How to you prevent your nail polish from chipping? Share!
Finding the right base/top coat combination can sometimes be key, if you’re having trouble!
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I don’t, haha. No matter what kind of base coat, top coat, strengthener, whatever, nothing prevents tip wear and chipping. I beat my hands up way too much! I’m lucky if polish lasts 3 days.
Have you tried the OPI Natural Base Coat and their Top Coat? I used to have chipping problems prior to using those products and now I get at least a full week of perfect wear.
My system: OPI base coat + 2 coats polish (I suggest OPI, Revlon, and L’Oreal, specifically, though most polishes work) + OPI top coat + Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat + Nicole drying drops. I don’t wait between coats but go from finger to finger.
You should give them a try! 🙂 And be sure your nails are bare, clean, and dry prior to application and protect your hands with dish gloves during cleaning.
I have. The problem is I literally beat my hands up and am in chemicals all the time doing art and working on my car, so really nothing stands a chance.
I always use base and top coat, but I don’t have different ones for different uses like some people do. I use Seche Base and Revlon Quick Dry right now, too lazy/cheap for anything more specialized/hard-to-find/expensive!
One of life’s great mysteries…
The only thing that’s made a real difference in my case is the vitamin supplement I take for my hair (Oenobiol or any other supplement of the kind). Hair and nails are made of the same substance and the results I get confirm it: stronger, healthier hair and nails whereas they used to both be fine and brittle. Results took about a three weeks to kick in and they lasted ever since. I asked my GP and he okayed my taking this supplement year-round.
This vitamin intake has reinforced my nails so much that no longer having nail polish chip (with *any* brand of polish) was a wonderful and unexpected side effect.
Prior to taking these supplements, the only ways I could get my nail polish not to chip too soon were:
1- to make sure my nail tips were ultra smooth/polished (i.e. tiny breakage-free) before I applied the base/polish
2- to use gentle, acetone-free polish removers (my HG is Sephora’s express remover)
3- to use gloves when washing dishes (water weakens the nail)
Do you know the content of the supplement you’re taking, vitamins, minerals and so on? I have tried a few and they haven’t helped.
I ask as I don’t recognize the name, ane these things are called different things in different countries. It might even be that here we’d not have anything like it, but then I could take a few to get the formula right.
I have acrylic nails. I think for real or artificial, it helps to start with a clean, dirt- and oil-free nail surface. On the few occasions I had real nails long enough for polish, a ridge filler and base coat helped.
My #1 thing is a good-quality top coat, and to paint the polish and top coat over the top edge of the nail. I change polish about every 2 weeks, so I will add another layer of top coat once or twice during that time as well.
For TopCoats I use Sally Hanson Super Shine most often (strong as heck), or Orly Polishshield 3-in-1 Topcoat (less shiny; UV protection). My manicurist uses OPI. I think all three are great.
I also go to Harbor Freight Tools and buy cheap boxes of those blue food handler gloves. I try to use them when I do dishes, chop meat and other foods, or do anything messy or that could chip my nails.
I am a big believer in prepping the nail beforehand. A good base coat. A quality polish. Wrapping the polish and/or top coat over the edge of the nail.
I keep my nails short. My manicures last longer when my nails are short and I use the Avon uv gloss top coat. That top coat is the best in my oppinion. It dries quickly and it adds a nice sheen to my nails.
I found that with Formula X base and top coat some of my nail polishes gets really, for me longwearing. It works so well with MAC, Essie and L’Oreal, not quite as well with the OPI’s I’ve tried it with.
I have a lot of problems with my nails and with chipping polish, I will read all answers carefully and take notes.
I don’t – it flakes off in full-nail pieces when it’s ready to (which is usually about 24-48 hours after application for me, LOL!). I *wish* I got to pass though the ‘chipping’ stage!
I gave up on trying to prevent chips. It always chips regardless of anything.
Eh. One of the main reasons I wear polish is because if I’m picking at chipping polish, I’m not picking at my nails and giving myself hangnails out of boredom. So I don’t try to prevent chips so much as just try to redo my nails often. And really, if I can’t find time twice a week to relax in front of the TV and do my nails it’s probably a bad enough week having an elegant manicure isn’t on my radar anyway.
A base and top coat help, but still, my nail polish always chips fairly quickly 🙁
good top coat and base coat (I use the Butter London ones) but I think the best way is to make sure your hands are always moisturised! makes a huge difference.
I change my nail polish about five times a week, so it’s never on long enough to chip!
My routine gives me up to 3 weeks without chipping. Normal polish, too! Not gel!
Base coats:
Orly Bonder
Instant Artificials by Salon Science
Top coat:
Seche Vite
Every few days I touch up my nails with a layer of Seche Vite.
I am a mom and nothing makes really a difference. I’ve tried from high end brands to cheap brands it depends on the nail polish itself and how often you get in contact with water. Water is the worst thing. Only artificial nails last for about 2 weeks and this because of the artificial base.
The only thing I have tried that keeps my nail polish on for a while is the triple strength base coat by sally hansen. When i first bought it I would use it as a base and top coat and my nail polish would stay on for 7 days +. I eventually realized that it was intended for a base coat, but I didn’t care cause using it as both kept my nail polish on AND really strengthened my nails (they grew really long! people thought they were fake nails). The only downside to this polish is that it gets gooey/thick quick like 2 months.
By not wearing any. 😀
I use gel varnish (Shellac/Gelish/OPI). I’ve never had one single chip with these (and I’m brutal with my nails) and lasts for a flawless three weeks.
Leaving it in the bottle
Nothing I ever do works – my nails always chip after a day or two. It is a nightmare.
I use Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hard as Wraps over my nail polish, and then a coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat. I get at least a week out of my manicure with no chipping – just some wear a little bit of wear at the tips.
I wish I had an answer to this. No matter what top coat and base coat I use my nails start chipping after a few days. Even a gel manicure starts chipping withing a week on me.
Use more coats especially top coat.
I change my polish about twice a week, not always because it is chipping, more likely because I like to change the colors and I have SOOO many that I hate to see them sit unused. I absolutely believe in base coat and top coat, and carrying the coats over the tips of the nail to seal things. The top coats on the market today are a million times better than anything we used to have, so you have so many choices. My absolute favorites are Julep, they have an Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat that really helps to keep your nails healthy despite the constant polish changes, and their Freedom top coat is really the best product of its kind that I have found. In the more affordable range, I love China Glaze’s Strong Adhesion Base Coat and Fast Forward Top Coat, or Essie has some great ones like Good To Go Top Coat. I think that products are great, but the better advice is just how you protect your polish, from using gloves any time your hands are going to be in water, to applying lotion frequently to keep those hands moisturized. And last, I would say adding a coat of the top coat every couple of days helps prevent chips but also gives you more of a deep glossy sheen.
This is how I keep my nail polish from chipping. A base coat, 2 coats of nail polish, then 2 coats of top coat. Then as the days progress I’ll add additional coats of top coat to keep my manicure looking fresh and my polish last for 2 weeks every time. I like Essie base coat the green one and Essie top coat the 3 in one quick dry something like that.
Essie Good to Go top coat that’s the one and it doesn’t make your polish bubble.
I use Orly Bonder base coat, followed by Revlon or Essie polish, and Seche Vite topcoat. I will do this at night before bed, waiting until dry before I lay down. I do this on clean dry nails, and wake up with chips! I even paint over the nail edge to seal. I hate this. Always chips in the morning.
Start off with clean nails and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri! 🙂
When I use a base and top coat it’s Orly Bonder and Out the Door. Lately, if the polish is light in color, I just use 3 coats of the polish and call it a day. If it’s a dark color, I use the Bonder and 2-3 coats of the polish depending on how opaque it is. I’ve not had any chipping issues surprisingly enough and I type on a computer all day.
ROCK base and top coat. They are fabulous! I can wear cheap, cheap, dupe colors, and with Rock my manicure has lasted close to 2 wks. My nails usually grow out, or, I get tired of my polish, before I have to change. I highly recommend them!!! As a not, I do dry them them under a nail dryer.
Oh, as a note, I use Rock base, 2 coats of color, 1, maybe a 2nd of Rock top coat. Once done, I never have to reapply top coat. It has a high shine that lasts till removed….high shine. Did I say high shine? 🙂
Ive tried everythinf CND BASECOAT!!!!!!!!!! And seche vite for top. I cant stress enough try CND super stickey basecoat!!!
I know they’re cult favorites but I gotta plug CND Stickey Base Coat with Seche Vite Top Coat.
Seche Vite got me into doing my nails regularly because I knew I could get it done in under half an hour then be able to get on with my life.
But I’ve since added CND Stickey and what used to be a 2 day manicure tops before they literally popped off my nails in clean sheets of polish I now get 5 days of polish. So now I can be a bit more flexible on when I change my nails now
Gel. That’s the only thing that works for me. Everything else only gets me a day or two. It sucks.
Once I used a shimmery guerlain that went for like five days. I’m convinced it was the glitter in it.
Sometimes I put a top coat on every morning before work and that holds it a little longer, especially if I also topcoat the tip of the nail. Then if I have chips I patch them.
Lol at some of these responses.
My nails are temperamental. I will find a base/top coat that works really well and then my nails develop an “immunity” to the product. I used to use OPI’s base/top coat but it began to cause yellowing (I was told because of fluorescent lighting in my work environment (?)). One of Sally Hansen’s base/too coat used to work really well now it varies. I really liked Palladio’s but it became unavailable at Sally Beauty.
Zoya gives me the longest wear (3-5 days). I tried Milani’s Color Statement; 2 coats are better than one but it came off completely on my forefingers like fake nails! I used to like Essie but the wear was horrible.
I’ve been taking Biotin for the past month or two…I’m not really seeing much difference in nail growth/health.
I’ve thought about going back to acrylic or gel but the chemicals are so harsh on my nail bed. Another unsolved mystery, I suppose.
Try a matte top coat between the base coat and the nail polish (in order: base coat + matte top coat + nail polish + top coat, shiny or matte whatever you like).
I used to say that I have teflon nails, now my nail polishes last for days without chipping.