This thread is great. So we’ve had a few recommendations for base coats, but what about top coats? I bought Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polish in clear, and her quick dry topcoat, but is her Hard As Diamonds a polish or a top coat? The coats that people add every day or two - are they a clear coat of polish, a clear base, or a clear top coat?
Does Sally Beauty have a better supply? Target seemed to only carry Sally Hansen products for nails.
Any file recommendations? Also, is buffing necessary?
For those of you who wait several hours, do you try rinsing your nails under ice cold water?
There are some products that can be used as base, polish, and top coats. I only put on a clear all purpose polish or top coat, because for a colored polish I’d have to put on the color and then a top coat too, and that just invites the polish to build up too thick.
I should note that I’m pretty hard on manicures. I’ve had those acrylic nails, and I’ve had the sort of manicure where the manicurist mixes powder and liquid and this forms a sort of shield on the nails. I still manage to chip my manicure, so I just go with clear polish. My nails tend to break and chip and split if I don’t keep polish on them, and that’s why I bother to keep them polished.
As I understand it, nail polish dries somewhat, but it’s also a chemical reaction as well, so rinsing the nails under cold water might get the surface to set up a bit faster (it rinses the acetone off the surface) but the rest of the polish is still soft, which means that even though the surface feels dry, if you touch anything, you’re likely to end up with polish dents.
OPIs drip dry will get them “touch dry” quickly (like in a minute) - but you still don’t want to tackle a home construction project - or even heavy cleaning for the rest of the day.
At home I don’t do a base coat. I’ll use OPI’s top coat.
Use crystal nail files instead of emery boards. The crystal files leave cleaner edges that are shred resistant.
Right before you brush on the base coat, dip a cotton ball in some white vinegar and rub over each nail; this will get rid of the last vertige of oil so that your manicure will last longer.
Do two thin coats of polish instead of one thick coat. The thin coats will dry quicker and more evenly.
Every other day, brush on a thin coat of topcoat and make sure to brush over the nail tip.
I don’t polish my nails all the time, but when I do I follow these tips and my manicure last for about 10 days. Hope this helps.
I used to love a good manicure, but I don’t get them now for two reasons. I don’t want to risk infection and I don’t want to risk supporting human trafficking, if I can help it. If I were to go to a nail salon, I would bring my own tools, after consulting the manicurist on what tools they need. I suppose the best way to avoid supporting human trafficking is to know your manicurist well enough to know they are not there under duress.
My grandmother is a beautician, and always coached me to push back my cuticles when my hands were wet, and it does seem to keep them healthy. She also said that you can tell a good hearted person because the moons in their fingers show more. As you grow older your heart can grow dark and so the moons show less. Interestingly, I noticed that black people tend to have the moons show more often and prominently than white people. As silly as it is, it gives me favorable impression when I meet someone whose moons show.
Nobody’s mentioned the UV-light “nail dryers” that most places have once they’re done with the top-coat…I find that the longer I let my nails sit under that light (15-20 mins) the longer my manicure lasts.
Also–when you go to the nail-polish wall to pick your color, open the bottle and see how thick the polish is. The thinner the better; if it’s thick, it’s old and dried out and will take forever to dry…which means you’ll probably damage it before it’s completely set. And in bad cases, it will literally peel off your nail within a day or two. (Most places have “nail polish thinners” but considering I’ve found very few places with people who speak particularly good English, I’ve never tried to make them thin the polish.)
As far as cuticle cutting goes…I’ve never had a problem with it, although I don’t particularly enjoy watching them do it, because it looks a bit alarming. They’ve never drawn blood or anything but the whole process is just…odd.
And as others have said…the longer you can avoid any kind of contact on the nails that first day, the better off you are; I like bold colors, which take longer to dry and show damage more quickly, so consider being conscious of your fingertips for at least several hours afterwards.
If you’re doing them at home, Sally’s Beauty Supply carries Orly, which makes a “Top 2 Bottom” base and top-coat that works really well. Again, make sure you apply 2 THIN coats of polish and let each coat dry before applying the next. Dish detergent–like Dawn dish soap–is also good for dissolving the oils on your nails that can make a polish not stick. And a mild nail file–the kind that says “ridge remover”–is a good sanding tool for giving your whole nail a bit of a “grip” for the polish.
Damn, it sounds like I do my nails a lot more often than I do these days…I used to do them all the time!
Is a “ridge remover” different than a crystal one? Is it just sandpaper, but a different grain?
Also, the UV thing sounds good to me. I had no idea that people stayed around - I left like 5 minutes afterwards. Before I try a new place (probably next week) I’m going to call and ask if they have UV lights. If they don’t have them, I"ll choose another place.
I am hard on them too - I didn’t realize that I wash my hands maybe 15-20 times a day. That’s rough! Or that I’m generally someone who just grabs something and does it; I’m not delicate.
The polish denting part makes sense to me too; I didn’t understand why if it “felt” dry, it didn’t “act” dry.
badbadrubberpiggy, with Sally Hansen’s Hard As Wraps (in “clear/top coat”) do I need a base coat? For base coats, any recommendations other than the link provided? Orly or Seche, are those good base coats? (they were at the drugstore today).
The city is totally under snow, so I’m anxious to try a manicure on myself again.
I forgot a couple of things. If you’re diabetic or have immune system problems, you’re supposed to either provide your own cuticle cutters or not get them cut at all. This is to prevent possible infections.
I have one of those four way nail file/buffer utensils, and I use the last two buffers on my top coat. Usually, the utensil will have the file surfaces numbered, and I use the first one to file the edges of my nails smooth, the second one on the surface of my nails (I have some slight ridges, and my manicures look better when I smooth them away), third surface to polish out the scratches left from the second surface. Wash dust from nails, dry hands, push back cuticles AGAIN, and then put nail polish on nails. After the first top coat dries, I use the third surface (yes, again) and then the fourth surface on the polish. Rinse and repeat for the second top coat, and each time I put on another top coat. This gives a very smooth and glossy top coat.
