Tips for a Longer Lasting Mani and Pedi

There's nothing worse than painting your nails and then discovering that it has somehow chipped on the second day. I've been in that position plenty of times and you never know whether to suck it up or repaint your chipped nails again. In this blog post I've teamed up with Bellus Academy's Director of Spa Nails, Trudy Reynolds, to bring you some tips to make your manis and pedis last a whole lot longer.



Apply Cuticle Oil
We clean and condition every part of our body regularly so why not our nails? What cuticle oil does is condition the cuticles and promote healthier nails. Cuticle oil and hand moisturizers should be used daily, especially before bed so it can be fully absorbed by your hands and nails over night.
Trudy recommends: SolarOil by CND
I recommend: Cuticle Oil by Super Nail and the Soap & Glory Hand Food

Wear Gloves
Washing dishes can really cause your manicure's life to shorten, so one easy solution for that problem is to wear gloves. It might take some time to get used to wearing gloves, but you'll be thankful when you start noticing that your manicures are lasting much longer. Rubber gloves can be found everywhere from dollar stores to your local grocery store and are generally very inexpensive.

Base and Top Coat
Sometimes when we're in a hurry we forget about these extra steps that make our manis and pedis last longer. Base coats have bonding agents that help the nail polish adhere to the nail, it also will prevent your nails from looking yellow. Top coat is applied after your nail color to add shine and protect your nail polish. Some top coats also may shorten the drying time or change the way your nail polish looks (for example matte top coats).
Trudy recommends: Vinylux Top Coat by CND
I recommend: Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat and the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Don't Neglect Your Feet
I'll admit it, I haven't shown my feet much love but this year I'm definitely changing that. I've started by regularly moisturizing my feet and using a pumice stone to get rid of any dead skin. If you're looking to do a DIY pedicure then definitely do the same steps you do with any manicure. Push your cuticles, apply a base coat, 2 coats of polish, and last but not least use a top coat. This will make your pedicure last much longer if you're too lazy to be changing up your nail polish color often.
Trudy recommends: FootLogix products
I recommend: Yves Rocher Foot Repair Balm and the Zim's Advance Crack Creme

I hope you learned a thing or two about how to make your mani and pedi last longer. To learn more about Bellus Academy please visit www.bellusacademy.edu.

What are your tips for a longer lasting manicure? Let me know in the comments below.