How many times you applied nail polish to your nails and go to sleep to find out that you smudged your polish the following morning? This is mostly caused by not allowing enough time for your nails to dry before bedtime. This would leave you with the question, “How long does it take for nail polish to dry?”

The answer to the question, how long does it take for nail polish to dry, would depend on the number of coats you applied and the thickness of the polish. Under normal circumstances, a thin single coat would take up to one hour to dry completely, whereas two or three coats of nail polish would take two or more hours. On the other hand, if you want to accelerate the drying process, you can use a variety of techniques like a hand nail dryer, applying cold water or a thinner coat.

The following techniques below will go into these details and more to give you a better idea of how to answer the question: how long does it take for nail polish to dry?

How long does it take for nail polish to dry?

Heat & air nail dryer

A nail dryer is specifically created for reducing drying time to as low as 30 minutes. A hand nail dryer is often used by professionals to speed up drying time for their clients. If you are applying multiple layers of polish, the nail dryer can be used for each layer to dry them individually. A nail dryer also helps to seal the polish for a better finish.

Applying thin coats

If you want your nail polish to dry quickly, another choice is to apply thinner coats. You can go for multiple coats but make sure that they are thin. After applying each coat, wait 2 minutes to let the layer dry before proceeding onto the next one.

Using cold water

Very few people know that cold water would not damage your layer of nail polish but rather help with drying them quickly. Keep a bowl of ice water near you.

After applying a layer of nail polish, wait for one minute and then submerge your nails in cold water for a period of up to 2 minutes. After applying the polish, keep the hands away from hot water for a period of at least six hours.

Drying spray

Many times when you are in a hurry to be somewhere and are applying polish at the last moment, instead of just searching for quicker ways for the nail polish to dry, you can reach for a can of a nail polish drying spray. These are specifically created for this purpose. It would save you valuable minutes.

Cuticle oil

Cuticle oil does not directly help in the drying process. However, it does provide an extra seal which protects your nails, as well as the nail polish on it, from the environment outside. This will enable the nail polish to dry quicker.

So, if you are trying to find the answer to the question, “How long does it take for nail polish to dry?”, these are some of the methods which you can start using right away for quicker dry times before retiring for the night.