Make Them Last! How to Extend the life of your manicure after leaving the Salon

manicure at luxury salon

What do we want? Glamourous Nails! How Do we get them? By getting an amazing manicure from a luxury salon and spa like Ethos Day Spa.

The real question is however: How do you extend the life of your manicure, to keep those gorgeous nails looking outstanding for longer? 

We’ve got the best guidance for making your manicure last and how to best care for your newly manicured nails with nail aftercare advice.

Here we go! 

Do’s and Don’ts of Manicure Aftercare

DO: Get a waterless manicure. Not only is a waterless manicure better for the environment, but it provides a safe, relaxing, and ecologically conscious atmosphere for both you and the nail service providers. Sanitation practices are above and beyond with a waterless manicure, which offers an opportunity to better care for all guests, providing a service for those who might not be able to receive a nail soak due to health reasons.  

Getting your nails and cuticles soaked during a visit to the salon may bring on the warm fuzzies for a hot minute!  But it can cause the nail to expand and when polish is applied to the nail, you’ll be left with an abundance of chips and cracks on your newly manicured nails. This is due to your nails not having enough time to shrink back to their normal size. It’s best to go Water Less! 

Ethos Offers:

Ethos Manicure: An opportunity to reset and put your mind at ease. Enjoy a series of three hot towel wraps, a nourishing oil massage, and a balm including additional cuticle care, nail shaping, trimming, and polish.

Ethos Dry Manicure: This is an express version of the Ethos Manicure. This service includes a hand rub with lotion, cuticle care, trimming, and nail shaping, with a polish color of your choice. 

DO: Refresh your manicure with topcoat every two days. Preferalbly a natural-based topcoat, this will be a less toxic option. It’s typically recommended to apply a thin layer of topcoat to an aging manicure. This helps to re-stabilize the polish and restores shine, which can make that just from the salon manicure last longer.

DO: Wear gloves when washing dishes or cleaning. Hot water plus detergent is a disastrous combination for any freshly manicured nails. Protecting your hands from hot/warm water, harsh household cleaners, and any heavy-duty work is always a good idea, but it is an especially important part of protecting your newly polished nails. 

DO: Use natural based cuticle oil! Regular use of cuticle oil is highly recommended on unmanicured nails to provide moisture to dry and broken cuticles while strengthening your nails. When you incorporate that into your daily routine with your freshly manicured nails it glamorizes your hands and nails.  

DON’T: Expose your nails to certain foods or spices. Beets and turmeric are intensely colored food and spice examples that unfortunately stain everything they encounter, which includes your nails. Whenever possible, use gloves when preparing these ingredients and it’s advised to use a utensil when consuming them.

DON’T: Indulge in long, hot baths and skip the steam room! Hot water, specifically soaking in hot water or embodying your new mani in the luxury of a steam room can be lethal to your manicure.

The hot heat, steam and moisture can cause your nails to soften, giving way to that beautiful polish, invoking the enamel to loosen, chip and peel away. Your nails being submerged in water for a significant amount of time can result in moisture seeping in beneath the surface of the polish, which can cause peeling and flaking prematurely. Nails may seem to be firm to the touch, but they are made of several layers that can absorb water when submerged for long periods of time or in hot water. Your nails can absorb the hot water in the bath and then when they dry, they contract. This expanding and contracting can be disadvantageous to your manicure.

It’s best to Skip the Hot Bath and Steam Room!

DON’T: Pick at your Polish! Picking a peeling mani is so bey

ond detrimental to your overall nail health and wellbeing.

Picking off your polish can take off layers of your actual nail with it, leaving the nail weak and frayed at the tip. 

It can take up to 3 months for your natural nail to grow from root to tip. If you peel off your polish, you’re going to have to live with nail damage for a few months after.

DON’T: Bite your nails! This is a sure way to destroy your perfectly pampered patties! This is first and foremost super unhealthy to ingest nail polish fragments. Biting your nails is unhealthy internally. On an external level it single handedly chips away your beautifully polished nails faster than you can say “Manicure”!

Achieving a long-lasting manicure requires attention and proper care at every step of the way. From pre-prepping your nails before you visit the salon to picking the best quality polish and finishing with top notch post-care maintenance. Following the outlined Do’s and Don’ts can be key in enhancing the longevity of your manicure and nail health overall.

It’s advised to start with ensuring your nails are clean and properly prepped, while choosing and using high-quality products. It's imperative to stay mindful of the techniques being used throughout the entire manicure process, to guarantee you receive the best manicure results applicable to the longevity of your manicure.

Be gentle with your hands, moisturize them regularly, and protect them from damaging situations. Making your manicure last longer ultimately comes down to your dedication to your overall nail care. With effort and attention, you can prolong the life of your manicure and enjoy gorgeous nails for days and even sometimes weeks!

References

1. manicure-dos-and-donts-nail-article. (n.d.). https://www.essie.com/inspiration/tips-and-trends/manicure-dos-and-donts-nail-article 

2. Celletti, E. (2025, January 27). How to make nail polish last longer, according to manicurists. Byrdie. https://www.byrdie.com/how-to-make-nail-polish-last-longer-4770229 

   
   

3. Pusag, D. (2024, April 16). How to Make your manicure Last Longer: 8 Proven tips for Long lasting nails. Maniology. https://maniology.com/blogs/maniology-blog/how-to-make-your-manicure-last-longer 
   

4. Manicure and Pedicure | Nail Salon Spa Grand Rapids, MI. (n.d.). Ethos Day Spa. https://www.ethosdayspa.com/manicures-pedicures