Love the look of manicured nails, but hate waiting for nail polish to dry? Celebrity manicurist Erica Marton shares her advice.
How do I get nail polish to dry faster?
The best tricks are: 1. Even coats of polish. 2. Wait at least a minute in between coats if you are doing multiples, including a base and topcoat.
Do you always recommend two coats of color?
It all depends on the person. If a client comes in and straight out asks me what will last longer I always go for one coat, plus it dries super fast. But some people love two coats because they last longer for them.
What’s an option to nail polish?
For my clients who hate to wait for nail polish to dry, I always do a buff shine. It lasts for a month on toes and two weeks on fingernails. I use a buffer to “shine” the nails.
How thick or thin should the layer of nail polish be?
A layer of polish should ALWAYS be even and thin and never. thick.
Does drying nails with a fan work?
I prefer for my clients to wait and let nails air dry on their own. For the purple light fans to work, a nail technician has to use a special topcoat that hardens to polish, but most manicurists don’t use that topcoat because it’s very expensive. If the salon isn’t at the right temperature the fan can cause bubbles in the polish.
Do you have any quick-drying topcoats or oils that you like?
My favorite quick dry in the world is Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. It’s amazing! I also have another favorite quick dry helper, I feel I would be lost without, QTICA Half Time Polish Drying Accelerator. It dries polish rock hard in 5 to 7 minutes. It’s a little pricey though. The closest thing to it is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Speed Dry Drops.