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Before Tippy Type, most days, you’d find me devoid of any type of manicure — no press-ons, no gel, nothing — because of how uncomfortable typing becomes. Forget using a keyboard cover, wrist rest, or even a mechanical keyboard, the typos and joint pain are a constant factor. It’s not exactly a winning situation when most of my days are spent on a laptop. I so desperately love being a long nail girly, but I can't do that and #girlboss at the same time with how impossible it feels to type with extensions on — at least until now.
Enter Tippy Type, a keyboard cover specifically designed for long nails (AKA a manicure lover’s dream). Its ergonomic design features raised keys smaller in width than you would see on a regular keyboard, allowing more space for your nails to have some breathing room. No more accidental typos or extending your fingers uncomfortably straight to jot a sentence down. No more wearing down your manicure by constantly filing down the edges against the keys. And, perhaps most importantly, no more sacrificing fun manis for the sake of accurate work.
“Honestly, I know it’s such a small thing and many might say to just cut them and move on, but my long nails bring me a lot of joy,” says Tippy Type Founder & CEO Sara Young Wang. “To think about having to live without them just made me sad. That’s what got me thinking about how to solve my problem.”
Naturally, I had to give it a try to see if I could now introduce long nails back into my beauty routine after years of sacrifice. Tippy Type can “accommodate nail lengths up to medium nail lengths, think a medium in the Apres Gel-X extension line,” according to the brand website, so it appears fairly forgiving on sizing. For my test, I used two different press-on lengths to figure out which felt more comfortable: Scarlet Silk (small) and Iconic (medium) from Prabal Gurung’s KISS collection.
There’s a bit of a learning curve — it was tricky to remember that I didn’t have to accommodate my hand position for my nails now — but once I picked it up, typing became so much smoother. Young Wang did warn me some discomfort would be expected at first, but it would quickly subside with practice. “If you’re used to typing with straight fingers on a flat keyboard, you might have to remember you can and should curve them now,” she says. “By typing with the fleshy tips of your fingers, your WPM, accuracy and comfort will increase.”
Throughout my trial, I took a typing test almost every day and found my results actually did inch closer and closer to my speed pre-Tippy Type, which was the main benefit I was hoping to fulfill: The freedom to wear long nails without sacrificing my typing. It surprised me how much more comfortable it actually felt to use after consistently using it at work. I don’t have achy hands at the end of the day, I’m making less mistakes, and generally feel back on top of my game.
That being said, even when I did get the hang of it, I noticed that if I snagged a key on the outer edges of the keyboard, it would sometimes peel back a corner. It wasn’t that big a deal as I could easily reposition, but a fastener or adhesive on the bottom to attach to my actual keyboard, or even a slightly thicker base of the cover would make it all the more sturdy and easy to use.
After a week of using the Tippy Type, it feels monumentally easier to type with it than without it now that it’s become a habit. I can’t imagine not having it in my office setup. If you avoid a longer mani because it makes your work difficult, this is definitely your new best friend.
