Nails and Calluses

Hey there,
how was wondering how you guys do with the maintenance of your hands, specifically nails and calluses.

I am lately trying to keep my right hand nails longer, and there is definitely a huge difference in sound, and also much more dynamism I can give to the sound rotating the finger, using only flesh, only nail, etc. So tone wise is pretty cool! Tough to keep them like this, though. A part from the fact that I am uncomfortable (and that is a bit socially awkward to explain why I look like a half-side Wolverine ) I find also hard to keep them at the right length. At some point I have to cut, just a bit, but of course then I have to regain my 'balance' with fingerpicking.

Looking at some professionals and virtuosos I was noticing not everyone has long nails. Guerrero has nails longer than my grandma (someone said online), but for example it seems that Jake Shimabukuro hasn't got these super claws other players have, in fact his nails are rather short. Am I mistaking?

The other tough part is calluses, I don't know if it is my cheap uke that has bad frets but after sometimes that I slide on the strings my calluses sort of break and then the whole process has to restart once again...
I just purchased an high end uke so probably the frets won't cut my fingers anymore..

Any tips from your experience guys?


Thank you!

I just keep mine short & pick away, have to be stronger/more forceful on the strings when using flesh though, is what I have found.

Lillo said:

... specifically nails and calluses.

I am lately trying to keep my right hand nails longer...

The other tough part is calluses...

Click to expand...

Ok. I went through both issues myself...this is what I do, and others may suggest different methods, but this is what has worked for me.

1. Do not CUT your nails with a clipper, it is much better for the edge of the nail as well as the health of the nail to use various grit FILES. A clipper will never give you the correct profile for playing, which for most folks is the same as the shape of your fingertip, and a clipper actually damages the edge of the nail, which then has to be filed anyway. A nail clipper is like using a jackhammer to push in a thumbtack, i.e. overkill and wrong tool for the job.

2. You will need to experiment with the length of the nail to keep for the best playing technique and feel that you want. It takes a little while to figure this out. I have my nails now at a length of about 2-3mm beyond the quick of the nail-bed, such that they are about even with my fingertips, otherwise they get in the way of typing, using a tablet/smartphone, and get ruined by every day tasks. I never had nails on my right hand grown out in all of my 45+ yrs, and ALWAYS used to cut them back very short with a clipper, I also ALWAYS had problems with ingrown nails. All those problem went away once I started to grow them out.

3. If you are new to having nails, and just growing them out now, and you grow them too long, you will find out real fast how long is too long. Yes, as a man, it feels gross and girly at first to grow them out, and when I started, I wold grow them like 2mm and then have to cut them back because I was too skeeved out. Eventually and only one time I had them grown out to about 5mm, and then in about a week, 3 of the 5 fingers the nails edges got snagged or chipped on something or other, and I had to file them down any way. Now I just keep them shorter. It takes me about 2 weeks or so to grow them out of they are trimmed all the way back, and I give them a few strokes with a very fine grit metal diamond-grit nail file every day or so, just to keep the edges smooth, and about once per week, I spend a few minutes fine tuning the length and shape.

4. As for calluses. Mine would thicken up and then PEEL, yes, this happened MANY MANY MANY times. No amount of moisturizer or lotions would help. Eventually they stopped peeling, maybe about 8 months later, with daily practice of about an hour or more per day. Now sometimes the hard skin on my fingertips bothers me and I'm tempted to peel it off, but this never ends well, so I just leave it to exfoliate naturally, which I do not feel anything when that happens.

5. Yes, it is a but odd looking and odd feeling to have longer nails on one hand, but you get used to it. I've rarely been asked about it when folks notice it, and when I am, I tell folks it is necessary for playing classical guitar (which I do) and also ukulele, and after that nobody seems to say anything.

6. I have kind of an OCD about keeping my nails VERY CLEAN. It is a pet peeve of mine to see folks with like black grease under their fingernails while they are eating food or preparing a meal, makes me want to puke when I see it, such poor hygiene it seems. It's like folks not washing their hands after using the toilet. YUKKK! So I keep my nails clean and wash my hands as necessary many times per day, and when home I have a small hand-brush that I use to make sure there is no dirt under my nails, and the nail file I carry in my wallet also has a pointed tip for cleaning under the nails.

I refuse to use fake nails with toxic glue to hold them on, or any kind of finger-picks including the Alaska Piks for a variety of reasons, and will ONLY use my NATURAL nails. I also do NOT use a flat-pick for any nylon stringed instruments.

Hope this helps.

I experimented with nails quite a bit this year, and I think I like them best when they are about 1.5 to 2mm long (of white), with the sides filed to be a little rounded (matching the fingertip's arch, no ramps). This gives me good control and volume, feels right to me, and I don't get a snapping or scratching noise. If they are longer, I tend to get tangled up in the strings or the sound and feel decrease.

Still experimenting with the thumb nail. I let it grow a bit longer and file it to be slightly more pointy. Haven't found the optimum length for it yet. Right now I like it in the 2-2.5mm length area.

I file nails about once a week (or every few days) and I eat a few gummy bears every day. Just seven or eight, not by the handfuls. This definitely helps with getting strong, fast growing nails. There are probably better ways, but it's the only candy I eat anyway.

I don't really have any significant calluses, the skin just got more taunt. I did have calluses on the tips of the fretting fingers, but when I got in the habit of pressing more softly, they were replaced with taunt skin, which I really prefer to calluses (numb finger tips feel off to me, especially when typing). This seems to be rather individual, though, probably depends on one's skin.

The guitar book "Pumping Nylon" has a whole chapter on nail care and shapes. I found it a bit confusing and just experimented on my own. A good deal of it is really technique, I feel, and it depends on the strings and string spacing also. I noticed the way I feel about optimal nail length varies greatly between my baritone/tenor and my vintage soprano. I'd have slightly shorter nails if I primarily played the smaller instrument with narrower string spacing.

Professionals and players who play very expertly seem to fall in all sorts of categories, so I think this is all just a matter of preference, though I do feel that some nail length provides a maximum of options. What I do see a lot are impressive thumbnails that are used like flat picks.

I fingerpick more than strum and I dislike nails. I cut my nails as short as I can and find I get callouses on the fingertiips of both hands. I do use my hands to apply lotion - generally Palmer's Cocoa Butter formula with Viramin E Daily Skin Therapy- after showering. But, I wipe it off my hands after applying as just a minute on my callouses is enough to keep them in good shape.

I take 4 capsules every night of Flax Seed Oil. Keeps my nails (and hair) in good shape.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions guys! I am sure with time I will assest!

I use a nail clipper cause got bored of filing my nails for aprox 20 years. I was studying Flamenco so nails were a must. Super glue and toilet paper and filing for 20 years....

How long? It depends on what i'm studying. A tremolo piece needs a bit longer nails. Picados, shorter nails or you get stuck in fast phrases.

The nails on my right (strumming) hand are kept slightly longer than on my left. I try to keep them trimmed weekly. If they are too long, I find them to be uncomfortable, and they then tend to break due to just everyday living.
If you play regularly, 6 or 7 days a week, the calluses cease to be an issue.

I don't pay much attention to mine.

ever since I was a small child long nails have given me the creeps, so not an option for me. My right hand will just have to do the best it can

Left hand I'm struggling a bit - I suffer from eczema also, and get a lot of dry dead skin under my nails. But its early days :music: