The main shapes offered by salons are round nails, oval nails, square nails, squoval nails, almond nails, stiletto nails, ballerina nails, and lipstick nails. My personal favorite are the classic square nails.
One of the favorite parts of my job as a nail tech is designing the perfect nail shape for my customers. Each person’s fingers and nails are unique and I love figuring out which design will work best for them. With so much of experience, I thought I should pass on some of my know-how to you.
Here are the top acrylic nail shapes that you can choose from – I have also included a guide about which shape will be most flattering based on your fingers and nail beds. Let’s begin.
How Many Acrylic Nail Shapes Are There?
In this post, I will discuss the nine main acrylic nail shapes. The thing is, nail shapes are constantly evolving and new shapes are being introduced all the time.
Not to mention, there are some fringe nail shapes that may be known to some people and salons but not others. Since it can be tricky to know exactly every possible nail shape, I am going to focus on the most accepted styles.
What are the Top Acrylic Nail Shapes?
Here is a breakdown of the different nail shapes:
Round Nails
This is one of the more natural looking nail shapes and works well if you want short nails. Here, the shape follows the curve of your natural nails and is rounded at the top.
Round nails are arguably one of the more subtle shapes as well. Not only are they shorter but the symmetry at the center makes the nails appear more organic.
Oval Nails
The oval shape is pretty similar to that of the round nails. However, here you will find that the nails have a slightly longer shape to them. Due to this, they have more curved in sides. At the top, though, the curve is gentle.
Square Nails
With square nails, the square nail shape has straight sides and a squared off tip.
Square shaped nails are actually quite versatile. This is because they can be worn as a medium to long shape.
Squoval Nails
These nails are essentially a square oval. While they look live oval nails, you will find that the edges are a bit more squared off.
If you like keeping your nails short, then these are a great shape for you. As an added bonus, this nail shape is universally flattering too.
Almond Nails
With almond shaped nails, you can choose between medium or long nails. Here, you have slender sides and a slimmer base.
However, with almond nails, the tip of the nail isn’t really pointed. While the tip is narrower, it has a softer curve to it.
Stiletto Nails
If you want long nails, then stiletto nails are the way to go. The design of this nail shape supports longer lengths. While the stiletto nails are similar to that of the almond shape, the tip of the nails come to a sharper point, much like the blade that it is named for.
Ballerina Nails
Ballerina nails are a great option if you want a really long nail shape. Here, the nail is designed to look like the end of pointe shoes used by ballerinas, hence the name. This means that the tip isn’t pointed but rather squared off.
Coffin Nails
Coffin nails and the ballerina shape are sometimes mistaken for each other as they do have a similar shape. However, they are different nail shapes.
The sides of the coffin nails are more sharply pointed towards the middle. So, while the tip is squared off, the tip is a lot narrower than with the ballerina shape.
Lipstick Nails
This is a newer shape but has quickly grown in popularity. This shape is once again made for longer nails. However, as with a lipstick, there is a slant to the end of the nail. This means that one point of the nail is higher than the other.
What is the Best Nail Shape for You?
Now that you know the main shapes for acrylic nails, let’s take a look at which shape will suit you best, depending on your fingers and nail beds:
Short Fingers
If you have short fingers then round nails are the way to go. The gentle, curved shape matches the width of your natural nails and elongates them in a very organic fashion.
Best of all with round nails, you can still have relatively short nails and still make it look like you have long fingers.
If you want to up the glam factor while lengthening your fingers, then go with stiletto nails. This unique nail shape adds length and a va-va-voom factor that can be topped up with nail art for the ultimate look.
Wide Nail Beds
If you have nail beds are fairly wide, then you want to balance things out. In this case, oval nails will do the trick beautifully.
Prefer to keep your nails looking subtle? Then a classic French manicure will be enough. If you would rather glam things up, some nail art can certainly take your oval nails to the next level.
Narrow Nail Beds
The problem with narrow nail beds is that they can make the surface area for your nail bed look practically non existent. So, it can be difficult to make your nail game stand out.
This is where square nails come to the rescue. They make it look like your nail bed has a bit more width to it by creating a similar width at the top of the nail.
Square nails are also the perfect nail shape for anyone who has strong natural nails and likes low-maintenance nails. Sure, you can kick things up a notch with nail art or you can keep the nails neat and simple.
Thick Fingers
Everyone wants slim fingers but few people have them. Almond nails, though, are a great way to trick the eye into thinking that you have slim fingers.
The slimmer base and slender sides make for a stylish shape that is going to make your fingers look quite dainty. You will find that this design works well with most finger shapes.
Squoval nails are also one of the best nail shapes for thicker fingers, although I would argue that they are universally flattering. Best of all, they are also incredibly low maintenance.
Short Nails
If you have thin nail beds and find it difficult to grow out your nails, then acrylic nails are the way to go. In this case, you can opt for lipstick nails or ballerina nails for the ultimate chic look.
You should be warned that these designs are pretty high maintenance and will require frequent trips to the nail salon.
If you were hoping to get acrylic nails, you now know which nails shapes to choose from, along with shapes are likely to suit you best of all.