As summer approaches and school lets out, everyone needs to relax. One fun way to feel recharged and get a confidence boost is to get your nails done. As a high-stress person myself, choosing what to get can be a little nerve-racking, so here is your summer guide on how to choose the best set for you!

Choosing a Type of Manicure

You first need to decide what material you want on your nails. The most common options are regular polish, soft gel, hard gel, and acrylic.

Regular polish is great for people who like to change up their looks often, are worried about nail health, want to save money, or want to do their nails at home. Regular polish is, of course, offered in salons too, but it’s super easy and fun to learn how to do well at home. My favorite tip for at-home manicures is to invest in a straight-cut nail clipper to get a much cleaner and elegant nail shape. Regular polish is thought to be safer for your hands because there isn’t any UV radiation from a curing lamp (since these nails air dry), and you are less likely to damage your nails trying to remove the color. The regular polish needs to be touched up or redone within a few days, which is great for some people who want to choose a new color, but for others who don’t have the time to do their nails, this might be a bit of a hassle.

There are two types of gel nails, soft and hard. They both last longer than regular polish, require a UV curing lamp to dry, and can be built up and shaped. Hard nails last longer, typically looking nice for 3 weeks to a month. Soft nails last about 2 weeks and are easier to remove, leading to less damage to the natural nail later. Hard nails are perfect for someone who is active and busy but still wants nice nails. I recommend soft nails for someone anxious about getting them done because they don’t want to mess their nails up immediately, by chipping or scratching the color, since soft gel is more durable than regular polish, or damage their natural nails.

Acrylic nails are another type of manicure that can be built up into a longer style. These nails are the longest-lasting lasting with about 6-8 weeks between total replacements, and fills every 2-3 weeks. The nails are made out of a monomer and polymer powder mix. They typically allow for the longest length and the most freedom in design, so they are great for people who want to turn heads. Despite not using a UV lamp (if you use regular polish on top), the American Academy of Dermatology Association does not recommend acrylics over gel nails. The AAD cautions that acrylics are more likely to cause damage to nail beds, such as cracking and peeling, because of the required filing and lack of flexibility.

Choosing a shape

There is nothing wrong with keeping your nail length and shape, but adding tips or building the nail up can be a fun way to try something new. Longer nails can also lengthen and slim your fingers, if you choose the right shape. Natural nails can also be filed into these shapes however, the difference isn’t quite as noticeable. The most common shapes are square, squoval, round, oval, almond, and coffin/ballerina.

Square nails are, you guessed it, square. They look fantastic on people with narrower nail beds and hands with long fingers and palms. They will noticeably make your nails wider.

Squoval nails are similar to square nails, but the sides are rounded. Oval nails are a little more rounded and narrower than squoval nails. Squoval and oval are recommended for people with long palms but short fingers. These nails will lengthen your fingers, making your hands look more balanced.

Almond and oval nails look best on hands with wide palms and short fingers since they will slim and elongate the whole hand. An almond-shaped nail is like a stretched-out oval.

The coffin, also known as the ballerina nail, complements a hand with a wide palm and long fingers best. These nails are like a cross between a square and an oval. They have straight sides like a square, but they are long and turn into an oval at the base of the nail.

Finally, the round nail is the closest to what people naturally have. This shape will look nice on any hand as long as it is clean.

Now that you have some insight into picking the best hand accessory, I hope you will find your perfect nails and go out and rock them!