My 10 secrets to a long lasting Manicure

If you know me you will never see me with chipped nail polish. You might see me with my bare nails now and then again but not with chipped nail polish! I don’t change my nail polish every other day. Most of the times my manicure will last me well over a week up to over 2 weeks. But my manicure game wasn’t that strong some years ago so I thought I’d share with you what I have learned over the years and how I make my manicure last.

• Clean nail surface: I always start off by taking off my nail polish with a acetone free nail polish remover. Aceton free nail polish remover isn’t as harsh on your nails and doesn’t dry them out as much.
• Cuticle Care: Then I move on to my cuticles. I push them back with an orange wood stick or a metal cuticle pusher (just be careful when using metal on your nails, wood is way softer).
• Excess cuticle: What a lot of people don’t know is that the nail in your cuticle area is covering with a thin layer off dead cuticle skin. You don’t see it straight away but once you start scratching the nail surface very lightly you see all the white dead skin. Use the cuticle pusher to remove all the dead skin because that’s what makes your nail polish lift if not removed! But be very careful don’t push to hard.

• Oil free: When you’re done with the cuticle care use a cotton pad and some nail polish remover. Clean up your nails and try not to touch the surface again. This way you avoid getting oil on your nail surface which will might cause lifting.
• Base Coat: Depending on your state of nails choose your base coat. I am currently using the Sally Hansen Complete Care 7-In-1 Nail Treatment. Using a base coat prevents major staining and protects your nails.
• Nail Polish: On to painting the nail polish on. I try not to touch the cuticle and the sides of my nails. With practice you will get better, if I touch any edges I use a brush and some nail polish remover to clean up.
• The edge off the free nail: Don’t forget to cup the edge off your nails ! This helps to prevent chipping!
• Top Coat: Some times you might think oh well my nails look pretty good without even my top coat on. But a top coat isn’t just there for some extra shine but to make your manicure last even longer!
• Thin coats: When painting your nails always do it in thin coats! Better to do 3 thin coats off your nail polish to get an opaque colour than one or two thick coats!
• After Care: I have different products to use during the week whilst my manicure is on. I try to moisturize my hands when ever they feel dry with hand cream and every other day I make sure to massage my cuticle area with some cuticle oil or cream and leave it on over night! My faves are Lush Lemony Flutter, Burt’s Bee Hand Salve, Body Shop Coconut Hand Cream, Nail HQ Cuticle Oil.

So this are my secrets. I hope I gave you some new insight or new tips on how to make your manicure last as long as possible.

If you have any suggestions yourself leave them down in the comment section. Don’t forget to like my post if you enjoyed reading it and have a lovely day, xx