10 Foolproof Ways to Make Your Nail Polish Dry Faster—And Get a Flawless Manicure Every Time

A fresh manicure in your favorite shade of nail polish is a great mood booster. There truly is nothing like looking down at your nails and admiring the attention to detail. If you opt for traditional nail polish over gel, allowing proper drying time ensures your nails set with a glossy, smooth finish. Unlike gel, which is instantly cured with UV or LED light, traditional polish needs time to dry, set, and harden. When you cut that time short, smudges and chips are bound to happen.

But if you’re in a hurry and need your polish to dry fast, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to speed up the process. So, InStyle tapped manicurists Renée Oquel Mesa, Mazz Hannah, and Juanita Huber-Millet, for their best tips. Keep scrolling for the secrets to cutting your nail polish drying time in half.

1. Apply Polish in Thin Layers

Applying thin layers is one of the easiest ways to dry nail polish faster. Mesa says when applying nail polish (lacquer), it’s best to work with thin layers to ensure a smooth and even application and faster drying time. Three thin strokes are all you need: make one down the middle of the nail and two on each side of it.

“As a rule of thumb, always wipe off the excess bead of polish from the nail polish brush so the polish doesn’t appear uneven, streaky, or bumpy upon application,” she adds. “This can also help to speed up the overall drying time.” Thicker layers of nail polish take longer to dry than thinner ones, are more prone to smudging, and can dry unevenly, making the polish look thick and gloppy.

2. Wait a Few Minutes Between Each Layer of Polish

Even if you want your nails to dry fast, it is best to give time between applying each layer of polish. Hanna says about one to two minutes should suffice, depending on the type of nail polish used. “Spacing out the time between each layer allows the previously applied layer to dry, facilitating an easier applicator of the next coat,” she explains. “But if you quickly apply one coat and then another, the polish can shift and create an uneven, streaky finish.”

3. Use a Dryer

There’s a reason why almost every nail salon has dryers: they work. “Nail dryers allow the solvents in the polish to evaporate faster,” Hanna says. Just make sure the airflow is positioned at a safe distance from the nails to avoid any accidental smudging. “Six inches away should do the trick,” Huber-Millet adds. “When it comes to the temperature, use a low setting on cool for optimal drying.” A blow dryer set on the coolest setting and a low-to-medium speed works just as well for at-home manicures, so the polish doesn’t smudge or wrinkle.

4. Opt for Quick-Dry Formulas

Quick dry polishes aren’t limited just to top coats. “Quick dry formulas are the unsung heroes of at-home nail treatments and can cut down drying with their speedy solutions,” Huber-Millet says. “These magical products work by evaporating the solvents at lightning speed, leaving the nails touch-dry in no time.”

Hanna also likes quick-dry formulas and finds them a great option to get your nails done quickly and easily. Her favorite one is Dazzle Dry, which won an InStyle Best Beauty Buys award this year. It’s a four-step system she calls “the absolute best quick-drying formula out there. It applies and removes like regular polish, wears similar to a gel, and dries completely solid within five minutes.”

5. Stick With Sheer Formulas and Lighter Shades

The darker the nail polish shade, the longer it takes to dry. So, when time is of the essence, choosing lighter, more transparent shades, which contain fewer pigments, is a surefire way to ensure that they will dry in the nick of time. Hanna explains that lighter colors tend to dry faster than dark and opaque ones because they require fewer layers, and the overall application is thinner.

“Sheer polish is also perfect for when you are in a rush but need a quick mani.” Plus, if you sport a light color on your nails, any imperfections that may arise, like a small nick or smudge, are less likely to be seen than with a darker color.

6. Try an Ice Bath

Strange but true, Hanna explains that dipping the fingertips into ice water constricts the polish molecules, which causes the polish to harden faster. To do it, fill a large bowl with ice and ice-cold water, then carefully submerge the fingertips (after applying a topcoat) into the water for a few minutes without knocking the nails into each other or the ice. To keep the polish from smudging, she says to make sure it is somewhat dry before the bath. If tiny water beads sit on the nail plate when you take your nails out, the nails are dry and good to go. Once done, gently pat dry.

You can also get a similar effect from sticking your hands in a freezer, but Hanna doesn’t find the freezer method to be as effective as an ice water bath. However, keep in mind that ice-drying methods are not totally foolproof and can sometimes only dry the top layer of polish and not the underneath ones, so the nails can still smudge.

7. Layer on Drying Spray or Drops

Nail polish drying topcoat sprays and drops don’t technically cut down on drying time like so many people think they do. Instead, Hanna explains that these products add a protective layer over the polish. “They can give the illusion that the polish is dry when it may not be, so be careful with these,” says Hanna.

8. Do a Dry Manicure

When time is of the essence, there are a few safe-to-skip manicure steps so the polish dries a little faster. Mesa says to bypass soaking the nails in water and instead do a dry manicure. “A wet or oily nail plate can prevent the nail polish from adhering to the nail plate, which can cause chipping. Also, skip applying lotions and oils until the nails have completely dried.”

9. Reach for Hairspray

According to experts, use hairspray as a last-ditch effort—and always with caution. The idea is that it can speed up the drying time of your nail polish. But here’s the catch: only an aerosol hairspray works. And it will only work on the upper layers of nail polish, so if a top coat was the last layer to go on, that’s the only one that will dry faster, so you’ll still need to be super careful not to smudge your freshly painted nails.

10. Skip the Top Coat and Base Coat

Skipping these essential manicure steps can lead to quicker dry time because there are fewer layers of nail polish to dry. That said, top coat and base coat are super important and work, so try to find a formula that includes a two-in-one or three-in-one formula.

Does cuticle oil make nail polish dry quicker? Not technically, but it creates a slick layer over the nail polish so it’s less likely to smudge while it dries. This tip works best after you’ve let your nails dry for around five minutes or so. Apply the cuticle oil generously so it coats the entire nail.