There are many reasons to fall in love with long nail styles. They can be bold and elegant and a wonderful opportunity to express your creative vision and personal sense of style. But there are a few things that may need to be adjusted or changed in order to keep your nails in good condition and to meet your daily goals and needs.
One of those activities is typing. The way we are taught to type when we’re young or learning official typing skills may not be as effective with long nails, and that can be frustrating over time.
But don’t worry; here at Nailboo, we want to provide you with the information and resources you need to care for your nails from the very first day. Not only do we carry easy-to-use nail dipping kits that you can try out from the comfort of home, but we also want to share tips and tricks for proper nail care and support. Here’s a look at the best ways to keep your long nails healthy and strong and still finish that next assignment on time.
What To Watch For When Typing With Long Nails
There are a few common pitfalls that can impact the health and condition of your nails, and when we know what they are, it’s easier to watch out for and avoid them. Here are some of the effects of typing with long nails that you’ll want to stay away from.
Getting Your Nails Caught
When you type with long nails, one of the most common side effects is that the nail gets caught on or around the key. This can make it difficult to type accurately and can be frustrating or even painful if the nail pulls off or cracks. When we adjust our typing style to protect our nails, it helps to remove the risk of nails getting caught between the keys.
Damaging Your Nails
Improper typing styles can lead to nail damage and irritation, which can take time and money to repair. When the nails get caught between the keys, they can become scraped or cracked, but dragging the nails over the keys (the way we are taught to type) can also cause scratches and damage that you’ll want to avoid. Proper long nail typing techniques can be helpful for keeping your nails healthy and damage-free
Inaccuracies
When we have to learn how to type with long nails, we may be tempted to rely on the typing skills we already have. Unfortunately, that can lead to typing inaccuracies and frustration and may end up making more work for us down the line, since we’ll have to make changes and updates. It’s best to focus on getting the words down right, rather than getting them down fast.
How To Type With Long Nails
There are things to keep in mind when it comes to typing with long nails, but with a few simple changes, you ensure that your nails stay protected and strong and that you get the right words down on the page every time. Here are some ways to type accurately and comfortably with long nails.
Pick the Right Nails
There are many different nail shapes and styles to pick from when it comes to getting your next manicure, and some are easier to type with than others. While pointed or angled nails, like the stiletto, ballerina, or coffin shape, are elegant and beautiful, they tend to be much more difficult to type with than nails with rounded edges, even if those styles are just as long.
You have a lot of different options for customizing and styling your nails and shape is just one of them. Take the time to pick the best nails for your typing needs and find the colors, decals, and styles that can really help you to make them your own.
Retrain Your Hands
This is one of the hardest parts of typing with long nails, but don’t worry; there are a few essential steps you can take when it comes to getting a gorgeous new nail look and maintaining accurate typing skills.
Traditionally, we are taught to type with the tips of our fingers. This allows for maximum ease of movement and ensures that we’re not tapping the keys too hard, and it’s much easier to achieve with short or rounded nails.
If we have very long nails, however, tapping the keys with the tips of the fingers can be difficult or even impossible. Instead, you want to touch the key with the center of your finger, which keeps your fingers more parallel to the keyboard and protects your nails from damage or cracking.
Type Like a Pianist
When retraining your typing skills, consider thinking like a pianist. Typing often requires our fingers to move around a lot, but pianists are much gentler and more flexible. Try to keep your hands as still as possible and focus on the flexibility of your fingers. Fewer movements of the hands and fingers mean fewer opportunities for your nails to snag or catch.
Use a Gentle Touch
You also want to be sure that you’re touching down lightly when you type. We often don’t realize how tough we are on the keys when we’re typing, especially since it’s easier to type quickly with short nails, but a gentle touch is essential when it comes to typing with long nails.
Not only will this help you to get a more accurate outcome every time, but the gentle touch will ensure that your nails are protected and won’t end up hitting the keyboard or getting caught while you type.
Keep Good Posture
It’s always important to keep good posture when you’re typing since slouching or sitting forward can lead to pain in the back, neck, and shoulders. That said, it’s especially essential if you’re learning how to type with long nails. When retraining your typing skills, you want to try to keep your hands as parallel to the keyboard as possible, since this will allow you to use the pad of your finger to type, rather than the tip of your finger.
It’s much easier to maintain this parallel position if you’re sitting up straight and you’re keeping good posture. Even if you don’t have long nails, good posture is helpful for anyone who spends a lot of time on the computer.
If you’re struggling to maintain good posture, consider a posture-checking tool like an app or a timer, or try out a standing desk that will help to keep your spine elongated while you type.
Find the Right Gear
The QWERTY keyboard is by far the most popular type of keyboard available on the market today, but it certainly isn’t the only one. If you’re relearning to type with your long nails, you may want to consider purchasing a keyboard that allows you to take things slow and ensures your nails—as well as your wrists and hands—are protected while you try things out.
There are many different keyboard options to pick from, with keyboards for shorthand, for reducing carpal tunnel, and a whole lot more. Explore your options and find the best keyboard and gear to match your new typing needs.
Remember What’s Important
When we’re trying to type with long nails for the first time, one of the biggest mistakes we often make is trying to match the speed and skill with which we typed before. It can be very frustrating to see your word count per minute go down dramatically, but the truth is that we just can’t type as quickly with long nails as we can without them—and that’s okay.
It’s important to focus on retraining our skills and prioritizing accuracy over speed when it comes to typing with long nails, especially in the beginning. Speed is great if you can get the words down on the page accurately, but it can be twice the amount of work if you have to go back in and fix everything later.
That’s why you always want to remember to focus on getting the right letters down. Eventually, your speed and confidence are going to pick up, but start with staying on target.
Take Your Time
We learn how to type from when we’re very young and typing can be an intuitive practice that’s easiest when you follow a certain method. It’s okay if you aren’t able to switch your whole skill set overnight.
In fact, it’s to be expected. Learning how to type with new long nails will take time, especially if you want to do it properly, and that’s not a bad thing. You’re learning a whole new set of skills and experiences that will serve you for a long time to come.
It’s also important to take your time while typing, specifically. If you find yourself getting tripped up or frustrated, it’s because you’re learning a whole new skill and it doesn’t come as naturally as the previous one did. Slow your typing speed and focus on getting the right letters down and you’ll hit those goals sooner than you think.
Take Breaks
It’s always a good idea to take breaks when you’re typing. This can help to protect your neck, back, and wrists, ensure that your posture is healthy, and keep you focused when you get back to work.
It’s especially helpful to take breaks if you’re learning how to type all over again, because the new practice takes time and energy, and you want to check back often to make sure you’re following your new guidelines and meeting your new goals. Taking breaks will help you to slow your typing as you focus on getting it right.
Practice
We learn how to type the first time by practicing and using our skills, and learning how to type with long nails is no different. You always want to make sure that when you’re practicing, you have good posture, protect your wrists, use the pad of your fingers, and take breaks often, to maintain focus and control. Practice is the best way to ensure that you’re improving your typing skills, and it can help you increase speed and accuracy over time as you gain confidence.
Conclusion
Typing is an essential skill in today’s day and age, but it shouldn’t keep you from achieving gorgeous new nail looks that showcase your style and bring you joy. The good news is that you can adjust your typing needs and approach so that you can maintain beautiful long nails without worrying about damage or breaking and still get the words down on the page.
There are a few different ways to learn how to type with long nails. You want to focus on using the pad of your finger, rather than the tip, always practice good posture, and prioritize getting an accurate result, rather than a fast one. These steps will help to protect your long nails and keep them happy and healthy.
Nailboo is here to help you every step of the way. Not only do we carry the nail dip kits that make it easy to achieve salon-quality looks right from the comfort of home, but we’re also sharing all we know about nail care and support, including how to type with long nails.
Whatever your long nail needs may be, we have you covered. Try out a nail dip kit from Nailboo today and begin writing your next novel or screenplay with ease tomorrow.
Sources:
10 Nail Shapes to Consider Before You Book Your Next Mani | Glamour
Why Good Posture Matters | Harvard Health
7 Tips For Choosing the Perfect Computer Keyboard For You | Lifehack
