‘Tis the season to break out those bright, neon nail colors to go with the beautiful, hot weather summer brings. Although the summer season calls for more exposed nails, including our toes, we might find it a little tricky keeping our manicures and pedicures looking their best. Heat, sand and other factors can really mess up our nail polish — not to mention the burdensome ‘dry time’ — causing it to chip, fade or bubble. Here at BeautyStat we came up with helpful ways to keep your summer nails looking their best. Read on to find out some at-home tips to making your nail polish dry faster; which products to test out; how to make your nail polish last longer and more!

At-Home Tips To Quickly Dry Your Polished Nails:

– Lighter colors typically dry faster while darker colors take longer to dry.

– Before applying polish on your nails, run the nail polish brush on the bottle’s rim to remove the excess paint. Then apply polish in thin coats that can dry faster. If you wait a minute or so between coats, it will cut your drying time in almost half.

– The easiest thing to do is put your nails in front of a fan.

– Dry with a blow dryer always on the coolest setting. Hot air will bubble up and chip off easier.

– Nail dryers with UV light also help a great deal.

– Try a 3-in-1 nail polish that has a built in base and top coat. Your drying time will be shorter because you won’t have to wait for base and top coats to dry separately. Is the nail polish you’re using safe? Check out this article on some safe nail polishes to use for your next application!>

– Keeping nail polish in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before applying will speed up your manicure routine. As soon as you apply nail paint, dip your nails in a bowl of ice water for around 3 minutes. The cold temperature will quickly set the polish. Don’t swirl your nails around in the water to smudge the color, just dip them.

– Spraying cooking oil spray like PAM can also speed up the drying process.

Products To Speed Up The Nail Drying Process:

– A fast-drying top coat quickly hardens and protects the nail polish from smudging. Some best ones are Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat ($9.95).

– Fast-drying nail sprays. Be careful to spray them at least 12 inches away from your hands. Spraying them too close could cause some streaks.

– Quick-drying oil, nail drops contain mineral oil which dries the nail paint quickly. Some good products are Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Speed Dry Drop ($10.90), Zoya Hurry Up Speed Dry Drops ($7.00), OPI Drip Dry ($5.91).

– Nail freezers are also good options.

Trade-Offs From Using Fast-Drying Nail Products:

– Speed dry nail polish can cause top coats to turn yellowish in sunlight during summers. Choose a nail polish that has UV filter in it.

– Quick dry spray dries only the top coat, so it dulls the final polish outcome.

– Products that claim to be a 2-in-1 base coat and top coat both may not do the desired job. Both are formulated to do different jobs. Base coats should dry matte or dull with a tacky finish, they also dry fast. Top coats should dry shiny and smooth and they dry much slower than a base coat.

– Fast dry top coats dry on the surface. The top coat will dry first before your nail polish dries. They also chip faster. Your nail polish needs to harden up very well for it to last long. Fast-drying polishes simply don’t live up to the durability.

– Quick dry nail oils work well. But don’t use it for at least 3 minutes after you apply your top coat. If you apply it before the polish is dry to the touch, you might get a messy nail.

– Using ice water only helps the surface to dry quickly so your nail polish can still get messed up if you are not careful.
Air drying nails could take on an average 5-10 minutes to dry the top coat. And to dry the nail polish completely, it could take around 30-45 minutes.

– Best quick dry nail polishes can take 1-2 minutes to dry.

Tips To Make Your Nail Polish Last Longer:

– Make sure your nails are clean, buffed and dry before applying polish.

– A clean, smooth surface helps the pigment in the nail polish to adhere to the nails better which in turn makes it last longer.

– Stick with lighter colors. Darker colors show every nick, flaw and chip much more so than lighter ones.

– Apply a top coat everyday. Top coats act as a protective barrier. They prevent nail polish from fading and chipping and give you a long-lasting shine. This step is key to making your nail polish last longer.

– Wear gloves while doing chores and washing dishes to protect your nails from chips and nicks.

There you have it! Some helpful, fun and easy tips to help make your summer nails look and stay their very best! Do any of you ladies have any tips to making your nails look good? Let us know and comment below!

– Upasana Sahu, cosmetic chemist

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