How To Make Nail Polish Dry Faster

how long does it take for nail polish to dry

Iuliia Isaieva Getty Images

Few things are more frustrating than smudging your smash polish later on a fresh manicure or pedicure. Whether yous accidentally brush into somebody or something, the sinking feeling that ensues is universal. Have you lot ever put a Band-Assistance on a chipped smash because there just wasn't enough time to return to the salon, or worse, you lot get the touch-up…only to smudge it, still once again? Of course, you can e'er get a gel manicure or dip manicure, but at that place is a simple solution to this maddening bike: Permit your nails to fully dry before moving around.

If you lot're wondering how long it actually takes for nail polish to dry completely, whether on fingers or toes, existent, fake or acrylic nails, wonder no more. Evelyn Lim, a boom technician and the Master Educator of Paintbox, a nail studio in New York Urban center, spills on all things smash maintenance, including just how long to wait for your nails to dry. Unbeknownst to near, in that location are many influencing factors, like the type of nail smooth used and whether it was an calm manicure or in-salon process. Read on for everything you need to know nigh drying your nails.

So exactly how long does it have to air dry out nail polish?

Almost smash smoothen applications should fully dry in under an hr; in fact, nail shine can take equally trivial as 15 minutes to dry out, Lim says. Many salons have fan dryers with UV lights, which tin help accelerate the drying time.

To air-dry boom polish, there are many fast-dry nail shine formulas and topcoats that enable drying within minutes. But depending on how many coats of nail smooth are applied (ane coat will dry faster than ii to iii or more), it can take upwards to 2 hours for nails to completely air dry. (To be safety, if your mani or pedi is in the evening, pros advise waiting this long for your polish to dry out before bed, also.)

Equally far as pedicures become, the polish takes the same amount of fourth dimension to dry; still, even if it is dry to the touch, she recommends waiting an hour before wearing closed-toe shoes. Fifty-fifty if the polish doesn't smudge, it will oftentimes go smushed with an imprint of your sock, and then it'southward best to stick with flip-flops post-pedi.

Nevertheless, mistakes happen — even if yous waited the suggested amount of fourth dimension. If you smudge your nail smoothen, "Dip your finger in nail smoothen remover and try to smooth out the smudge, then employ a thin glaze of smooth," Lim advises. "If the smudge cannot exist smoothed out, then remove all the polish from that nail and reapply."

v Tips to Brand Your Nail Polish Dry Faster

For best results, always start by applying a base of operations coat, followed by two layers of nail polish and a topcoat, Lim says. Pro tip: E'er make certain you're using utilise fresh blast polish. To evaluate your nail polish's freshness, shake the bottle and listen: If you don't hear the beads inside the bottle moving freely, it's time to invest in a new bottle.

Apply thin layers.
"Technique is everything: Apply smoothen with the least number of strokes, non overworking it," Lim suggests. "In that location's a trend to exercise this, particularly with lighter boom colors in an attempt to get them to announced even." Paint on a thin first coat even if it looks a bit streaky and trust that the 2d coat volition fifty-fifty out the color.
Don't utilise common cold water to assist polish set.
Despite myths yous've heard,"Running your hands under water doesn't help nail polish dry faster," Lim says. "The cold water may harden the pinnacle layer, just not the coats underneath, so nails will however be susceptible to smudging." If you must wash your hands, be sure to dry them carefully afterward, as a towel's material tin can easily stick to nails.
Try a hair dryer to speed forth the drying procedure.
Believe it or not, y'all tin can utilize your hair dryer to help nail polish dry faster. Lim recommends using it on a cool setting, as a "higher temperature may cause the smooth to bubble." Hold the dryer'south nozzle a few pinches away from your easily, and aim the airflow at your nails, for a few seconds at a time, until nails experience dry.
Heave drying time with quick-dry out drops or sprays.
Do as many salon pros practise and expedite the smash smoothen drying process by applying quick dry drops or spray after nails accept dried for v minutes. In the concurrently, effort to go along your motility to a minimum.
Continue to care for your nails post-mani.
Maintaining your manicure is an extension of the polish drying routine. "My top nail maintenance products are a file and buffer to smooth out fries or breaks immediately so they don't get worse," Lim explains. She besides recommends smoothing on a cuticle oil to continue the nails strong and salubrious, plus enhance the boom smooth's smoothen. You can too reapply the topcoat every two to three days to refresh your manicure and extend its wear.

Marielle Marlys Freelance Writer Marielle Marlys is a freelance writer at Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan who graduated from New York University with a degree in Journalism and Global Liberal Studies, and with a Main of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy.