I am often asked why polish chips after four days on one client and lasts three weeks on another. The application matters, of course, but what happens between appointments matters just as much.
A good manicure starts before the polish. The nail is filed in one direction, the cuticles are pushed back rather than cut, the surface is degreased, then each coat goes on thin and is sealed along the free edge. That seal, invisible once the manicure is finished, is what keeps water out. If the polish lifts within the first two days, come back to us: redoing it is our job.
Water, the first enemy
A nail soaks up water like a sponge, then shrinks as it dries. That repeated movement lifts the polish at the edges. Gloves for the washing-up and cleaning are not a detail: they are what buys you an extra week.
Avoid using your nails as tools, to open a can or scrape off a label. And resist peeling off a lifting gel polish yourself: tear it away and it takes the top layers of the nail with it.
Oil every evening
A drop of oil on each cuticle every evening takes less than a minute. It keeps the nail supple, and so less brittle, and the skin around it stays neat until your next appointment. It is the best-value step in the whole routine.
Finally, give your nails a break now and then. After several sets in a row, a week or two bare, with a simple strengthening treatment, does them good. And if a nail changes colour or lifts from the bed, see a doctor before your next set.
