I have never liked my hands. They’re small. They’re stumpy. They’re pudgy. I just don’t have long elegant hands and it’s something that has always bugged me.

My nails never look nice no matter what I do or don’t do. They never have. The nail bed is short (thanks to years of nail biting) and whenever I cut my nails they just look even more like little kid hands. Super cute, I know.

Just before Halloween this year, my mom convinced me to join her for manicures at a local salon. Why not? I went with her and got my very first gel manicure ever. (I usually paint my own nails if I’m going to sport a color. I’m just lazy like that.)

I went with black because (a) Halloween was the next night and it’s my favorite night of the year and (b) I’m a little bit of an emo kid at heart still and you’ll have to pry black nail polish from my cold dead hands.

As you can see, my nails are super short and all that does is make my fingers look even shorter than they already are. Not exactly flattering.

And it isn’t for lack of trying. I’ve tried growing them out and trying new shapes, but I never like how it looks growing out because of the nail bed being so short. I hate the white free edge starting so far up on my nail and so I usually end up clipping them, which doesn’t help my short nail beds. In all actuality, it probably has made it worse over the years.

Now that my nails are growing out from that manicure and the gel is no more, I’ve decided to try growing out and shaping my nails with a file. I’ve kept myself from biting or clipping the white free edge, even though it’s starting to get to me, and I’m going to give myself a couple weeks to get them to a length where I can better shape them. I don’t love how it looks but I’m trying to keep the big picture in mind.

I’ll probably stick to a more round shape (or I guess oval if I’m feeling daring) unless I find another shape that really flatters my hands. I’ve heard the best shape for your nails should mirror the shape of your eponychium. Mine just so happen to be rounded, except for my left thumb which is more squoval. If you have suggestions or tips and tricks, I’m open to them. I don’t plan on sporting very long nails, just because they’re not my style. I would say maybe just past the end of my finger, but not more than maybe a mm or two.

Since removing the gel, I’ve filed snags or pointed corners, but I haven’t really removed any length off the free edge. I’ve massaged a nail & cuticle oil into the cuticles and over the nail itself daily, just because the weather gods have decided it will finally be cold now and I can feel my hands drying out more. For moisturizing my hands, I do use the Moisturizing Botanical Bar by Nopalera. (I have a review of Nopalera products coming soon!) I brush my nails every couple of days, just to get anything out from under the free edge. So far, that’s really all I can do with the current length of my nails.

I know it’s a long shot and I know that genetics are unchangeable, but I’m hoping maybe some of my nail bed might reattach. Even just a little bit would probably make the world of difference in appearance.

I’ll keep you guys updated about how my nails look and if I try anything different.

If you have any suggestions or things that have worked for you, please leave them in the comments for me! I’m willing to give just about anything a try.