5 Ways to Dry Your Nails

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Now that summer is here, it can be frustrating for you and your clients since the heat in the air can prevent nail polishes from firming.

Here are five ways to make drying nails a breeze:

Quick Dry Polish

What makes fast-drying nail polishes work is the amount of solvents they have in them. Solvents evaporate quickly, so the more solvents a polish has, the quicker it will dry. The faster it takes the polish to dry, the less time you spend worrying about messing up the polish. Many of the quick-dry polishes will say that it takes under a minute to completely dry the nails.

A Bowl of Cold Water     

It is an undesirable method for any other time of the year, but during the summer heat, it’s perfect. First, you put five or six ice cubes in a bowl. Fill the bowl with cold water and then insert the newly painted nails. Fingers shouldn’t move around in the bowl too much because the movement of the water or a collision with the ice can cause bumps or ripples in the polish, which would defeat the purpose.

Blow-Drying

This is one that many have tried before, but they usually make two big mistakes. The first one is putting the dryer on high and holding it too close to the nail. To ensure that the pressure of the air does not cause ripples, hold it about 10 to 12 inches away from the nail and set it on low. The second big mistake that people make is that they have the dryer blow hot air. You need cold air to harden the polish.

The Freezer Method

If you are in a hurry and have somewhere to go, putting your nails in the freezer is the way to go. Just stick your hands in the freezer and make sure that they are in the back since it’s coldest there. Keep them there for about 1 to 2 minutes. When you take them out your nails should be perfectly dry.

Electronic Air Duster

This method is pretty outside of the box and is not your usual nail drying process. The reason this works is that when an air duster for electronic equipment is used for longer than thirty seconds, it produces extremely cold air. The cold air helps to firm the nail polish, just like a freezer or cold water does. What you need to be careful with is that the air pressure produced, like a blow-dryer, doesn’t create bumps or ripples in the polish. Before starting, you will need to determine a safe distance to ensure this doesn’t happen. After spraying your nails with the air duster, your nails should be dry in about 2 minutes.

This piece was originally published by Nailpro in 2013.

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