@iramshelton
In This Article
Use a Nail Polish Thinner
Add a Drop of Pure Acetone
Store Your Polish in a Cool, Dark Place
Roll—Dont Shake—the Bottle
Keep Your Polish Tightly Sealed
Track When You Bought the Bottle
Nothing hurts quite like reaching for your go-to nail polish... only to realize that its turned into a thick and nasty mess practically overnight. And since one too many of our favorite nail polishes have kicked the bucket for this very reason, weve morphed into polish lovers on a mission. Our quest: Figuring out how our favorite salons salvage their polishes and finding out how to prevent (or at least postpone) the inevitable demise for as long as humanly possible.
Determined to get some answers, we tapped some of the best nail pros in the business—Jin Soon Choi, Shelly Hill, Mary Lennon, and Sarah Gibson Tuttle—to find out how they extend the life of a beloved bottle of polish.Read on for some genius methods to thin nail polish and make it last longer.
Meet the Expert
Jin Soon Choi is an editorial manicurist and the founder of JinSoon Nail Lacquer and JinSoon Spas.
Shelly Hill is a celebrity manicurist and general manager of Base Coat Nail Salon.
Mary Lennon is the co-founder of Côte.
Sarah Gibson Tuttle is the founder of Olive & June.
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Use a Nail Polish Thinner
According to Choi, one of the best ways to thin out nail polish is to invest in a bottle of nail polish thinner (usually $10 and under, like Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Thinner, $4). "First, add just a couple of drops directly to the polish," she says. "To mix, roll the bottle between your palms and avoid shaking, which can cause air bubbles to form."
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Add a Drop of Pure Acetone
Hill says her "go-to" method for thinning out nail polish is a drop of pure acetone. "Just like polish thinners, its critical to use only one drop of pure acetone in your bottle of nail polish," says Hill. "Shake well, and if the polish is still too thick, add one more drop. The less is more approach is important to remember—if too much is used, the acetone will break down the polish, which will actually lessen its lifespan."
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Store Your Polish in a Cool, Dark Place
Though pure acetone solutions and nail thinners are effective—theyre salon go-tos for a reason—they also come with their own host of problems and might do your nails more harm than good in the long run (think brittleness, peeling, splitting, and breakage).
To prevent polish from clumping in the first place, Lennon tells us that the main trick is to always store your nail polish in a cool, dark place that maintains a consistent temperature. You can even try the refrigerator if you live in a perpetually warm and humid climate.
Avoid storing your bottles in the bathroom—thanks to those long hot showers, the temperature is constantly fluctuating, and the humidity can diminish your polishs longevity.
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Roll—Dont Shake—the Bottle
While its tempting to shake your nail polish to hear that little metal ball rattle in the bottle, its best to roll it instead. Shaking the polish can not only cause it to stick to the top of the bottle, creating a sticky mess that will harden, but it also leads to air bubbles that can ruin a future manicure.
Emily Roberts/buuk.top
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Keep Your Polish Tightly Sealed
Its easy to forget, but one of the best methods for keeping polish thin and spreadable is keeping it sealed whenever youre not actively using it. And we mean whenever. "To preserve your nail polish for as long as possible, be sure to close the bottle between coats," says Tuttle. "When that air hits polish, it will start to thicken."
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Track When You Bought the Bottle
According to Tuttle, while products like nail thinners can help lengthen the longevity of your favorite polishes, eventually, youll have to make peace with your goodbye and toss the lacquer. "Its best to toss out the bottles that start to get too sludge-y," she says. "After all, nail polish has a shelf life just like makeup. To keep track, try labeling the bottle to remember when you bought it."