How to Make Nail Polish Last Longer

As every woman knows, beauty definitely comes at a price. It's bad enough spending premium prices on beauty treatments, but it's even worse when you wind up throwing away half-finished products. Nail polish is one of the worst offenders in this case, despite its relatively long shelf life. If you enjoy wearing nail polish, you're also bound to have some favorite shades. Too often, these are limited edition products or wind up being irreplaceable. To save money and preserve those favorite shades, it's important to learn how to make nail polish last longer.

Understanding how to make nail polish last longer will also help you learn to better preserve some of your other cosmetics. Like nail polish, most cosmetics require a little care in order to get your money's worth. Once you can stop replacing nail polish and other beauty products so quickly, you might even find yourself with a little more room in your beauty budget.

How to Make Nail Polish Last Longer

Bottle Care

The first step in making your nail polish last longer is taking good care of the bottle it comes in. You don't need to carry your polish around on a velvet-colored pillow, but careful handling will help you avoid accidents. When painting your nails, keep nail polish on a flat surface and away from table edges. It only takes one false move for it to fall and break, dumping out its contents on furniture and flooring.

Like all liquids, nail polish will dry out when it's exposed to air for too long. Make sure to tightly cap nail polish bottles after every use. It's customary to wipe the nail polish brush on the inside of the bottle when you've picked up too much product. This leads to goopy nail polish all over the rim of the bottle, which can make the bottle hard to close properly. That goo also hardens and dries, which can let unwanted air into the bottle (especially when it's not tightly closed). Before putting your polish away, wipe up that mess with a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover.

How to Make Nail Polish Last Longer

Temperature Control

Temperature control is another important factor in improving nail polish shelf life. Extreme heat and cold can wreak havoc on nail polish and other cosmetics, by altering their consistency or reducing their potency. Nail polish and other nail chemicals are also highly flammable, so it's a good idea to keep them away from heat sources.

Exposure to sunlight is also a cosmetic killer. The sun's rays produce enough heat to ruin products, and can even damage a product's color. Even though it might look nice to keep all your makeup spread out on a vanity or counter top, storing your nail polish in a spill-proof container away from the sun. Plastic drawer organizers are an ideal way to store cosmetics, due to their convenience and low cost.

Some people recommend keeping your nail polish in the refrigerator to make it last longer. This is mostly an old wives' tale. Nail polish that's already somewhat damaged may benefit from sitting in the refrigerator, but this is usually only good for a few uses. After sitting in the fridge for too long, nail polish will get thick and gummy or simply dry up. Refrigerated nail polish also doesn't give good results. The temperature difference between the nail polish and room temperature or body heat is enough to cause air bubbles that ruin your manicure.

How to Make Nail Polish Last Longer

Life Support

Most nail polishes last for about 18 months to 2 years. With cheaper formulas, the shelf life can dip to as low as 6 months. While learning how to make nail polish last longer will help improve on those numbers, preventative care can only do so much. When your nail polish starts to "turn," there are a few things you can do to bring it back to life.

Many nail polishes come with a small stainless steel ball bearing inside the bottle, which helps to keep polish consistent. When you shake up nail polish before using it, it's the ball bearing that produces a clacking noise. If a nail polish you'd like to preserve doesn't have a bearing inside already, go ahead and drop one in. These can be purchased from hardware or beauty supply stores, or ordered online. It's also not a bad idea to stick a bearing into new bottles as you get them, to help preserve their shelf life.

Another way to improve nail polish shelf life is to use nail polish thinner. When your product begins to "separate" (when the liquid separates from the varnish, causing an icky two-toned look inside the bottle), a drop or two of thinner will revitalize the whole bottle. Nail polish thinner is easy to find online or at beauty supply stores, and usually starts around $5 (Seche Restore is a good choice). It usually comes with an eye dropper, since you only need a little.

Sometimes, you can also use a drop or two of non-acetone nail polish remover to revitalize a bottle of nail polish. This can degrade the formula over time, so it's best used to get one last use out of a product. This trick also shouldn't be used for nail polishes with special finishes (such as mattes and duochromes), as it can ruin the finish.

Even if you only buy a few bottles per year, it's definitely worth it to know how to make nail polish last longer. Those dollars do add up, and you'll never have to throw out a half-full bottle again.