Nail Shape Quiz
Answer six questions about your nails and how you use your hands. The quiz suggests one of seven nail shapes that is practical for you, a second choice, how the shape wears and the length it needs.
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Answer all 6 questions to see your shape.
How it works
Each answer adds or takes away points for seven shapes: round, squoval, oval, square, almond, coffin (also called ballerina) and stiletto. The shape with the most points is your result and the next one is your second choice. If two shapes have the same points, the one earlier in that list wins, because it is the easier shape to live with.
The points follow one idea: the more a shape narrows towards the tip, and the longer it has to be, the less nail there is holding the tip up. So short nails, nails that break or peel, hands-on days and little time for upkeep all add points to round and squoval. Length, strong nails or extensions, lighter hand use and regular appointments add points to almond, coffin and stiletto.
Two rules sit on top of the points. Coffin and stiletto are only offered if your nails are already long or you wear extensions, because the shape cannot be filed into a short nail. Almond is only offered if your nails are at least medium length or you wear extensions.
The quiz is about fit with your nails and your day, not about how your hands look. Any shape can be worn on any hand. The point values are our own judgement, based on how nail technicians usually describe the shapes. They do not come from a study.
What it cannot tell you
- The result is a likely fit, not a rule. How a shape wears on you also depends on how fast your nails grow, how thick they are and what product is on them.
- How shapes chip and break is described from nail technicians' common experience. We found no clinical studies comparing nail shapes. The one sourced point is from the American Academy of Dermatology, which advises rounding nails slightly at the tips for maximum strength.
- The quiz does not look at nail health. The American Academy of Dermatology says to see a dermatologist if your nails change, swell or cause pain.
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Common questions
Round is generally treated as the strongest nail shape for natural nails, because it has no corners or point to catch. The American Academy of Dermatology advises rounding nails slightly at the tips for maximum strength. Squoval and oval are close behind. There are no clinical studies that rank the shapes.
Round, squoval and square are the nail shapes that work on short nails, because they need little or no free edge past the fingertip. Almond needs some length to taper, and coffin and stiletto need long nails or extensions.
Coffin and ballerina nails are the same shape under two names: a long nail that tapers in at the sides and is filed flat across the tip. Some nail technicians use ballerina for a slightly softer, narrower version, but most use the two words for one shape.
A squoval nail is a square nail with the corners rounded off. The tip is mostly straight across, like a square, and the corners curve, like an oval. Squoval nails work at any length and have no sharp corners to catch.
Stiletto nails are usually described as the shape most likely to break, because the whole tip narrows to a point and much of the side of the nail is filed away. For that reason they are almost always made with extensions and not on natural nails. This is nail technicians' common experience, not a measured result.