How to Make Your Manicure Last

There are few things that make a woman feel more stylish, confident, and on-trend than a fresh coat of paint on her nails. Unfortunately, for many of us, along with our luxurious weekly manicure come concerns about how to keep our fancy fingernails from becoming yet another thing we’re ready to wash our hands of.

From chipped polish to total nail destruction, a worse-for-wear manicure can happen to anyone, and can turn a routine beauty treatment into a regular nightmare. To keep your paint in perfect shape, check out the following tips:

No glove, no love. It may seem antiquated to some, but for those of us who still occasionally hand wash our dishes or delicates, gloves can mean the difference between a perfectly painted set and your new look being sucked down the drain. While most polish is supposed to stay on until confronted with nail polish remover, kitchen knives, abrasive sponges, and zippers and studs on clothing can nick polish, while soap and detergent can damage both skin and nails.

Polish it off. To keep your polish looking perfect, keep a high-quality clear coat, like Seche Vite Top Coat, handy. Says manicurist Linda Chae of New York’s W!NK Eco Beauty Bar, “Putting a layer of topcoat on your manicure every three to four days will help re-seal the edges of your polish and prevent chips.”

Soothe your skin. One of the telltale signs of not-so-fresh nails is the condition of your cuticles. Chae recommends clients use a cuticle cream or almond oil around the nails once a week in addition to using a cuticle pusher to gently guide the skin away from the nail. While it’s tempting to clip them, leave the cutting to the pros—even a minor nick in the skin cuticle can cause a host of health problems.