Many say blasting your nails with a blow-dryer on the cool setting can dry your manicure faster. However, this can reduce shine and even move the polish, leaving it uneven, says Boyce. She recommends a fan to help polish firm up and dry faster.
' 'Blowing on your nails doesn't speed up drying time. As you breathe on them, the humidity of your breath will prevent the polish drying any faster. Polish dries faster when it's cooler.
The cool-shot button on your dryer can do more than seal your hair's cuticles — it can set nail polish, too. "It's probably the most effective way to dry nails fast," says Liang, who notes that hot air actually prevents polish from hardening.
"Whether you're at a salon or at-home, cold air from a fan or blowdryer will help the polish harden faster," Gibson Tuttle says. If you go the blowdryer route, just be sure to press the cool shot button continuously while drying. Forgetting to do so and accidentally using warm air could actually melt your polish.
While it's easy to think that your nails only need a good 10 to 15 minutes to dry, your past manicure sessions have shown that your nails can still get smudged after waiting it out. The truth is, it can take one to two hours for your nail polish to set.
Why is my nail polish not drying? The most common reason your nail polish isn't drying is due to improper application. Applying an overly thick coat, not waiting enough time between coat applications, or simply opting for too many layers can substantially prolong drying time.
The normal nail polish, that dries in air, is always prone to be smudged because it takes a very long time to fully dry.
Generally, it takes 1-2 hours before nail polish is completely dry on its own, especially if you've used a base coat, two coats of nail polish and a topcoat. Formaldehyde-free polishes take more time to dry. Many nail polish dryers allow you to use your hands 5 to 15 minutes after polish is applied.
For a single-color application, polish usually takes around seven to 10 minutes to dry, says Evelyn Lim, chief educator at Paintbox. And with nail art, the dry time extends to 10 to 15.
The beauty of gel polish is that it hardens almost instantly when exposed to the UV rays that are emitted by our nail lamps. Sadly, the same thing happens when the gel is exposed to the UV rays of the sun.
You need cold air to harden the polish. 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.
A lot of people wonder whether they can simply allow their gel nail polish to air dry. Unfortunately, this is not possible.
Using a blow dryer is one of the quickest ways to dry puffy paint. Here's how. Place the dryer around half a foot away from the painted item. Slowly move the hairdryer around the painted material, so the paint will dry out evenly.
The more coats of nail polish you apply, the longer the drying time will be. If you're just going out and want a fast single coat of color, you'll only have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for it to dry.
Baby oil or olive oil (basically any cooking oil) can help dry your nail polish faster. Just put a few drops on your freshly painted nails and let it rest. Wipe the oil off using a cotton pad once the nail paint dries. You can also use a cooking oil spray to get the job done.
Remove polish every two weeks and give your nails a breather for a day or so. Or switch to light polish, which doesn't need to be changed as often since there's a lower risk of it staining your nails.
To prevent smudging, it is best to wait one to two hours before hopping in the tub or shower. To help speed drying time, use a fast-drying topcoat or a nail polish dryer.
If your nails have too much moisture or oil on them, the polish peels off much sooner than it should. To prevent this, you can try cleaning your nails with alcohol pads or nail polish remover before applying the polish. You can also try applying a base coat or buffing your nails first.
"If you apply more than three coats in one sitting, the application will be prone to clumping off in one piece, almost like a shell" she says. "Even if you allow each coat to dry before applying the next, it is really just the surface of the nail that dries.
drumroll please... 2 minutes. Yup, 2 full minutes between the base coat and the color, two minutes between color coats, and then two minutes before the top coat goes on. She says that's all you need to wait in between to get a dry enough surface to get the next layer to adhere.
Gel polish tends to be sticky after curing due to the presence of a sticky layer, also known as the inhibition layer. This layer is created during the curing process to help the gel properly adhere to your nails. To remove the sticky residue, you need to wipe your nails with a gel nail cleanser or isopropyl alcohol.
In summary: The first layer of base coat will take up to 2 minutes to dry. The first layer of nail polish will take up to 10 minutes to dry. The second layer of nail polish will take up to 20 minutes to dry completely.