27 Nail Hacks For The Perfect DIY Manicure

1. Use ice water to dry your nails in three minutes.

2. Fix a broken nail using a teabag and nail glue.

3. Take off your nail polish in less than 5 minutes using only one cotton ball.

4. Give yourself a gel manicure.

5. Take apart a loofah and use the netting to get a fishnet manicure look.

6. Make a dotter for your nails.

7. Spray nails with oil spray to set your manicure and prevent smudges.

8. When applying a top coat, run the brush along the top edge (non cuticle side) of the nail.

9. Whiten your nails after removing the dark polish.

10. Erase mistakes by dipping a tiny brush into nail polish remover.

11. Follow this diagram to imitate how professional manicurists apply nail polish.

12. The first coat of chunky glitter polishes should be dabbed, not brush on. This will help to distribute the glitter evenly and get the big chunks where you want them. If all else fails, use a toothpick to move the chunk of glitter around .

13. Apply multiple thin coats instead of one thick coat.

14. Apply Aquaphor or Vaseline to cuticle to protect your skin from errant nail polish strokes, but be very careful. Any ointment that gets on the nail will prevent the polish from sticking.

15. Here's how you remove a gel manicure at home. Get the instruction here....

16. Easily paint a heart with a toothpick.

17. Use Band-Aids (the sheer kind) to get perfect French tips.

18. Use nail polish thinner (not nail polish remover) to revive thick, goopy bottles of nail polish.

19. The smart way to store your nail polish:

20. Fix a smudges by licking it. If you accidentally smudge a nail while it's still wet, you can easily fix it by licking your finger and gently smoothing the smudge out (you can even use your tongue to smoothe). The saliva reacts with the nail polish to soften and blend the surface. (remember - lick but don't eat)

21. Soak nails in a solution of water and white vinegar before applying nail polish. You could also just wipe your nails using a paper towel dampened with vinegar. Vinegar will strip the nails of any oils or moisturizers left over from  polish remover in order to prevent bubbles. It helps the polish adhere better, therefore prolonging your manicure. 

22. Use VapoRub for nail infections.

23. Apply thick hand cream before removing polish if you have pale skin. 

24. Try a rubberized base coat to make your polish last longer.

25. If your nail polish is B3F, make sure your base coat and top coat are too. BFF stands for "free from formaldehyde, DBP & Toluene", a standard which many new nail polishes have adopted. If you've ever woken up the morning after a  manicure with smudges and dents on your nails, this could be the culprit. If the top coat isn't B3F, if will dry much faster than the polish underneath.

26. If the air is humid, wait extra long for your nails to dry. Humidity can do all sorts of nasty things to a manicure including the dreaded bubbling issue. If it's extra humid outside, make sure you wait twice as long before doing anything that might put dents in your nails.

27. Don't sit near a fan. You might think it'll help the nail polish dry faster, but the drafty air will just make bubbles and ruin your polish.