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Maintaining your nail shape between manicures can help extend the life of your polish, prevent damage to the nails, and keep your hands looking fresh in between trips to the salon. Whether you prefer the classic oval, square, or almond shape, maintaining healthy-looking nails requires maintenance on-site in your home. Here are three necessary tips to help you preserve your nail shape and maintain neat and tidy-looking nails until your next salon visit.
1. Trimming and Filing Regularly
Why it works:
One of the best ways to keep your nail shape is by trimming and filing your nails regularly. Nails grow unevenly or start to chip over time, which makes the shape look distorted. Trimming your nails and using a file to smooth out rough edges helps maintain a clean, defined shape and prevents breakage or snagging.
How to do it :
Trimming of nails regularly. When your nails tend to split or become too long, use a clean, sharp pair of nail clippers to trim them to your desired length.
File with accuracy :
Use a fine-grit file to shape your nails. Always file in one direction to prevent weakening of the nails. To achieve rounded or almond shapes, file from the sides toward the center to maintain symmetry. For square or squoval nails, file straight across the free edge and slightly round the corners to avoid making them too sharp or likely to break.
Pro Tip :
Don't over-file the nails. A light touch is key. You're better off filing a little bit at a time and checking the shape than filing too much at once.
2. Hydrate and Moisturize Your Nails
Why it works :
Dry, brittle nails are more liable to break up or lose shape. Hydrating your nail and cuticle keeps them strong, flexible, enabling you to maintain a nail shape longer. Proper hydration also prevents the peeling off, splitting up, and those painful hangnails that otherwise can ruin that neat look around your nails.
How do it :
Apply cuticle oil :
Massage a rich cuticle oil or balm into your nails and cuticles every day. It will keep the surrounding skin moisturized and thus not push onto the nail bed.
Apply moisturizer often :
Use thick hand cream, containing shea butter or coconut oil, which will hydrate your nails and skin. This helps maintain the elasticity of your nails.
Pro Tip :
Apply cuticle oil or lotion before bed to allow time for it to work overnight and get up in the morning to have softer and more pliable nails.
3. Preserve Your Nails from Damage
Why it works :
Chores, chemicals, and wear and tear weaken and distort the shape of your nails. Protecting them from unnecessary damage helps preserve their natural strength and integrity, keeping them in shape for a longer period between manicures.
How to do it :
Wear gloves for cleaning or gardening :
Prevent damage to your nails when washing dishes, using cleaning products, or working with gardening tools. Chemicals and rough materials weaken the nails and alter their shape.
Avert Using Nails like Tools: Stay away from digging into cans and peeling labels with your fingernails because all such activities put significant pressure on nails, which would break or deform.
Use of Protective Base Coats: On application at home, use of a base coat will help not stain the color formula and further protect the nails from damage at the hands of color formulas.
Pro Tip :
Leave your nails with some "breathing room" by skipping on nail polish for a few days in between manicures. This would give your nails a break from the product build-up and will be healthy for them.
Conclusion
Nothing's challenging about preserving the shape of your nail; all it takes is a little bit of consistency and care. So, if you are trimming, filing, and moisturizing your nails often, and avoid damage, it can help lengthen the lifespan of your manicure and will allow your nails to stay strong, beautiful, and well-shaped. All these tips could be added into your routine in order to achieve perfectly shaped and healthy nails between your salon visits.