From The Straits Times    |
how to prevent nail chipping non gel polish - thumb

how to prevent nail chipping non gel polish - DIY nail hacks

Image: jlpfeifer/123rf.com

When it comes to nail polish and manicures, I’m all about regular non-gel polish. I like being able to change my nail colour when I get bored and I find the process of doing my own nails almost therapeutic. I used to own about 60 bottles of nail polish when I was still in university and had the luxury of time, but most of the bottles – if not all – have dried up in the years since I’ve started working.

That said, when I do get the occasional Saturday afternoon free, I like to sit down and take an hour or two to just trim and paint my nails.

You know that thing professional manicurists do where they make sure the polish wraps around the edges of your nail to keep the polish from chipping? I use my hands and nails a lot, whether it’s to open jars, lids, cans, zippers, or just to scratch at things, so that extra layer of polish around the edge of my nails never lasted. And once that was gone, my nails were back to being vulnerable to chipping.

I decided one day to settle on sort of a half-baked attempt at the nail wrapping technique I’d studied, where instead of making sure the nail polish went around the entire tip of my nail, I simply reinforced the top of my nail. 

 

How to pull off this hack

All this involves is going in with a small amount of nail polish and covering just the upper section of your nail, like in the picture below. 

how to prevent nail chipping non gel polish - DIY nail hack

The best part is you don’t have to be precise in any way, and requires very little skill aside from ensuring you don’t have too much polish on the brush – too thick a layer can make the top of your nail look slightly bulbous. I’ve found that this can keep my nails chip-free for a whole week, maybe even longer on my non-dominant left hand.

For proof, I’ve taken comparison shots of my recent manicure. The pictures are 11 days apart, and you can see how well the nails have held up. Side note: the pastel blue is my new favourite shade. It’s called I Am What I Amethyst from OPI and it has an almost purple undertone which makes it surprisingly flattering even on my warmer-toned skin.

DIY nails how to prevent chipping - b&a

In any case, try this step out for yourself and let us know how it works for you.

 

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