Hope For Your Mani

I was watching The Rachel Zoe Project with my bestie earlier this week and of all the things to comment on, she said "Is her nail polish chipping?!" Yes, Rachel Zoe's nail polish was chipping and frankly it always is. Like most girly girls, I absolutely love nail polish and I simply hate when it chips. But the truth is, nail polish just can't be great on natural nails.

Why not?!

Nail polish is made of plasticizers, film formers, solvents etc that temporarily adhere to the nail beds. Women that wear nail enhancements like acrylic, gel or wraps don't experience chipping within a few days like with natural nails. The difference is, our natural nails have oils and moisture that prevent the nail polish from really gripping the surface. Nail enhancements create a barrier between the natural nail and the nail polish that prevents oil and moisture from inhibiting the performance of the polish. In addition to that, our natural nails are flexible. When our nails bend, they create minor cracks in the film (nail polish) that eventually result in chipping. Since gels and acrylics are rigid the polish doesn't have the chance to crack.

That's the bad news, here's the help...

I don't typically need my nail polish to last for too long because I can only wear it when I don't have lab work. Of course, I'm the exception, everybody else at least wants one full week. The key is to create a barrier between your natural nail and the nail polish. That barrier should also make your nails stronger and prevent a lot of the bend and crack issue. Nail glue to the rescue! This is a cheap trick that you can try at home. It causes no damage to your natural nail and it doesn't take a lot of time to do. Buy a small bottle of that brush on nail glue and apply a THIN coat to your natural nails. Let it dry and proceed with your normal nail polish application fun... basecoat, 2 coats of polish and top coat.

Let me know how much longer your mani lasts now... Here's to the Glam Life!

Oh, manicurists, leave a comment with any other tips and tricks you may have to help mani's last longer. Thanks!