There’s nothing worse than seeing chips in your recently manicured nails. Why does this happen? There could be a number of reasons why your manicures aren’t lasting, and we’re going to tell you all of them. With our tips and special products that are guaranteed to extend your manicure wear-time, your next mani will be shiny and chip-free for as long as you want it to be.

Tip #1: Base Coats and Top Coats

A lot of people assume that base coats and top coats are a non-crucial part of an at-home manicure, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The natural nail is rarely ever perfectly smooth. This is especially true if you’re a frequent polish-wearer, where remover products containing acetone strip the nail of its natural keratin. This is why using a base coat is so important, because it fills in those ridges and creates a smooth surface for polish to stick to.

A top coat is just as important if you want a lasting manicure. Without sealing your polish color in place with a top coat, you have a greater chance of denting or smudging your polish, and it’s guaranteed that you’ll experience chips faster.

Tip #2: Wrap the Tip

After every coat of polish, you should wrap the free edge of your nail to seal it. If you don’t, you’re more likely to notice tip-wear faster, which just leads to larger chips. You can apply your first coat of polish and wrap the tip, wait a minute or two, and then apply a second coat, wrapping the tip again. This ensures that the polish is sealed in place. Don’t forget to wrap the tip of your top coat too!

Tip #3: Use Thin Coats

Sometimes polish can go on a little too thick if applied carelessly. When this happens, it takes longer to dry, it’s harder to control, and you’re likely to experience polish peeling. It’s better to use thin, layered coats of polish to build the color instead of using one thick coat. Wait enough time in between each thin layer to ensure it has dried properly. Also, these buildable thin coats will likely be more true to color than if you applied it thicker.

Products That Can Help

ZOYA Remove +

Our remover is made with acetone, but also has conditioning properties to not dry out your nail. In fact, a swipe of this acetone remover on your natural nail before starting your manicure can actually help with extending your manicure’s wear-time.

Ultra Glossy Seal Topcoat

If you’re just starting to use top coats, Ultra Glossy Seal is perfect for beginners. It’s a dense formula that provides high shine and reflectivity, and dries faster than any other Zoya top coat. This means that it speeds up the dry time of your manicure and will keep the polish on for up to 7 days with no chips.

Gelie-Cure Sandwich

A bottle of the Naked Gelie by ZOYA Naked Manicure next to its packaging box.

This process takes a bit more effort for you dedicated nail-polish-lovers out there, but it’s worth it if you want your manicure to last up to two weeks without chips.

Start by following the Gelie-Cure foundation tutorial, applying color as normal, and using Naked Gelie again as a topper for your polish. With your color sandwiched in-between two lush layers of Naked Gelie, you can forget about tip-wear.

Feature photo via @_k.s.nails_