How to File Your Nails

Before I explain how I need to explain that the shape of your nail bed can’t be changed. You’re born with whatever size nail bed you have and that’s it, you can’t change it. You also can’t change the natural curve of your nail. Some people call this the “C-curve,” meaning how flat or curved your nails are. You also can’t change any natural warping of your C-curve or your nails. So, for example, when my nails get long, my C-curve gets tighter and the left side of the curve of my middle nail pulls in more. If you have tight C-curves like me, then using nail oil regularly will help soften that curve when it gets too tight. A strong C-curve isn’t necessarily a good or a bad thing. Some people like the way it looks and some people prefer flatter nails. A strong C-curve is only really a problem when your nails get too long and they start to curve inwards too much and therefore risk breaking easier. Or if they’re digging into the sides of your fingers which can cause pain and discomfort. Overall, just know that it’s actually quite normal to have wonky or weirdly warped nails. We all have naturally differently shaped nail beds that we can’t change and we have to just live with it. After all,  we are not born with perfect symmetry. 

Now, what you can change is the shape of the free edge of your nail. There are so many different nail shapes out there. One nail shape isn’t better than another, it’s just completely about personal preference. Usually the most flattering nail shape is the one that mirrors your cuticle line. My cuticle lines are rounded but they’re kind of square at the same time. And it just so happens that I like to shape my nails as rounded squares or “squovals” as some people call them. 

1) Do NOT cut your nails! 

Don’t use nail clippers or scissors because you’ll risk splitting the nail and breaking it in place you don’t want to break. 

2) Try a Glass File 

If you cut or clip your nails because you’re too impatient to file them, then I’m gonna guess that you haven’t tried a glass file yet. Glass nail files are way quicker at filing down the nail with the right amount of pressure, and they also leave cleaner edges than your regular course emery boards. I use this glass one and I got it from my favorite nail care shop: Holo Taco. Because a glass file can really take off a lot in one stroke, make sure to stop every few strokes and assess the length and evenness of your nails so you don’t make them shorter than intended or make them uneven. 

3) File in One Direction (Corner to Center) 

Now this is how you should actually file them. File in one direction from corner to center. Contrary to popular belief, do not file straight across in a seesaw motion. Doing that will put a lot of pressure on your nail, and the filing back and forth motion will pull your nail from side to side. Remember that your nail tips are the driest part of your nail and if you file straight across, back and forth, you risk splitting the ends. If you ever find that your nails are catching on something, like a sweater or even your hair, then it’s probably because you had a free edge, whether at the top or the side of your nail, that had a tiny split. Even if it’s just a hairline split you don’t notice yet, it could develop into a bigger split. Kinda like a chip in your car windshield. 

4) File the Sides 

File the sides, but only if you need to. Obviously, if your nails are too short for this then you don’t need to do this. In fact, you really don’t need and shouldn’t file the sides of your nails unless a) you have a very strong C-curve like I do- my nails actually dig into the sides of my skin and that can even hurt. Filing them helps soften that C-curve. Or b) you have wide nails that flare out at the top, and so you would file the very top of the sides to make them more rectangular. 

5) Excavate the Stragglers 

When I am getting close to done, I flip my hands over so I can gently scrape or push out the filing stragglers from the underside of my nail. You may be less of this nail shaving-collector-effect going on if you have flatter and less curved than mine. So once you push them upwards, then you just turn you nails around and you can kind of file the little shavings off. 

6) Refine the Edges

Now you are done with your glass file, so you can put that away, but you may have a tiny bit of unevenness and fine tuning to do. Next, I actually use a nail buffer, but I don’t use it to buff the tops of my nails. Don’t do that! Unless you want to weaken the layers of your nails, don’t buff your nails. But rather because the nail buffer has super high grit, I use it to refine the edges of my nails with a lot more control since it’s definitely not going to be filing anything down in a significant way like the glass file. 

7) Round/ Smooth

This is when I round out the corners just a little bit into a squoval shape since this is the kind of nail shape that works best for me, both practically and aesthetically in my opinion. I’ve tried super square nails before but I’ve found that the sharp corners were always snagging on things and breaking, and also sometimes digging into the side of my skin. 

8) Wash Your Hands

Then you’re done really, just go wash off your hands of all the nail shavings.