How To Make Press On Nails Look More Natural

Do you want to know how to make your press on nails look less fake, and keep them on for longer? Of course, you do! I mean, who wouldn't want that? Luckily, there is one sure-fire way to achieve this, and all you need is a nail file. No, seriously. That's it.  Filing your nails to fit inside your cuticle shape, rather than covering it up with the nail is vital when it comes to getting good results from your falsies. Sadly, it's something not many of us do. It seems kinda long, and we're not totally sure we'll do a good job of it anyway, so we just pop them on as they are, and hope they don't fall off too quickly.

But if you're sick of constantly sticking them back on, or just want your nails to look polished, professional, and have people gasp when you tell them that they're press on's, then follow the two simple tips below to find nail-nirvana.


1. Choose your sizes wisely, young grasshopper.

Before you file anything, you need to choose the best sizes from your set. False nails usually come in sets of 20/24, (mine included,) so you don't have to file too much, and the spares can come in handy later on.
You want to pick a size that will be about half a millimetre smaller than your cuticle once it's filed to match your natural nail shape. In this picture, the purple one is already perfectly sized at the top. The sides are touching my cuticles a little, but once I've filed them down, this will fit perfectly.

The red one may look tidy close up like this, but if you zoomed out on this shot, the nail is unnaturally large for the width of my finger, and I don't seem to have any cuticles, which is just freaking weird. This also means that the edges of the false nail are glued to the skin, not my natural nail. This will cause lifting, meaning that it'll get snagged on something soon enough, and then it's bye-bye gorgeous nail.



2. File them, and then choose your sizes wisely, young grasshopper. Wait a minute..........what?

Once you've selected the best size, file it to match the shape of your cuticle. For best results, drag the file slowly around the edge of the nail, in one direction only. Sawing back and forth may seem more effective, but you have much less control over the shape that way.

Once filed, we need to quickly check the sizes again. Don't worry, I'm not pulling your leg. This time, we need to check how the curve of the nail compares to yours. To do this, simply check that you don't have to push down on the false nail to make it touch yours in the middle. If you do, then sadly, this nail is a little too curvy for you. Grab the size above it, and use that one instead. It will take a little more filing, but it'll be worth it. If you have to slightly flatten a false nail to glue it on, it won't stay on for long.

Repeat the process for the rest of your fingers, and you are good to go.



It may take a little while the first time you do it, but as with anything, it gets much quicker and easier with a little practice. It also helps to write down your sizes for the nails, along with the brand name and the nail shape so that you have a record of them for next time, especially if you wear press on's on a regular basis. If you are a Sarah's Sparkles Nails customer, please feel free to send me your sizes once you know them, so you don't have to worry about forgetting where you wrote them. (As a bonus, this also means that you can ask me to custom size your nail set the next time you buy that shape.)


I hope you've found this post useful, and please feel free to leave any questions or comments in the section below, and I'll get back to you.
And if you're super excited about your next set of nails now that you know how to wear them like a total boss, why not check out my shop, where you will find some truly stunning and unique hand-painted false nail sets.  Just click the shop tab at the top of the screen.