If you love getting your nails done, you already know the basics of how to take care of them. But even if you’re a regular at the salon, there’s a good chance you’re making some common manicure mistakes. From neglecting your cuticles to picking off your polish, some bad habits can ruin your mani. Read on to find out how to avoid them!

Manicure mistakes you need to avoid

• Not trimming your nails: Please properly and regularly trim your nails can make them brittle and prone to splitting or breaking. This can be especially true if you bite your nails.
• Overusing nail polish remover: Too much exposure to acetone is hard on the natural oils in the nail, causing discoloration and brittleness.
• Not using a base coat: Applying a layer of base coat before painting your nails is essential for protecting the nail bed from staining, particularly if you use dark nail polish colors.
• Not allowing enough drying time: Taking shortcuts when it comes to drying is a surefire way to ruin a manicure quickly! Make sure to allow ample time for the base coat and each layer of polish to dry before you add another one.
• Choosing the wrong size nail file: Using a coarse-grit or too small of a file on your natural nails can cause an uneven texture and breakage. Choose a 180/220 medium-grit nail file for best results.

• Overbuffing: Buffing helps to smooth out ridges in the nail, but overdoing it will weaken them and make them prone to breaking or splitting. Use a soft buffing block lightly, no more than once per week.
• Going overboard with cuticle remover: Cuticle removers are designed to soften dead skin cells around the nail’s base so they can be gently pushed back. Avoid the temptation to overuse them, as this will cause unnecessary damage.
• Not keeping your nails moisturized: Just like the rest of your skin, your nails need proper hydration in order to stay healthy and strong. Use a nourishing nail oil or lotion regularly to keep them moisturized and supple.
• Picking off polish: It’s easy to get impatient when waiting for our nails to dry, but picking off your polish can do serious damage to the nail bed underneath. Instead of peeling it off, use a gentle acetone-free remover for best results.
• Not cleaning up after painting: After you finish painting your nails, use a cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover to remove any excess polish around the cuticles and edges. This will help keep your manicure looking neat and professional.

From one nail tech to another: how to fix manicure mistakes

Nobody’s perfect, especially when it comes to nail art! Everyone has faced that frustrating moment of a manicure gone wrong. You can easily find yourself in the position of having to fix or repair a mistake on someone else’s nails—or even your own. But don’t worry; it happens all the time, and there are plenty of ways to fix mistakes quickly and easily.

The first step is to assess the situation: is it something minor like an uneven line or a smudge? Or is it more serious, such as chipped polish or exposed skin? Depending on how big the mistake is will determine what kind of solution you need to use.

For minor mistakes, like an uneven line or smudge, you can use a brush dipped in acetone to clean up the mistake. However, a sharpened brush works especially well for more detailed designs, such as fine lines and intricate patterns.

If your mistake is more serious, like chipped polish or exposed skin, you’ll need to go through a few extra steps. First, gently remove any excess polish with an orange stick or cuticle pusher. Then you can use a nail file to shape the nail and even out any jagged edges. If there is still some exposed skin after filing, you may need to add another coat of basecoat to ensure that the polish adheres correctly. Finally, apply an additional topcoat as needed and let the nails dry completely before applying a topcoat.

Remember, mistakes happen—but they don’t have to ruin your manicure! With these steps, you can easily fix any nail art mishaps and get your clients back on track with beautiful nails in no time.