5 mistakes you might be making while painting your nails at home

For salon shine nails, there are a few super important steps that you absolutely must not skip. Read on to know what they are.

By Kannagi Desai

Updated on Jun 19, 2020 | 04:46 AM IST | 5.3M

5 mistakes you might be making while painting your nails at home

With salons still shut and them showing no signs of opening up any time soon, we are still painting our own nails apart from other beauty treatments. While we are giving ourselves at-home manicures and pedicures, there’s just something missing. The nail paint just never looks as amazing as it does when you leave the salon. Well, there are some pre and post steps that you might need to include in your nail paint application routine which would make your nails look gorgeous as ever!

Mistake 1: Cuticles

While we advise you to not cut your cuticles yourself, you need to still push them back for a cleaner surface to work on. The easiest way to do this is in the shower. Once your hands have been soaking in warm water for a while just gently using your thumb, push your cuticles back. Do it extremely softly. This will make a world of a difference when you are applying your nail paint.

Mistake 2: Prep the canvas

Our nails and skin around the nails let out a lot of natural oils. If you don’t clean that up before applying your nail paint, it will have a difficult time adhering to the nail. So just soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover and then clean up the nails before you start the application.

Mistake 3: Skipping basics

While your salon might not be applying these, but if you’re doing this at home DO NOT SKIP base coat and topcoat. A good base coat will strengthen your nails and will protect your nails from getting stained if you apply a darker colour and the top coat gives your nail paint the salon-like shine. Also, ensure your base coat is completely dry before you start applying the nail paint.

Mistake 4: Forgetting the tips

This is where the chipping begins. When you finish applying the nail paint, swipe it horizontally on the ends of your nails as well. This way the nail paint will coat the tip and won’t chip as easily. Do this with the base and topcoat as well.

Mistake 5: Not letting the nail paint dry

You need to ensure every coat dries properly before you apply the next one. It takes about 15-20 minutes for nail paint to dry. If you are doing this at home, give at least 5-7 minutes before every coat and then about 45 mins to an hour before you do any work that might smudge up your nails. If you’re in a hurry use the cold setting on your blow dryer for 5 mins on your nails and then let it sit for 10 minutes after.