7 Nail Polish Hacks for the Perfect Manicure at Home

Painting your own nails isn’t as difficult as you think. So far you have always put your faith in the manicurist at the salon. But now amidst the pandemic, when going to a salon doesn’t look all that appealing, you can take charge. Get the perfect manicure at home with these simple tips and tricks.

1. Petroleum jelly to the rescue

It’s hard to keep the nail polish from spilling beyond the nails. To avoid the spill over, apply petroleum jelly (vaseline) on your cuticles and the skin around your nails. Wipe off the petroleum jelly after you have applied nail polish.

2. To avoid chipped nails, apply base coat

If your nails are prone to chipping, apply two layers of base coat. Apply the first layer to the top half of your nail and the second coat on the entire nail. This trick will help the nail polish on the tip of your nails that chip off easily, last longer.
  

3. Make the nail paint last longer

Rohit Murgai, VP, Beauty Category, VLCC says, “Avoid soaking your nails before applying that coat. It’s a common mistake made by people especially when we are resorting to DIY. Make sure you dry the nails with cool air.”

4. Fix chipped nails with nail glue

If you have the most dreaded broken nail, take a deep breath and get your hands on some nail glue. “Once you have successfully fastened it to the bed, apply two generous coats of base to camouflage the breakage before applying your favourite nail colour,” suggests Rohit. 

5. Avoid smudges with oil

If you’re prone to smudges, apply cuticle oil or any baby oil to your nails after the nail paint has dried. This will keep the surface of your nails lubricated and minimise the damage.

6. Make the paint dry faster with a hair dryer or ice

“You can use a dryer in cool mode to dry the nail paint quickly,” says Rohit. Alternatively, you can apply some baby oil on your polish to make it dry faster or you can simply soak them in ice water.

7. Use foil to remove gel or glitter polish

Glitter nail polish or gel nail polish stay the longest and also take a long time to peel off. If you find it difficult to get rid of them, try this trick. Soak cotton pads in nail polish remover, wrap the soaked cotton around your nails and cover it up with aluminium foil for 5 minutes. Then slide off the foil and cotton at the same time. Your polish will easily come off.