A Few Tips to Keep Your Nail Polish Looking Fresh

Many women are now doing their nails at home in order to save money or because the new shorter nail style does not mean a trip to the salon is necessary. The only issue that deters most women from doing a manicure at home is how to make the polish last longer. After all no woman wants their polish to look faded and chipped after only a few days. Following a few simple steps will allow you to continue doing your nails at home with salon results.

First, make sure you purchase the following products: a good quality base and top coat, along with a good rapid dry spray. It is not necessary to purchase expensive nail polish it's the before and after polish products that matter the most. OPI makes excellent products for your nail needs. OPI can be found at many beauty salons as well as hair care product stores such as Trade Secrets.

Once you have conditioned your nails and pushed back the cuticles it is time to begin polishing the nails. Make sure to start with clean dry nails, removing all oil. Simply washing your hands with soap and water will take care of any left over oil. Begin with the base coat; make sure to evenly coat each nail. Wait about five minutes for the base to dry before moving on to step two.

Now that the base coat has dried it is time to use the color polish of your choice. Begin with the middle finger and move towards the pinky. Evenly coat each nail with polish. Once completed, move to the index finger leaving the thumb nail for last. After all the nails are finished wait one minute and spray with the rapid dry spray. Five minutes later it is time for the second coat of polish. After the second coat is applied, wait at least five minutes before moving on to the next hand. Repeat the steps on the second hand.

Next it is time to apply the top coat. The top coat is very important as it will seal the polish and keep the nails looking great for at least a week if not longer. You want to apply the top coat in the same manner as the base coat. It is very important to make sure that each nail is coated evenly. Once the top coat is applied wait two minutes and spray with the rapid dry spray. Five minutes later it is time to apply the top coat to the other hand. The nails are finished, so now take thirty minutes to relax while they continue to dry. After about thirty minutes smell your nails, if you can still smell polish than they are not completely dry. At this point feel free to use another round of rapid dry spray.

That is all you need to know for keeping your polished nails. It is important to use good quality base and top products. Give the polish time to dry and your nails will look great for a week or more. There is no need to spend a ton of money to have nice manicured nails. Save that money and splurge on some new polish.