There is nothing more irritating then waiting for perfectly painted nails to dry – only to smudge them when reaching for something in your hand bag. We’ve got some really quick and easy ways to dry your nails fast!
Blow it up
Salons use fans to help speed up drying, but your hair dryer works just as well. The secret is to put it on the ‘cool’ setting. Heat actually keeps polish from firming, so giving your digits a shot of cold air is much more helpful.
Freeze it out
Since cold hardens polish, ice water baths are also a great setting trick. Before you start painting your nails, fill a mixing bowl with ice cubes and run cold water over the top. Then, when you’re finished painting, dip your nails in for about a minute. This is a great way to help protect against divots, since it helps solidify polish all the way through, not just on top. The opposite also holds: if you’re having trouble removing polish, soaking your hands in warm water will make it easier.
Spray it down
You can get nail-drying spray at the pharmacy and it really does help your polish set in a couple of minutes. But cooking-spray (such as Spray and Cook) legendarily does the job as well. Just wait a few minutes after you spray it on and rinse your hands so you don’t smell like canola oil.
Thin it out
Instead of putting on one or two coats of thick polish, apply three extremely thin coats, and let each dry for a couple of minutes before you layer on the next. It might seem like it slows down your manicure, but it actually makes overall drying time much faster.
Top it off
Using a quick-dry topcoat is always smart, because it helps keep everything in place and protects your polish. The only caveat is that the still-liquid polish underneath can move around, resulting in lumps or ripples, so don’t treat it as a cure-all.
So next time you treat yourself to a home manicure or pedicure, experiment with these tips and find out which one(s) work best for you. Or you can just continue waving your hands in the air and not touching anything!
Written by Miriam Lacey, this article originally appeared in Bellasugar.
17 Responses
Freezing sounds the best!
Great tips,I will try freezing it out
Spray and cook? Really? Did anyone try this? I am very inquisitive if it works. Top coats don’t always do it for me.
Learnt something usefull. I do not like to wait for my nails to get dry . Always smudging. Now i know the next time i can use spray and cook.
I use the freeze it out method. Works for me!
I sometims use cuticle oil, baby oil…
Very helpful tips. I also smudge my nails.
i ussually top it off
I am going to freeze it out !
My nail polish always smudges. Will try these tips