious, so our first step is to eliminate them.  Again, depending on your own C-curve, this maybe be tedious or a piece of cake. The safe way to do this is to file from corner to middle as shown in the picture. Avoid the sidewalls close to where the nail tip grows.  You can find some pictures and an explanation for why in this post. To avoid this sensitive area, hold the file at a 45° angle to start, then sweep to the middle.  At the end of that sweep you want to maintain the file at a slight angle. If the file starts to go horizontal to the nail tip it will create a flat nail tip and will look like a squoval. Do each side separately and try to maintain the round/oval shape.  I prefer to do this step with a 220/320 file since my nails are fairly hard and thick. Use a 400 file if your nails are soft or thin. If you prefer a glass file then use it. 

To further refine the round/oval shape, hold the file at a 45° angle again but this time get slightly under the nail free edge. This will further help to round free edge and get rid of any nail shavings. Use a 400/600 file to refine the shape.  The 600 grit file will also help seal the nail plate and prevent peeling or ripping the nail plate layers.

The 'nail shavings" I talked about in Ready, Set, FILE! - Square may also be prevalent here.   Here is how to get rid of them while maintaining the oval shape.

1. Place the nail on top of a file at a 45° to the file, as pictured.
2. File down in one direction.

Use 400/600 grit file for this.

Although these steps will help seal the nail plate, sealing is best done with the polish off and will be covered here. 

I realize this step is only useful if you have significant free edge to work with, otherwise just do the underneath sweep as pictured to the left, being careful not to injure the precious sidewall.

The 'ontop' nail shavings can be handled in the same way as in the square shape post.

The higher your C-curve the more changes you will see in profile. Here is an example. The top photo is sort of a squoval shape, while the bottom is oval/round. The tip is more blunt in the squoval and pointier in the oval/round.

Now you are ready to take off the polish and seal the plate further!You can find that post here.










The next post in this series: Squoval!

Ready, Set, FILE! - Square

This post will show how to file the nail free edge into a square shape. Obviously free edge is necessary, but the more the better because otherwise the nail corners maybe somewhat round.  However, if you keep at it you can eventually get sharp corners (that is if you want it).

Previously, I went over how to take down nail length and files, so you may want to visit those posts, there are some good tips. If you are not sure if square is right for you, the post on nail shape and balance may be helpful.

Nails with a high arching C-curve can easily achieve this nail shape and require the least amount of filing. If your C-curve is not as arched you may need more length or work on the side walls to achieve this look. I have to warn people, however, about messing with the side walls of their nail bed. I have found it is vital to nail strength so I discourage people from filing it, but if you must I have a few tips.





Before you begin you need a proper file.  I already posted on what I prefer and why so I suggest you check it out before you read on.  In general, a file with a grit strength of  320/400 will work for shaping.

Here is a before and after picture.

The before nail is some what squoval and we are going for a square nail shape.

I think this nail shape is the simplest for high arching C-curves because you only need to file straight across. Keep the file straight and steady in the horizontal direction (to the nail bed) until it is square enough to your liking.











I do have a few tips.

If you are filing in a horizontal direction, either sawing away with the proper grit file or in one direction, you will eventually end up with "nail shavings."

There may be shavings under the nail or on top as shown in the pictures.  We need to eliminate them to have both a clean look as well as to help seal the nail plate.

To get rid of the "on top" nail shavings:

1. Start the file flush with the nail bed
2. In one sweeping motion, of down and around, move the file 270° around the nail tip.

To get rid of the "under" nail shavings:



1. Place the nail at either a 45° angle OR 90° angle to the file.
2. File down in one direction.

Either will work depending on how square you want it. The 45° angle will give you a softer square look, i.e. rounder edges.


Although these steps will help seal the nail plate, sealing is best done with the polish off and will be covered in another post.  

Another way to soften the square shape is to take a finer grit file (320 or 400) and file from the corner to the center of the nail bed as shown in the pictures.  You can see the nail looks slightly more round on the right.  Now we are getting into the realm of squoval, and that will be another post.









Now a few words (and pictures) about filing the side walls of your nails beds.

If you are going to file the side walls, do not do it like this. Filing this way can injure the cuticle, skin and weaken the nail walls where a good bit of strength lies.

Here is a picture of one my nails. I used to have trouble with splitting and breaking right at the edge. The more I would file the side the more breaks I would get. The nail would crack before I could grow it very far from the free edge. Keeping that side wall intact (along with other things I will link here soon) eliminated that problem.

So is there a "safe" way to file the side wall? 

If you must file, to even something out, make sure the file only hits the free edge and lies at least at a 45° angle to the nail side wall. Be very gentle and light handed. Use a high grit of at least 400 to be as gentle as possible. (Ignore that I have a 320 file pictured, its for demonstration purposes only.)














Video version of the square shape can be found here.



If you have any questions or comments please let me know.
Now I have to grow my nails a bit so I can show you Oval and then file back to Squoval!

Other posts about filing:
Files
Nail Shape and Balance
Taking down Nail Length
Oval Post and Video Post (to be linked)
Squoval
Sealing the nail plate

Ready, Set, FILE! Taking down length

So far, I have told you a brick wall is not a proper filing implement and filing after you have pruned yourself in the bathtub is also a bad idea.  I want to do a series of posts for successful filing of "normal healthy nails."  This is the first of that set.  This post will specifically cover how to take down nail length, specific nail shapes are covered here, while sealing the nail plate is covered here.

What do I consider a "normal healthy nail?"  It's when you DON'T have flaking, peeling, or tearing.  How to handle/file an occasional peel is covered in this post.  How to handle breaks or tears, especially on the side of the nail wall are covered in this post. 

There are several ways to take down nail length.  If you have significant growth (>1cm) I would recommend nice sharp clippers: otherwise, follow the steps below.

1.  It is best to start filing nails when they are in a normal dry state WITH polish on.  If you just took a shower/bath, did the dishes, or soaked your nails from a regular mani (which I don't recommend, more on that in this post*link*), apply moisturizer and let them dry thoroughly.  Leaving polish on your nails while filing will prevent and protect the nail from shredding or ripping due to over zealous filing (see #2).  Additionally, if you are wearing a dark color your nail shape is much more visible, thus easier to shape.  However, some filing will also be done after polish removal, particularly to seal the nail plate.

If you already took polish off or it's been off, apply some moisturizer anyway, its good for you!

2. Since this post is concentrating on taking down nail length, we first need to choose the correct file for the job.  See the older post on types of files, grit and uses.  Determine whether your nail is thick or thin.  Thick nails can use a 220 grit file, while thin nails are a bit more fragile and should start with a 300 grit file or higher.  Perhaps a crystal nail file would work for thin nails, but as I said previously, I am not that big of a fan.

Nail filing should, for the most part, be done in one direction and not in a sawing motion.  The exception is using a higher grit file (400+).  Grit this high is safe and will not tear the nail even if you are sawing away.   I can't comment too confidently on glass nail files, but from what I have read they seem to be safe.

Since you are not refining the nail shape, only keep a nail shape in mind.  Then file in one direction until your achieve length is achieved.  Or you can choose a higher grit nail file and saw away!  Maybe a video would be helpful.  If enough people express interest I will add one.

Now that you have taken down the length we can refine the shape!
Square
Rount/Oval
Squoval

Not sure what the right shape is for you fingers.  See this post!

Nail shape and balance

What's the best nail shape for your finger?  Believe it or not there are rules.  No one says you have to follow them, but they are a good guideline for what is visually appealing.

 How awesome do these look?

Unless you're from Jersey, visually these probably seem a bit off.




This is my post talking about different nail shapes and how to best balance your finger past the free edge based on your nail bed shape.

There are 3 main nail bed shapes.  Look at your nail bed from cuticle to tip.  Forget anything past the free edge because you can manipulate that shape with a file.  Your nail plate is probably either rounded, square or triangular.  Below is a graphic I made of proper nail shapes past the free edge based on your nail bed shape.

As a warning, this graphic is very text book and I have listed other options that, in my opinion, will work very well.  Unfortunately, the triangle nail shape is the most limited.  If anyone has any suggestions please comment.










Here are links to a series of posts showing how you can manipulate the free edge into different shapes.
Taking down length
Square
Oval
Squoval