How to paint your nails so the polish lasts longer
Why nail polish chips so fast
Nail polish does not stick to oil, and it does not stick to a smooth surface. Your nail is both by nature. On top of that, polish applied too thickly never dries on the inside, even though the surface feels dry.
So the biggest gain is not a more expensive polish, but the order below.
Start with filing, not with polishing
First bring your nails to length and into shape with a file from nail files. File in one direction, from the side towards the middle. Filing after polishing damages the edge you have just sealed.
Then push your cuticles back with a pusher from cuticle tools. Polish that sits on top of your cuticle is the first bit to let go.
Degreasing is the step everyone skips
Wipe your nails with a cleanser or with some nail polish remover on a cotton pad, even when there is no polish on them yet. After that, no more hand cream, and do not touch your nails again until you are done.
Base coat: the layer that pays off most
A base coat gives the polish something to hold on to and prevents yellow staining from bright colours. Without a base coat you rarely get more than a few days.
Two thin colour layers, not one thick one
Wipe the brush against the neck of the bottle and work with three strokes: through the middle first, then left and right. Let the first layer dry for two minutes before the second goes on.
Two thin layers cover better and dry faster than one thick one. Stay about a millimetre away from your cuticle, so regrowth shows less.
Cap the edge
With every layer, including your top coat, run the brush along the tip of your nail. That seals the edge where chipping normally starts. This one little trick often buys you days.
Top coat, and then patience
Finish with a top coat for the shine and the protection. Repeat it after two or three days and the shine holds up longer.
Nail polish feels dry after ten minutes, but only really hardens after about an hour. During that hour, skip the washing-up and do not dig around in your bag.
A few more things that help
- Store your polish cool and dark, not on the windowsill. Heat and light make it thick and syrupy.
- Polish gone gloopy? A few drops of polish thinner help, acetone or remover does not: that breaks the polish down.
- Put a little petroleum jelly around your nails, then you can wipe away any slips with a cotton bud.
- Use cuticle oil afterwards, never before.
In short
- File and push back your cuticles before you start
- Degrease and then touch nothing
- Base coat, two thin colour layers, top coat
- Run every layer along the free edge
- Take it easy for an hour, even when it feels dry
Looking for a new colour? Browse all nail polish, or go to base and top coats.
