@iramshelton
In This Article
Run Your Nails Under Cold Water
Paint in Light, Thin Layers
Blast Your Wet Nails With Cold Air
Hold Your Hands in the Freezer
Try a Fast-Drying Nail Polish or Top Coat
Choose Your Color Wisely
Try Using Quick-Dry Drops
Drip an Oil Onto Your Nails
Soak Your Nails in Ice Water
Increase Your Wait Time Between Coats
Finish With a Spritz of Hairspray
Try the Cooking Spray Hack
Use a Dedicated Nail-Drying Spray
Pass Time With Your Favorite Show or BFFs
Riddle me this: Whats worse than your manicure smudging before you even set foot outside the salon? Nothing, thats what.
Okay, maybe thats dramatic, but we can all agree that messing up freshly-painted nail polish is eye-roll-inducing at best. Fortunately for us, there are ways to avoid the manicure mishap—and we went to nail pros Amy Oung and Sarah Gibson Tuttle to find out exactly what they are.Keep reading to discover how to make your nail polish dry faster.
Meet the Expert
Amy Oung is a professional nail artist and an ORLY brand educator.
Sarah Gibson Tuttle founded the nail products brand Olive & June.
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Run Your Nails Under Cold Water
"Try running your hands under cold water, which will help speed up the dry time," says Gibson Tuttle. "I have no idea why this works, but it so does." When implementing this trick, opt for a steady flow, not a heavy one—super-fast water can lead to smudging.
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Paint in Light, Thin Layers
"To ensure that nail polish dries quickly, avoid applying too thick of a layer," says Oung, who recommends applying "as thin of a layer as possible. Let the first layer dry for about a minute before applying a second layer." She adds: "If you use a polish that does not require a top coat or base coat, like ORLYs Breathable lacquers, you are eliminating two layers from your manicure, which helps speed up the drying process."
Gibson Tuttle concurs: "Painting your nails using thinner layers will help them dry faster—even if you have to do another coat to get the opaqueness you want." To paint your thinnest layer, be conscious of how much polish is on your brush. Your best bet is to swirl it around the opening of the bottle to remove any excess lacquer before applying polish to your nails.
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Blast Your Wet Nails With Cold Air
"Whether youre at a salon or home, cold air from a fan or blow dryer will help the polish harden faster," Gibson Tuttle says. If you go the blow dryer route, make sure to press the cool shot button continuously while drying. Oung says forgetting to do so and accidentally using warm air could actually melt your polish. "[Many] people use fans or blow dryers to speed up the drying process, and while it works by evaporating the solvents faster, you can run into bubbles forming in the polish," she warns.
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Hold Your Hands in the Freezer
If you hold your hands in the freezer for a minute or two, the cold air will help solidify the top layer of polish. Brrr, we know. But as much as we hate feeling cold, when it comes to our nails and the chance to keep them smudge-free before theyre dry, were willing to do what it takes.
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Try a Fast-Drying Nail Polish or Top Coat
Many brands have launched quick-dry polishes that require zero extra steps to speed up drying. We like Sally Hansens Insta-Dri Nail Color ($7); simply paint it on and marvel at how dry your nails are by the time you finish. Or, try a quick-drying top coat, like ORLYs Sec N Dry Quick Dry Top Coat ($13). "This top coat deep dries lacquer layers and provides a very durable finish," says Oung.
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Choose Your Color Wisely
It may sound strange, but some nail polish colors really do dry faster than others. "If youre in a rush and need your nails to dry fast, reach for a sheer or metallic shade," Gibson Tuttle suggests. "They tend to dry faster and typically require fewer coats."
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Try Using Quick-Dry Drops
"If youre at a salon or have them at home, using quick-dry drops can help polish dry faster," Gibson Tuttle shares. OPIs Drip Dry Lacquer Drying Drops ($14) and ORLYs Flash Dry Drops ($15) are designed to dry nails in mere minutes.
"These work best when you apply one drop to each nail one minute after applying your lacquer," says Oung. "They also help to prevent smudging. Dry drops work by absorbing solvents in nail lacquer, which helps speed up the drying process."
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Drip an Oil Onto Your Nails
Just like quick-dry drops, oil can help speed up drying. Theres no real rhyme or reason why this works, but beauty lovers the world over swear by it in a crunch. And hey, if all else fails, at least your nails will be hydrated.
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Soak Your Nails in Ice Water
Similar to holding your nails under running water or putting them in the freezer, when you soak them in a cup or bowl of ice water, the results are faster-drying fingertips. While it might seem like soaking freshly-painted nails in water would rinse the lacquer away, it actually shocks the color into place thanks to the temperature difference. Just be sure not to let your nails touch any ice cubes, as that would definitely dent or smudge the polish.
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Increase Your Wait Time Between Coats
"Waiting five to 10 minutes between coats makes a world of difference," says Gibson Tuttle. "It will decrease the chance of bubbles and dries faster, I swear." Of course, in the long run, that can take more time to actually finish painting. But you tell us: Are a few extra minutes between coats worth avoiding twice that time to fix smudges? We think so.
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Finish With a Spritz of Hairspray
Hairspray doesnt just hold intricate hairstyles in place—it can also help dry nail polish faster.Of course, its important to remember that while a quick spritz will harden the top layer of polish, it doesnt work to dry the base layers below, so you still dont want to get too aggressive with your nails for at least 30 minutes.
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Try the Cooking Spray Hack
If youve run out of hairspray, head to the kitchen for a bottle of cooking spray like PAM ($5), an oil-based product that helps dry the top layer of nail polish in a cinch. Though, as you might have guessed, it does leave fingers a bit greasy.
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Use a Dedicated Nail-Drying Spray
As creative as some of these nail-drying hacks are, you can always play it safe with a product designed specifically for speeding up nail drying time, like OPIs RapiDry Spray Nail Polish Dryer ($13). Youll still want to avoid bumps to stay dent-free while the base layers are hardening.
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Pass Time With Your Favorite Show or BFFs
"Okay, it wont help your nails dry more quickly, but it will make the time go by faster," Gibson Tuttle says.We dont know about you, but we like how she thinks. So, whatre you waiting for? Grab your besties and kick off a DIY manicure party ASAP.