Getting a manicure and pedicure is an act of self care which brings joy, and especially taking care of your nails with coloured or clean nail polish can feel even better. But we all have also experienced this feeling of sinking which comes with underestimating the drying time of nail polish and then we accidentally ruin our newly painted nails. So in order to ensure that the nails look their best once manicure is completed, it is very important to give that lacquer enough time to dry completely.
The time of drying actually depends on a lot of things, such as how thick the coat is, how many times you have applied the coat, what type of polish you have chosen and more. So if you wonder now how long does nail polish take to dry completely, whether on toes or fingers, fake, acrylic or real nails, then wonder no more, because we got you covered through this article.
As you scroll down, you will find out complete details on drying nail polish, such as how long does it usually take for a nail polish to get dry, what are the best ways to dry it faster and much more. So just continue to read below to check out all the information about it.
How long does nail polish take to dry?
So most of the applications of the nail polish usually get fully dry in less than an hour, in fact nail polish can take as less as 15 minutes to dry. When you get nail polish applied in the salon, they use UV lights and fan dryers which accelerates the whole process and decreases the drying time even more.
However even if your nail polish gets dry enough to touch, it is always recommended to wait for at least an hour before you wear your clothes or closed toe shoes. Even if the polish does not smudge, there is still a chance of it getting smashed with an imprint of your socks or forced hand, so it is always best to wait for a decent amount of time to get your nails dry completely.
So the answer to how long does nail polish take to dry on an average could be around 30 to 45 minutes, which totally depends on the number of coats you have applied. Like if you have applied a base coat, two coats of some colour and a top coat, then it will take around 45 minutes for the nails to completely dry. However, they do get dry enough for you to start doing the work after about 20-25 minutes. So you can always consider the timeline accordingly before you decide to paint your nails or get it done from outside in case of a hurry!
What are the ways to make nail polish dry faster?
There are some amazing ways to dry your nails faster, details of which are as follows-
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Quick dry using cold water- This is one of the best tricks for minimising the time to dry your nails as you know the answer to how long does nail polish take to dry and it is usually above 30 minutes.
So this is a very effective trick but requires a little prep before. Before you start to paint your nails, you need to take a small bowl and just fill it with cold water. Add 1 or two ice cubes in it and keep the bowl near the place where you will be applying nail polish. After you have painted your nails, try to wait for 2 minutes so that your polish can set, which will ensure that it adheres to the nails completely.
After this, dip your nails into the bowl of cold water and hold it like that for at least 5 minutes. When you remove your hands from the water, you will see water beading on the top, which is a sign that nail polish is dry now.
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Use a hairdryer- Before you start with applying your nail polish, plug in your hairdryer with a setting of cool air. And once you have finished applying the polish, just hit your nails with the cool air using the hairdryer.
This will work best if you paint the nails on one hand first, then dry it using a hairdryer and then repeat the same for the other hand. It is important that you only use the dryer in a cool setting for drying your nails, as a lot of people have complained about burning their skin by using a hot hair dryer.
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Quick dry top coat on nails- As you know how long does nail polish take to dry and the time can be reduced, this is another effective way. Using olive oil, baby oil and even the cooking sprays are very helpful for drying out the nails. All you need to do is place the oil in a dropper or a decanter, so that you can easily control how much oil you want to put on all the nails.
Also, you don’t need to apply a lot of oil, just a little is sufficient. And then once you are ready to dry the nail polish, simply apply one drop or maybe two and just sit patiently for a few minutes. The oil will work to dry your nail polish faster and it will soak the paint.
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Apply thin coats of nail polish- This is one of the most preferred manicure techniques which can save you a lot of time of drying your nails. So when you apply several thin coats of nail polish, instead of applying 2 or 3 thick coats, it allows the nails to dry in between each application which eventually dries your complete nail polish faster. This even results in a better finish.
Thus, this is complete information on how long does nail polish take to dry and the best ways that you can use to dry your nails faster. So try these out and your nail polish game will become a lot better and faster!