How to Make Your Mani Last Longer

Spending time doing your nails can be a great way to practice self-care, but how can you enjoy the fruits of your labor for longer? We’ve rounded up our favorite tips on how to prolong your mani.

Nail Prep

The key to a good, long-lasting manicure is the proper prep.

Use An Orange Wood Stick Or Cuticle Pusher To Push Back Your Cuticles

Pushing back your cuticles will help the nail polish adhere to only the nail plate. This will prevent lifting and peeling in the cuticle area.

Gently Buff The Shine From The Nail Plate

Much like sanding before painting wood, gently buffing the shine from your nails with a fine grit buffing block or nail file will provide a grippier surface for the polish to stick to. Be careful though! A light hand is best as over-buffing can remove too many layers and damage your nail.

Remove Natural Oils

Use nail polish remover, rubbing alcohol or a nail dehydrator to remove any natural oils from your nail plate. This will help the nail polish to stick better and prevent peeling and chipping.

Manicure

During the manicure there’s a handful of things you can do that will prolong your mani.

Use A Good Base Coat

A good base coat will provide a sticky layer, like paint primer, for the nail polish to stick to. Try our Foxology Base Coat  that will set the stage for a polish that lasts and is formulated to work with our Foxology Nail Polish.

Apply Polish In Thin Layers

Apply your nail polish in thin coats in order for your nails to dry more thoroughly. A quick drying polish like Foxology Nail Polish can help speed up the process. Using multiple thinner coats also gives you more control over the polish and will help prevent flooding your nails and cuticles. Nail polish should only be applied to the nail plate in order to prevent peeling and lifting. 

Use A Good Top Coat

A good top coat, like our Foxology Top Coat, prevents chipping and protects the nail. It contains Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Argan Oil, Aloe and Biotic to provide strength and hydration to the nail plate.

Apply All Layers of Polish On the Free Edge 

The free edge of your nail is the edge of the nail that extends past your finger. This area gets a lot of wear so protecting it will extend the life of your mani.

Allow Nails to Fully Cure

Your nails may appear to be dry to the touch, but they are not fully cured underneath. Avoid soaking in water or other activities that are hard on your hands for 1-2 hours until fully cured.

Post-Manicure

After following the above steps, there are a few things you can do after your manicure to help it last as long as possible.

Avoid Soaking Your Hands in Water or Using Harsh Chemicals

Soaking your nails can allow water to seep under the layers of polish and damage your manicure. When cleaning, harsh chemicals and repeated water exposure can also break down the polish. Wearing cleaning gloves when cleaning can help!

Reapply Top Coat

Your top coat can wear down over time with everyday use. Reapplying every few days can add extra protection and shine to your mani. Be sure to thoroughly clean the nail before reapplying your top coat.

Keep Your Nails Moisturized

Apply cuticle oil daily to keep your nails moisturized and prevent breakage and cracking.

Avoid Biting or Picking Your Nails

Biting or picking at your nails can chip your polish and damage your nails. Avoid doing this, if possible

We’ve rounded up a list of our favorite stocking stuffers, all $20 or under, just for you, Fox Fam! Treat yourself or your family and friends to these affordable gifts.

AF Stuff

Nearly everything on the AF site is under $20, but these picks will fit the best in a stocking.

Our recently launched nail polish ($11.49) makes the perfect stocking stuffer. They match our most popular hair colors, dry quickly and are chip-resistant! (Available for contiguous US customers only.)

Looking for something a little more fancy, but super easy to apply? Look no further than our gel nail kits ($17.95). These semi-cured gel nail strips will give you a professional look on a budget.

Our Money Hunny Hair Serum ($16.99) is AF’s best kept secret. This serum is packed with amino acids and oils to repair, smooth, and hydrate hair.

Our Money Hunny Hair Serum is AF’s best kept secret. This serum is packed with amino acids and oils to repair, smooth, and hydrate hair.

Shopping for someone rad and not sure what colors to get? Toss in a sticker pack into their stocking and add in an AF Gift Card, so they can get what they really want.

We <3 Animals

Here at AF, our furry friends deserve gifts too!

We’re dedicated to donating 15% of net profits to help prevent animal cruelty and promote animal welfare. Donate to any of our favorite animal rescues in the name of your pet or gift recipient.

Keep your dog festive and entertained with this Candy Cane Rope Toy ($14.99).

Of course we couldn’t forget about our kitty friends. This rechargeable Flopping Fish Cat Toy ($11.98) creates unpredictable movements so your cat never gets bored.

Self-Care Queens

What’s better than a hot bath on a cold day? A hot bath with a bath bomb on a cold day! These adorable Hello Kitty Bath Bombs ($12) are infused with essential oils to give you a relaxing spa experience.

We all could use working on our negative self-talk. These "I AM" Everything™ Affirmation Cards ($15) will help you quiet the noise and focus on what makes you feel good.

While you’re practicing your affirmations, relax with this Currently Over Thinking Candle, scented with lemongrass and jasmine.

Plant-Based Snacks

What’s a stocking without our favorite vegan snacks!

This Peppermint Bark ($2.95) is vegan and top 9 allergen-free and delicious!

Who says cookies are just for santa? Get this Vegan Cookie Sampler ($14.99) and try a variety of vegan cookies.

This set of Green Apple and Chamomile Lollipops ($6.75) is not only delicious, but the biodegradable stick can be planted after to grow a plant.

Get Crafty!

These gifts are perfect for the DIY creative person in your life.

This Woodland Creature Postcard Kit ($16) is an paintable wooden postcard kit featuring adorable vintage-style animal illustrations.

Know someone who loves tattoos but not ready to commit? Try this Phases of the Moon Temporary Tattoo ($14.70).

Use the power of sunlight to create rich blue prints with this Solar Photography Kit ($14.95).

Wearables

Small wearables are always a good choice for stockings.

Carry your essentials in this secret Hidden Pocket Scrunchie ($20) stash.

The claw clip is back and these Strawberry or Lemon Claw Clips ($7.80) will look great against any AF color!

Wear your rainbows with pride with these Rainbow Mane Socks ($18). Features a rainbow wavy stripe print and rainbow fringe on the back!

Our Foxology nail polish launch event was better than we could have imagined! We were so happy so many of our Fox Fam got to not only try the new polishes, but got to enjoy custom cocktails, receive custom aura readings, throw in a fun AF dyed extension in their hair, eat delicious food from Vegan AF, and get REAL tattoos while they waited to freshen up their looks with our bold and bright polishes!

Our Fox Fam getting real tattoos while waiting for their manicures. A surprise hit!

Lots of cute photo moments and custom aura readings. Why not match your aura to your nails?!

The talented Liz Vargas adding pops of color to everyone's hair.

 Refreshing cocktails and Vegan AF food truck gave everyone bright and tasty meals. Can we talk about how delicious Vegan AF's lemonade was?! I definitely took a bottle home with me!

Of course we can't forget how gorgeous everyone's nails looked. The manicures were certainly the star of the show and everyone couldn't stop talking about how rich and vibrant the colors were. 

As your go-to beauty BFF, we are always looking for new ways to provide the Fox Fam with opportunities for fearless self-expression. Enter FOXOLOGY. Foxology is an extension of Arctic Fox Hair Color consisting of new, exciting categories that will expand on our AF mission for you to live a colorful, carefree life. All Foxology products will of course remain vegan and cruelty-free. 

First up are Foxology Gel Nail Strips. Just like our hair products, our gel nail strips are DIY-friendly and available in a variety of colors and prints. Foxology Gel Nail strips use a multi-layer process featuring foil, glitter, and colors creating a custom, salon gel look that’s easy to achieve on your own, at home. 

The first Foxology drop includes 12 vegan and cruelty free gel strip designs (yes, you read that right 😉) and we will be releasing more over the next year, so keep an eye out! Each gel kit includes 30 nail strips in 11 different sizes AND a gel top coat (!!!) for longer lasting nails (LED lamp sold separately). 

Want more Foxology? Learn more about our latest launch!