Filing is not a science.
It takes a bit of effort to find and maintain the ideal nail shape and, of course, each shape has a slightly different filing and shaping procedure that you should learn. The width of the nail bed of your natural nail is an important guideline. If you move the file according to its shape, you can't make any major mistakes. Even so, we've put togEther a little guide that will help you get the hang of shaping your nails:

• round shape - start from the sides and work your way around the edges to the centre of the round
• oval shape - also start from the sides and work your way around the curve to the tip, making sure to keep the symmetry in mind
• square shape - file the sides and edges to a sharp edge, then bring the file face perpendicular to the bottom edge and file straight
• pointed shape - file using the 'I technique', where you imagine a junction between the middle of the bottom and top of the nail and file the side edges to this point on the free edge
• rounded square or squoval shape - follow the same procedure as for the square shape, then just remove the sharp corners at the bottom edge

Ideal length
When it comes to nail length, there is no easy way to tell what is too long and what is too short. Every woman's natural length is different, and everyone feels differently. So while for one woman an extra millimetre is a disaster, another woman can do any manual work with very long nails without any problems.