(no subject)

[camwyn]

I've taken up nail polish again to keep myself from biting my nails down to the quick (a habit I had largely shed years ago but resumed during election season of 2016). I apply a base coat, wait for it to dry, a coat of lacquer, wait half an hour, a second coat, wait half an hour, a coat of top coat, wait the 15 minutes it says on the bottle, and another top coat and wait 15 more minutes. Despite this fact it appears that every so often I do something that causes the entire application of polish to rip off at the same time, leaving a nail or nails entirely bare. What am I doing wrong?

Comments

[telophase]

If you don’t already, I’d suggest washing your nails thoroughly with soap and water right before polishing, drying them well, and then rubbing them with polish remover to get any last bits of oil off.

Also I am told running the edge of the polish brush along the edge of your nail and coating the tip will help prevent water from seeping into any cracks and separating the polish from the nail.

[jessikast]

I was going to give these exact same tips! Swipe of nail polish remover before you start, and 'wrapping the tip'.

I also don't know how much of a difference waiting to completely dry between layers really makes - I sort of feel (completely with no scientific basis) that the layers adhere to each other better if they're a bit wet? I also swear by seche vite top coat if you can stand the smell - very chemical-y, but cuts dry time down immensley.

[camwyn]

I'll be acquiring the remover later. The edge-of-the-brush part's going to be a bit tricky given how short my nails are at the moment, but it's worth an attempt.

[in_the_blue]

Not all base coats are created equal, so you might have to experiment with those. I also noticed that any time I get a manicure, the tech will SLIGHTLY roughen the surface of my fingernails with a buffer or file before applying the bottom coat. Sort of the same theory as sanding wood before you paint it, you're adding more absorbent surface area. Might be worth a try.