How Can I Extend the Life of my Nail Wraps?

Nail wraps require very little nail prep to make them last up to 10 days, but what if you love your wrap so much you want them to last even longer? We did the research to help you get the longest life out of your favorite wraps.

We are often asked how we can make our wraps last as long as possible. Personally we love to change our wraps often because we want to try all the designs but we also know that sometimes we find a wrap we love so much we want them to last forever. So, like encasing a treasure in resin, we can effectively encase a wrap in a base and top coat to extend the longevity up to three weeks!  

So, here are a few tips we have learned along the way.

When to Apply Nail Wraps for Best Results:

The best time to apply the wraps is before bed, why? You want the nail to be dry and to stay dry for a couple of hours to help it “cure” to the nail. This doesn’t mean you can’t apply them at other times of the day, but trying to apply them after washing dishes isn’t the best time, here is why; When your nails are wet they absorb small amounts of water, if you apply the wrap while the nail is damp, the wrap will not have the best adhesion, so maybe don’t plan for your home manicure after a hot shower or hand washing a load of dishes. 

Preparing Nails Before Applying Nail Wraps:

There is a thin layer of cuticle that attaches to the nail as it grows out, you’re going to want to remove that with a cuticle pusher or cuticle removing solution so that the wrap makes direct contact with the nail. Our favorite cuticle pushing tool is the metal cuticle pusher with the scoop on the end, the wooden and rubber cuticle pusher also works well especially if you use them with a cuticle removing solution like Blue Cross Cuticle Remover or Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. The rubber cuticle pusher also doubles as a smoothing tool for helping remove bubbles when applying your wraps. 

If you find your wrap lifting along the edge (which generally happens after wearing them for a really long time or if the nail wasn’t cleaned and dried well enough before application), we suggest using a paint brush dipped in nail polish remover to carefully paint under the lifting edge, this will dissolve a thin layer of the glue so that it re-attaches in the area that may be catching.

Base Coats and Top Coats

Now onto the base coats and top coats, base coats work best to help the wrap stick to the nail while top coats serve to protect the wrap from moisture and damage. So we compared some of the best base coats and top coats available.

While any base coat will encourage an extra strong adhesion, we believe that Orly Bonder Rubberized Basecoat is hands down the best base coat to get wraps to adhere for the longest possible time. Some other great base coats to try include: 

OPI Nail Envy - this base is great for protecting and strengthening nails.

Essie Here To Stay Base Coat.

Top coats are a little more difficult, the wrong top coat can cause wraps to shrink, bubble or sometimes even melt. We decided to try and compare top coats so you don’t have to, here are our top picks:

CND Vinylux Long Wear Top Coat.

Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

OPI plumping Volumizing Top Coat

Nail Files

Not every nail file is created equally, the glass nail files are our favorite! They are so luxurious and effective, they work by smoothing and adhering the wrap to the nail effortlessly, plus you can wash and reuse them over and over without them dulling, if you haven’t tried the glass file, we encourage you to try one out, you won’t be disappointed.

That's a ... Wrap

So as a recap, it is important to apply your nail wraps to clean and dry nails. Using a base and top coat helps seal the wrap in a bubble of protection so your wraps last as long as possible. We hope this helps you enjoy your wraps even more! Stay tuned as we are always looking for new and exciting products to try and compare so that our wraps continue to amaze and impress you as much as they do us.