Manicures may seem pretty straightforward, but there are probably a few things you’re doing that could seriously harm your nail health.
Not washing your tools
Sanitizing your tools should be the first step and your number one priority. According to research, the area around and under our fingernails stores the largest amount of harmful bacteria, and if these tools are not being washed with disinfectant you are allowing the spread of germs and risking contamination. In addition, storing tools in a sealed bag, allows bacteria to fester. So the best way to store your tools is in a breathable container and use disinfectant or alcohol to clean them before and after each use.
Cutting your cuticles
We’ve all been guilty of doing this because we’ve seen it occasionally done to us by professionals, but, cutting your cuticles is a major health risk, due to the fact that you leave unprotected cuts on your fingers which could potentially get infected. In addition to that, when the cuticles start growing again, they come back flaky and messy looking which completely ruins your look. If you love the look of nipped cuticles, then the best thing for you to do is to use a rosewood stick and push them back. This way you will protect your fingernails from getting an infection while still achieving the aesthetic look that you desire.
Not using a base coat
A lot of people believe that a basecoat is unnecessary and a waste of time so they skip this step when they are getting their manicure. However, basecoats were originally created to bind with your natural nails and make your manicure last up to one week longer. This happens because our nails produce natural oils that prevent the nail polish from binding well with the nail, so a base coat keeps the oils out and keeps the manicure or gel polish from chipping.
Applying thick coats of polish
We all like a very pigmented look on our nails that takes less time to complete and looks solid, and that automatically makes us apply thicker coats of nail polish. Even though this may seem the best way to go, it is actually a major mistake when you are doing your manicure.
Thick coats of nail polish take twice as long to dry and underneath take approximately 5-6 minutes which is a recipe for a smudging disaster. Nail polish, in general, is not designed to dry well when it’s thick in order to be protected when it’s housed in the bottle.
So the best thing to do is apply 3-4 thin layers of nail polish instead of 1-2 thick ones.
Using Q-tips
Q-tips are proven life-savers especially when it comes to makeup, so we slowly started incorporating them into our manicure routine as well. When nail polish gets on the skin around the nail, we just get a cotton pad and start wiping, but it takes the slightest motion to bring chaos to the whole look and have to start over from the beginning. The cotton fuzzies, no matter how many millimeters they are away from the wet nail polish have a tendency to stick to the manicure and ruin the whole look, forcing you to start from the beginning. Instead of using Q-tips, use a very thin makeup brush to clean the area.