Image Source: © London Wine
It’s true: binging on your favorite nail polish can be super annoying (especially when it’s game day at work, or when you stumble upon a cute, long-haired girl). Ever tried to get your polish off by yourself? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that — unless your nail polish is on the sticky side. Chances are your nails are as long as the rest of your body, and you often find yourself reaching for your purse during the day to pick up that cute ring or bracelet you’ve got on your right wrist. And when they’re that long and skinny, you kind of lose touch with how precise the fingers and toes are.
So no wonder you’re so bored. If your manicure is killing you (because who isn’t?), we’ve rounded up 12 tips from some of our favorite nail experts to help you stop biting your nails ASAP. Don’t bite them — this is one habit you can start changing today.
Image Source: Jim Ridge of Korda Multimedia
Use a Liquid ‘Skin Protectant’
Instead of prying off your nail polish with scissors or sharp tools, put a small amount of a nail polish protectant (like Dove Nail Preventer) on your first or second finger. Use this same soak-in-one-second formula in your third finger as well when drying. In addition to cleaning out your nails, this kind of polish liberates nails from any slick or slippery objects. (You can also use an aluminum foil wrap to take it away.) If you have to put your nails away at night, follow your protective habit to a tee (and when applying your polish).
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Work Out Your Big Nails
Working out your big nails is also a great way to keep them moisturized and to get rid of any tension. Coating your big nails in makeup remover (like L’Oréal Super Lustrous Nail Polish in Sandina), mineral oil, or a lubricating oil will not only prevent other dull, rubbery nail-building oils from clogging your cuticles, but it’ll also protect them from the real stuff.
Use a Tool of Your Own
One last tip we suggest: you can help sort out tiny mistakes by using a nail brush to get rid of clumps or loose layers of polish, such as clippings that happen in the background of your manicure (or during your manicure). Also, you can also use this as a handy tool to create a tangle-free pre-maintaining routine.
Think Smarter About Maintaining Your Manicure
While you can always use your old trick of rubbing nail polish remover in your cuticles for cleaner manicures, we want you to really think about cleaning out and rolling up your color and texture before applying it. Plus, there are some great tips out there for keeping sticky polish on your nails at all times. One of our favorite tips is to avoid shiny textures and keep it crisp as a couple of tiny drops.
Image Source: Courtesy of Michelle Phan
Get Your Hands Dirty
If you’re not just waiting for stains to happen, trying out some DIY marbling might provide you with a fun and easy tip for keeping your polish dry. Begin by using a waffle stick, such as a GeoSens Waffle Stick.
Next, you’ll place two-by-two hessian mesh (about 10 inches by 15 inches) with the middle piece being your first-coat base coat, and the other piece being your base coat second coat. Mix the oil (composed of 10 percent shea butter, 30 percent chamomile, and 30 percent margarine) with the wax (composed of water, a sugar solution, and a hair shampoo solution) to give yourself a nice shiny finish.
Image Source: Courtesy of Laura Mercier
Wet Your Fingers
We’re not advocating that you soak your hands with sand or water all day — but we’re not mad at you if you did just to clean them.
Wet your fingers with water (you can also use some hand sanitizer if you don’t have hand sanitizer) for a minute and then place a random stick of polish (such as Laura Mercier, L’Oréal, Essie, Dior, and more) on your hands (see full tutorial). You can then gently (or vigorously) brush off the polish while keeping your hands covered in some lotion and just make sure to maintain that general freshness throughout your nails.
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Image Source: L’Oréal
No 1 Image Source: Getty / Monica Schipper
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.
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