Why does my nail varnish always chip?

[APocketfulOfStars]

I can never keep my nails looking nice for more than a couple of days.I assumed it was a mixture of too much washing up and cheap nail varnish, but even a lovely OPI set, with base coat, colour and top coat did this....in less than 24 hours. What can I do to make them last longer??

Shellac. Lasts around 4 weeks and then that’s just as the varnish is growing out so it’s needs redoing, not that it’s chipped.

I feel your pain. Started going for shellac manicures and not looked back. I pay 13.00 a time for mine and lasts two weeks

Clean your nails with some nail polish remover before applying base coat, and then with every layer paint over the ends of your nails, it helps seal everything together. Cristine (Simply Nailogical) has a pretty good video here.

I had a sensationail kit for my birthday. It has a little uv lamp and comes with the stuff you mix with your nail varnish to make it a gel. Its good if you can get the application precise, and lasts a couple of weeks

I read somewhere that super-clean nails were the secret to long-lasting nail varnish. I don't paint mine much so haven't tested the theory particularly, but worth a go as it sounds like you've done everything else right.

Shellac nails look brilliant. So shiny! They are unparalleled I find. Around me in london they are is £24-30 though, even in the grottiest of salons where you sometimes wait an age. That’s £400-500 a year. Ouch.

Have you tried capping your nails with the polish? Running the colour over the top/tip of your nail to ‘seal’ it and running the brush back of the length of your nail to ensure the coat is smooth. I’ve been using the Sally Hansen top coat lately and it’s great.

I agree with Sapphire - once I started cleaning my nails with nail varnish remover first, it made a huge difference! I suppose that any grease you might have on your nails would stop the varnish sticking properly.

However, I’ve since discovered gels and it’s been a revelation! They stay on until they grow out, it’s amazing!

Thanks for your replies.

Is Shellac good ( or bad) , or not as bad as normal varnish?

I tried painting over the tips, that just meant I got varnish everywhere, and then I found it really hard to remove it from my fingers without getting remover on my nails. Maybe that's part of the problem - I'm just rubbish at applying it!

Ooh! That set sounds interesting! Can you tell me what it is please.

Oily nails

I have the same problem. I had Shellac done and even that came off! Was peeling within a couple of days. Come to the conclusion it is me and have now given up.

I wouldn't think Shellac or gels long term is very good for your nails. Just my opinion but I enjoy doing my nails with regular polish every few days anyway.

Some tricks include cleaning with pure acetone before polishing which works if your nail beds are naturally oily; conversely for some people the opposite works better as their nails need moisture...so applying a nail (or regular) oil to the nail bed and then just wiping with a tissue and then doing your base coat/colour/top coat. Sounds mad but it can work.

Wrapping the tips with polish works too. For cleanup you can use a tiny concealer brush (I like the E.L.F. ones), dipped in acetone and wiped around the nail. Voila!

For what it's worth I have had gels, shellac and a few other variants, all of which lifted and peeled way before the time they should have. I have extremely oily nail beds. I have accepted that and have since fallen down the rabbit-hole of collecting mad and wonderful nail polishes instead!

Avoid shellac. I had them done at Christmas and whilst it looked fab and lasted a month, if not more, my nails are still not in good condition now and I have had to enforce a polish-free period to get them healthy. The shellac removal process is very drying and not worth it. I won't do it again.
Do you use rubber gloves for house work? And keep topping up your top coat every day?

Thanks everyone.

I usually remove my nail polish with pure acetone when I reapply, so I'll try the nail oil thing and see if that works. And get a better brush for cleaning round the nails afterwards. If not, I'm joining misty and Miffy and giving up!

Sounds like you have oily nails. You can get a basecoat for this. Shellac RUINS your nails.

Use the right top coat. Essie gel top coat is amazing and keeps polish on for nearly a week

I brush the polish over the ends, I have quite short nails so often get some on my skin. I do the washing up without gloves or gently push it off when in the shower, comes off easily.

I bought a UV gel nail kit off amazon for about £20 just after Xmas.
Sooo worth it to be able to do my own gel nails at home, it takes a bit longer to do, but dried instantly with the lamp, and lasts for weeks.
I think it only ruins your nails if you don’t remove it properly which I don’t which is why I am currently on a break from it

Clean your nails with washing up liquid before painting then to remove oils and nail polish remover.

When you paint your nails try not to get any of the polish on your skin or cuticle around the nail - even if that leaves a little gap. Overlapping your skin leaves a bubble of air that water can get into, which lifts and chips your polish at the edges.

This happens to me too - even happened with gel polish.

I’ll be trying these tips to see if I can get it to last longer than bloody 24 hours...

What top coat do you use?

I agree that wrapping your tips should help. Don't worry about getting it on your skin - if you're rubbish at cleaning it off just leave it and it should come off with a bit of gentle rubbing in the shower. Make sure you're applying really thin coats for all your layers as well, if you apply too thickly then it'll just peel off in sheets.

Nothing works im the same never paint them now just not worth it

Shellac removal is not drying or damaging performed correctly with COD products. Acetone evaporates off the nail quickly and any dehydration goes when you either wash your hands (nails absorb water faster than skin) or apply a nail oil, or the water and oil the nail bed produces anyway flows through the nail.

Ordinary nail polish never fully dries, that’s why it chips. Shellac and gel polish cured correctly with the matching lamp cures to 100% and therefore with regular nail oil applications will last longer with the following caveats;

You use gloves for housework/gardening/diy.
You use gloves for applying sunblock.
You stay out of swimming pools.
You don’t use your nails as tools.

Cnd. Stupid autocorrect.