Common mistakes you are making when you do your nail by yourself

Before you paint, you should also swipe clean nails with a cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover. "Greasiness from lotion prevents polish from adhering," Jin Soon Choi, owner of Jin Soon Natural spas in New York City, told Good Housekeeping. Polish remover that's pure acetone will get rid of residue faster, but if that's too drying, try a nonacetone remover.

Although nails will appear dry within 20-30 minutes, it actually takes a full 24 hours for nail polish to fully dry. “A super easy trick to help the drying process along is to wait a minute or two for your polish to start setting up, then run very cold water over your hands for about three minutes,” says Candido. “The cold water helps the polish set up faster.” However, she warns, “Be careful to not to run the water directly on the nails as the force of the water may cause the polish to smudge.”

Most women file nails in a sawing motion ‘back and forth’ which is very harmful for nails as it causes splitting and chipping. Instead, you should file your nails in one direction only. It is better to use a soft nail filer rather than the harsh emery board. After applying nail polish, filing the nails for the final time ensures that the color does not chip off in one single block.

Don’t take a hot shower right after you apply nail polish. Don’t take a cold shower after a manicure either because your polish needs time to settle. However, a hot shower is even worse because the steam will cause your nail polish to bubble and smudge. Wait at least 1 full hour before you shower after a manicure.

If there is one technique you should take with you from the salon, it’s that manicurists use three to four strokes to apply polish to the nail. With one single stroke, it’s difficult to get the sidewalls (left and right edge of the nail) and cuticle area, making the nails look unfinished. Plus, the color will grow out in mere days. “Apply color to the nail in three or four strokes,” Candido advises. Her approach? “Start in the center near the cuticle, swipe down the nail to the right side, return to the starting point and swipe down the nail to the left, then return to the center and swipe down the middle. If there is any uncovered area, swipe down the whole nail one more time.”

A bottom layer gives the polish something to latch onto. Plus, studies show that a base coat sticks to nails better than nail polish itself. Arnold says a base coat is soft and sticky, so that it can expand and contract with your nails and help color adhere.

Don’t skip the top coat nail polish. Not only will it shorten the lifespan of your manicure but it will also reduce the shininess factor that can be so appealing about a manicure. In fact, an extra layer of top coat can encourage the longevity of your manicure even more.