Getting nail polish to last a long time (without having to drop bill$ for a professional manicure) is hard. I have come up with 5 easy steps to getting nail polish to last as long as a professional manicure a pretty long time.
1. Use nail polish remover.
Even if you don’t have polish on your nails, nail polish remover helps rid your nails of natural oils – a manicure’s worst nightmare.
2. Buff nail surface.
Smoothing your nails’ surfaces gets rid of any small lumps and bumps that can lead to uneven polish, which easily cracks. (I use this four-sided buffer block that I got at Winn Dixie.)
3. File nails.
Filing your nails gets rid of rough nail edges. Nail edges can get caught on many things and tear the nail and lift the polish. Remember to only file your nails in one direction (don’t go back and forth) because changing direction promotes nail breakage. Fun fact: the bookstore now sells Tulane branded nail files because who doesn’t need that.
4. Wash your hands with soap and water.
This step is super important. After you’ve buffed and filed your nails will likely have residue left on them, not to mention leftover nail polish remover. Make sure to use soap and get it on the nails when you wash your hands. Dry your hands afterwards and try not to touch your nails again until after the polishing is done.
5. Get a good topcoat.
I don’t use basecoat because I’m too impatient for that nonsense. I like a good topcoat that has a lot of shine AND promises a speedy dry-time. I use “Speed Dry Top Coat” by Nutra Nail. This topcoat is glossy and, I kid you not, dries in 30 seconds to a minute. Literally you put this on over your two coats of polish and within a minute you are ready to go.
Hopefully these tips help!
Nailed it.
–B.
(P.S. the article picture, or “thumbnail” -lol-, is actually my hand.)