NYFW Tip Alert: Prevent Polish from Staining Your Nails
Keri Blair’s New York Fashion Week tip for how to avoid red nail polish stains.
Each day of New York Fashion Week the Yahoo Beauty editors will be sharing one life-changing beauty tip from the makeup artists, hair stylists, nail artists, and models we meet backstage.
Have you ever removed a coat of shiny red nail polish only to be left with slightly-yellow stained nail beds? It’s never fun to deal with, so when I spotted MAC nail artist Keri Blair applying a bright red lacquer (MAC Flaming Rose) to a handful of the models’ nails backstage at Zac Posen, I had to know her trick for a perfect red manicure from start to finish.
MAC Flaming Rose was used to paint some models nails backstage at Zac Posen. (Photo: MAC Cosmetics)
According to Blair, the most important thing you can do is avoid soaking your nails before a manicure or pedicure, whether you’re using regular polish or a gel. She says if your nails are underwater for more than 30 seconds, they begin to swell and absorb water, and it takes almost two hours before your nails are back to their original texture. This also means that post-soak, your nails will soak up more polish, which can lead to staining, and later chipping as your nails shrink back to their regular size and shape.
Her next tip is simple: always use a base coat. “Base coat is the best thing you can do,” says Blair, who prepped nails using MAC Underlacquer. “It’s all about having a primed canvas.”
If you’re still having issues with nail polish stains, Blair recommends mixing up a nail brightener of peroxide and baking soda. Apply this to your nail and it will help to whiten up your nail beds again.
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