Polish that lasts!

I am going to start a new series now that I have finally finished the hardener/treatment series.

This new series, as the title implies, will be about how to make polish last in terms of wear. The big caveat to this series is that everyone is different and has their own nail issues. That combined with different polish formulas can be a crap shoot in terms of nail polish wear. Furthermore, the way you treat your nails before polish application and during the mani all helps to contribute to the wear and tear of the mani. So, I can give you a few general tips, but finding the right base, color, top combo will be your job :) Aside from that, these are my opinions and experiences and may differ from yours, what ev's, let's all learn from each other.  As always feel free to comment, judge, be constructive, etc so that we can have mani's that last ... at least when we want them to.

On to the meat of this post ... EYE CANDY at the bottom ;)

First a few general points:

1. Nail polish adheres best to healthy nails.  This means if there is some damage on the nail plate (i.e. peeling, flaking, cracks, true cuticle, prior buffed spots etc.) the polish will most likely chip, peel, or whatever, there first.  Proof of this can be found in the following posts, Sally Hansen - Sweet Tulip and Buffing out a peel.

2. If you have a peel you can either ignore it and have your polish lift there earlier than anywhere else or take care of it.  How you ask? There are two options. I am sure different people have their own nail fixes, but for peeling these are mine:
a.) file down the nail past the peel.
OR
b.) buff that baby out!  *NOTE:  Occasional peeling occurs and you can buff it out as a quick fix; however, consistent peeling is a sign of either improper nail and cuticle hydration or incorrect treatments.  Buffing these peels on a regular basis will not improve nail health and can cause weak nails.  Ultimately you must find what is causing the peeling and treat it accordingly.  I have a few important posts dealing with this subject.  The nail treatments/hardeners series can be found here.  Please don't forget to moisturize often during the day and read through these posts:

I - Moisturize your nails please ; an alternative here.
II - Moisturizing nail polish remover post and video
III - Example of products, methods with Video


3. The more physical work you do the more stress you put on your nails and polish.  Ideally, we would all sit with our feet up and hands untouched, but for most of us that's not really an option. Therefore, when you are doing certain tasks (i.e. going to open a door or drawer, turning on lights, etc.) approach them gracefully, keeping in mind that jabbing your hand in places could
a.) ruin polish
b.) break nails.

As redonkulous as it sounds, you could pretend like your nail polish is still somewhat wet and proceed with tasks as such.  Obviously this is a bit extreme, but hey obsessions are just that.

House work is best done in rubber gloves, or pushed off onto a significant other. The chemicals and the labor are hard on your nails.  If your hands must be in water for long periods of times without rubber gloves, try to moisturize ASAP.

4. Do not use your nails as tools.  Not only can this chip polish, but also promote nail peeling. 

With that out of the way, we can proceed to step 1:

Prepping the Nail Plate for Polish

What do we need to do before applying polish?
Nail polish must be applied to clean and dry nails. You will often find this printed on the back of many bottles of polish. So, DO EET!

Why clean?
Oil, dirt or whatever filth present on the nail plate prevents proper adhesion of anything.

Wipe the nail with acetone, isopropyl alcohol, or go wash your hands with soap and water.  Let dry.

The next post will stress the importance of base coat.  So many base coats, so little time ... *sigh 

Until then how about some eye candy? In spam form ...

Hard Candy - Beetle

Um yes you're pretty ... yes you are.