Fashion

The Best Ways To Make Nails Dry Faster

by Miki Hayes

Sep. 4, 2015

As nice as it can be to have freshly manicured tips, there is one universal evil when it comes to painting nails: waiting for them to dry. Thankfully, there are some ways to speed up nail-drying time. But before we get into that, first a quick tip: If you're crunched for time but still need a fresh coat of polish, remember that light colors will dry faster than dark colors, and metallic finishes will dry faster than cremes.

If you're familiar with nail-polish hacks though, you might know that there are some around-the-house ways to reduce drying time. Two such ways are dunking your nails in ice water, and spraying some cooking oil like Pam over them. However, there are still plenty of products on the market that can also help with this major first-world problem. But before you go scooping up just any-ol'-thing that promises to quickly dry nail polish, be sure to read the ingredients — especially if it comes in an aerosol can. If you check the label, you'll find that sometimes (not always!), it's just cooking oil with some fluff ingredients. As cosmetic chemist Doug Schoon told Nails Magazine, nail dryers should have some silicone materials in them such as dimethicone or cyclomethicone. So instead of paying extra to have your oil-spray targeted towards use on nails and come in a prettier can, just stick to whatever you probably already have in your kitchen.

But if you just want to try something different, here are a few other options to make sure your nails dry in a timely fashion.

Now the only question is: What are you going to do with all that time you saved drying your nails?

Images: Sergi Alexander/Getty Images; Courtesy of Brands

The Best Ways To Make Nails Dry Faster

Top Coat

Drops

Spray