Five Ways to Dry Your Nail Polish Faster

Since the start of spring I've been out searching and trying out new spring nail colors. I'm one of those people that has to try out every color on every single finger just to see how it applies before deciding on which shade to wear for the week. If you've ever painted your nails, and you aren't a professional, you know how much effort it takes to get them looking just perfect. Then when you get them perfect you try your best not to mess them up while they're drying, and just when you thought they're dry you do something to scratch or dent your newly polished fingers. It happens to me often, and I get so frustrated because I'd have to redo my nails, usually both hands because it's difficult to fix one without having to do the other. It's because of this I've tried out different methods of getting my polish to dry faster. Some techniques you may already know about, others may surprise you.

The most common aid to drying your nail polish quicker is of course with a quick dry topcoat. It also helps if the nail polish was designed to dry fast. My favorite is Wet n' Wild's Mega Last Quick Dry/ Ultra Gloss topcoat. I've been using it for the last four years and love it as much as the first day I tried it. This topcoat can be found anywhere that sells Wet n' Wild products, and it retails for around a dollar.

There's also cold water. It's debatable as to whether it works or not. I've heard some people say it doesn't, but from my experience it seems to help. What I do is drop about five ice cubes into a bowl, fill it up with water and soak my fingers in it. I would recommend not moving your hands around because between the water movement and the ice cubes you might end up with some bumps and ripples in your nails.

If ice cold water isn't for you, there's always blow drying. I'm sure many women have tried this method at least once before. I would recommend using the cold setting, and not warm or hot. You want cold or cool air to harden the polish, and warm and hot air won't do that. I would also recommend setting it on a low setting and holding the blow dryer about a foot away from your hands. Strong air against freshly polished nails could create little ripples and bumps.

Another cold method is the freezer. I use this method when I'm in a hurry and really need my nails to dry. It's probably not the most eco friendly considering how you'd have to leave the freezer partially open while doing this. Just stick your hands, or one hand at a time, to the back of the freezer where it's often the coldest and let it sit for about a minute. I find that my nails are completely dry after about a minute, but for good measure I'd recommend giving it an extra thirty seconds.

My last method to getting my nails to dry faster is by using an electronic air duster. I discovered this by accident while cleaning my keyboard. I noticed how cold the air gets, and if I use it for longer than thirty seconds the can starts to get really cold. There were even times where it iced a little on the outside. This method can be tricky because of the air pressure. If you're going to try this I would suggest testing it out first to find a good distance that won't apply too much pressure against your nails that it would ruin your polish. It should take about a minute or two to get your nails dried.

So there you go, five ways to dry your nail polish faster. It's not fool proof, but I found that these methods have worked fairly well for me so far.