If you’d like to avoid your polish chipping off two hours after you’ve done your manicure, you better learn how to protect your nail polish beforehand. Fortunately, there are some useful and easy tips and tricks which you can pick up and integrate in your routine. Let’s not waste any more time and get right to the bottom of this thing.
How to Protect Your Nail Polish
#1 Cleanse off Excess Oils
Your nails secrete oils too. More often than not, this can inconvenience a clean manicure since the polish doesn’t stick well enough and tends to wear off faster. The best way to deal with these oily layers is by using, surprisingly, nail polish remover. Yup, it doesn’t just clean off polish, but unwanted oil as well.
#2 Don’t Soak Your Nails
This is a common mistake that not only amateurs are guilty of, but plenty of salon workers as well. You will see people soaking their nails in water to soften cuticles, but this ends up making your nails expand. As a result, when they dry out they contract, making it so that your polish no longer fits and starts chipping. If you really must soften cuticles, use cuticle oil instead.
#3 Apply Base Coats
You probably don’t enjoy making it so that your manicure takes even longer, but a base coat is necessary if you want all this effort to not be for nothing. Base coats have two main purposes: they make it less likely for polish to stain your skin and they make it adhere to the nail much better.
#4 Double the Base Coat for Your Tips
Your nail tips are the first victims of chipping, which is why you should look to strengthen them even more. Apply two base coats on your nail tips instead of just one to make sure that the polish will really stay in place longer.
#5 Roll the Bottle between Your Hands
People usually shake the bottle before applications. Unfortunately, this increases the likelihood of unsightly bubbles staining your pristine manicure. Instead, roll the bottle between your palms. This will warm it up for a more even application and it will keep bubbles at bay.
#6 More but Thinner Is Better
Applying a single, thick layer of polish is going to considerably cut down on the time you need to spend doing your manicure. However, this doesn’t mean it’s time well-spent. If you want it to last, you should try coating your nails in two or three thin layers instead.
#7 Revisit with Top Coating
Once every two or three days, refresh your manicure by applying a case of colorless top coating. This will refresh the shine of your polish and it will make it more durable.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, these little tips and tricks, as small and quick as they may be, will help you learn how to protect your nail polish from chipping. Obviously, avoid exposure to elements whenever you can as well since this tends to be the biggest culprit for a ruined manicure.