I just read this and am going to try it soon. I love painted nails, but they chip so fast and I hate waiting for them to dry. But I just read this article that right after you paint them, submerge them in ice water for 3 minutes. One article said to get the ice out before submersion. Another said it was soncold, she had to keep pulling her fingers out evetybdo often and only made it to 90 seconds but her nails were dry.
I’m going to give this one a try. Anyone done this? My nails are a nice length having just had gel nails taken off.
I haven’t tried that successfully, (and hate cold fingers) but I’m impatient and at least 5 years ago I started only buying InstaDri nail polish. It dries very quickly. I’ve also gone to wearing only two or three colors, so the decision is easy. I used to wear OPI and loved the color selection, but it took forever to dry and I would invariably do something to dent or smudge it even though it seemed to be dry. InstaDri usually lasts a week without chipping for me.
As a gift I bought my wife a gel nail color kit, which has a UV light thing that hardens the top coat (I think I got it at Sephora for her), and she said it lasts a long time. Wasn’t cheap, was around 100 bucks, but she really likes the way it works.
I use the gel polish on my fingers, it lasts so much longer and no waiting. You can get a starter kit at walmart for about 30 bucks with the light.
I like the Sally Hansen base and top coat (#1 and #3, they’re called), they work better than some of the other ones. They’re all interchangeable, as well. I have gel colors I got from Sally Beauty that work with the Sally Hansen stuff.
My toes are regular nail polish, though. I don’t think I could hold them in ice water for three minutes, but I don’t usually smudge them, either.
Ok…I just tried the ice water. It is still a little tacky after 3 minutes, so better than just sitting here but definitely not dry. Probably won’t do it again. I have the Sally Hansen miracle gel without the uv light. It does last longer, but it still takes awhile to dry. I’m going to try those drops…can’t use them on the gel though.
The Sally Hansen miracle gel is not really gel polish. If it says no uv light needed, it’s not the same stuff. The UV light cures the gel nailpolish in about 30 seconds, versus the lacquer nail polish having to dry. If anything, I would think chilling the polish would make it dry slower. I used to keep my lacquers in the fridge to keep them from going gooey. I just use a hot hairdryer on my toes to dry it faster.
From the thread title I thought this was going to be about helping a parent with their kid’s science project on how conductivity changes based on temperature as measured by electricity flowing through iron nails when you add ice to the water.
This is not a new trick. My mother used to “cure” her polish this way, or stick her hands in the freezer. I get mine done at a salon and have acrylic nails but get regular polish-it stays on fine in between visits. But the cold water or freezer thing does work vs. air drying.