Tips to make your manicure last longer
When you meet a person for the first time, one of the very first things that people notice about you is your nails. This is because, in Indian culture, the custom of greeting people involves a Namaste whereas in Western culture it is a firm handshake. In either case, the hand is the body part being used. Due to this reason, women visit beauty parlours and get their nails manicured.
Now, a lot of time and resources go into a manicure. This makes women want to make it last longer. With a little care on your part, it is very simple to make your expensive manicure last for twice as long. Read this article to learn some useful tips and tricks in this regard.
Start with a nail polish remover
Many a time, the presence of body oils or residues of previous products used creates a barrier between the nail and the polish that you apply. This results in the nail polish chipping off earlier than it should have. To avoid that, use a hand sanitizer to clean your hand and a nail polish remover to clean your nails before starting with the manicure.
Apply multiple coats
Our daily activities involve a considerable amount of texting and typing. This makes the tip of the nails more prone to chipping. To lower the risk of this, apply one coat of the paint and wait for it to dry. After that, apply the second coat. Make sure that the polish has dried completely between successive coats. You may also want to use a sticky base coat to ensure a longer life for your manicure.
Do away with air bubbles in your nail polish
The presence of air bubbles is another factor that promotes the easy chipping of nail polish. To do away with that, make it a practice to avoid the shaking of the nail polish bottle before application. Instead, you may substitute that with rolling the bottle between the palms of your hands.
Use gloves
For most people, they will inevitably have to do some amount of housework. This may range from doing the dishes to washing clothes. When harsh cleaning agents present in detergents and washing soaps come in contact with warm water, they can ruin a manicure. Hence, under ideal conditions, you must keep away from all sorts of housework after you get your nails manicured. If that is not possible, make sure that you wear rubber gloves when working.
Create distractions
As your nails grow, the gel manicure will run out when you clip your nails. You can then use your creativity to create distractions. One of the simplest ways is to use glitter at the bottom of your nails. Alternatively, you may draw some small patterns towards the bottom and make it look like the design is spreading out as you go higher.
Do not soak your nail
It is a common practice to soften cuticles before initiating the manicure. For that many manicurists (including the experienced ones) soak the nails in warm water before painting them. This causes the nails to retain water and they expand. After that, when they are painted, they shrink again. This results in the manicure having a bad impact and not lasting for long. To avoid that try to replace water with cuticle oil.
Do not use warm air for drying nail polish
On applying the nail polish, many of us get impatient and want to dry it up as soon as possible. The warm air helps in faster drying of the nail paint, but its use is not encouraged as it causes the occurrence of air bubbles. If you are in hurry, set your blow dryer to cool mode and then use it to dry the nail paint. Alternatively, you can dip your painted fingernails in ice water for a couple of minutes to foster faster drying.
Push your cuticles
One of the most efficient ways of making your manicure last longer is to push back your cuticles. Be gentle about it as it would otherwise cause the area to bleed. If the cuticles take up your nail space, some nail paint will go to it. It is from these areas that nail paints start peeling off by lifting away. Make it a habit to push your cuticles gently at least once a day.
File your nails to shape
It is a fact that filing the nails makes them less prone to breakage. The tip here is that one must try to shape the nails in a fashion such that it mirrors that of her cuticles. Not only will this bring down nail breakage, but it will also result in better nail health.
Stay moisturized
After having taken all the above precautions, it is important to realize that the less moisture the cuticles and nails have, the more prone they will be to damage and tear. Thus, for better nail health, you must up your water intake. Make it a point to user moisturizer over the area every day after bath and before heading to the bed at night.
While the above tips and tricks will help you maintain your manicure for longer, dietary habits have a major role to play in maintaining nail health. Make sure that you have sufficient fluid intake. Increase the consumption of milk and dairy products to take care of your calcium needs. It is only when you take care of your body and nail health that you will be able to get the long-lasting manicures you had always dreamt of!
