Ways to Dry Nail Polish Faster

Are you sick of waiting eons for your at-home manicures to finally dry? There's nothing more tedious and annoying than having to sit around forever worrying about messy smudges and dents while your lacquer takes its sweet time to cure. Thankfully, you can majorly cut down on drying duration with some insider tricks used by salon pros and experts. Keep reading to discover the best techniques dry nail polish faster so you can be out the door in no time with a perfect, polished manicure!

Use Quick Dry Nail Polish Formulas

One of the easiest things you can do is swap your traditional lacquers for rapid-dry polishes formulated to cure lightning fast. Look for varieties specifically labeled as “express dry,” “speed dry,” or “fast dry” at beauty supply shops or drugstores. These have an extra dose of solvents that evaporate quickly, allowing each layer to set in just minutes. Using a fast-drying basecoat and topcoat underneath can also accelerate drying time even more. Test out a few top-rated brands to discover which rapid dry polishes and treatments perform best on your nails. With the right products, you can easily slash 60% or more off your manicure duration!

Read: How to Get Rid of Nail Fungus on Toes

Apply Sheer, Ultra Thin Layers

Gunky, thick layers of polish can really drag out drying time exponentially. Each overloaded coat might take 5 minutes or longer to set, tacking on tons of unnecessary minutes to your DIY session. Instead, be sure to wipe off any excess lacquer from the brush before applying to avoid clumps. Then use super smooth, consistent strokes from base to tip of the nail to get the sheerest layer possible. Building up multiple thin shear coats enables the solvents in each layer to evaporate faster than dumping on thick polish all at once. Resist that impatient urge to glob on multiple lacquer layers simultaneously as that defeats the whole purpose of speed drying! Gradual build up is key.

Use Fast-Acting Specialty Drying Drops

Drying drops are amazing liquid solutions specially crafted to cut regular nail polish drying time in half or better. They contain key ingredients like acetone to break down lacquer and encourage quick evaporation. After painting your nails, simply use the handy dropper to squeeze out a few drops directly onto each wet nail. Let the drops sit for 60-90 seconds and watch their magic! The acetone interacts to rapidly dissolve solvents so they dissipate faster, forcing the remaining polish to harden quickly. Using drops between each layer can drastically reduce total manicure curing time.

Soak Nails in Icy Cold Water

Want to set polish literally instantly? Simply soak freshly lacquered hands in chilled ice water! Prepare a small bowl filled with very cold tap water and plop in a few ice cubes. Allow it to rest so the temperature lowers. After applying color to nails, immerse fingertips into the ice bath for 60-90 seconds. The below-freezing temp shocks the polish, immediately kickstarting the hardening process. The icy water forces the lacquer to set pronto so you can be out the door chip-free in no time! Just be sure to gently dry nails afterwards with a soft cloth or paper towel to prevent any dents.

Cure Quickly With an LED Nail Lamp

LED lamps and other nail drying machines often rely on ultraviolet light to quickly cure gel manicure formulas. But here’s a cool trick - many models also have a handy speed-dry function for traditional lacquers too! After applying your color, simply place hands inside the device and select the option for regular polish, often 30-60 seconds. The powerful concentrated UV rays help to penetrate multiple thin layers deeply and hasten solvent evaporation for easy fast-drying action! Plus built-in fans help circulate air to further banish evaporating fumes.

You may also like: What is a Structured Gel Manicure?

Occupy Your Brain to Make Time Fly

Alright, so no brain games will physically speed up the molecular drying process. Yet keeping yourself entertained while you wait for polish to cure can help the time pass swiftly! Catch up on YouTube or shows, scroll social media, tackle a few odd tasks on your to-do list, or chat on the phone. Before you know it, your nails will be all set with no smudges or dents! Why not put dry downtime to good use? A watched pot never boils, so set a timer and keep your mind occupied while lacquer dries effortlessly in the background.

With the right selection of specialized products paired with technique tricks, you can easily cut your entire nail session duration by 50% or better. The next time you’re stuck wondering “why does my nail polish take so incredibly long to dry?” as you anxiously wait around, remember these tips! Items like express-dry formulas, specialized drops, ice-water soak tricks, and LED lamps can all work hand-in-hand to accelerate drying times drastically. Ditch the drying frustration and flaunt salon-perfect nails fast!