How to Prevent Nail Polish Stains

Taking Precautions in Your Routine

Apply a clear base coat first to protect your nails. Don’t dive into your colored polish right away—instead, brush a thin layer of base coat onto your nail. This provides a barrier between your regular polish and your nail. If you take a little extra time to apply a clear base coat to each nail, you're much less likely to stain your nails. Apply a thin coat of base coat and let it dry for about 1-2 minutes. Otherwise, your nail polish might take longer to dry. You can apply 2 coats of base coat for extra protection.

Check the ingredients to avoid certain dyes. Read over the ingredients list on the side of your nail polish bottle before you start painting. Certain dyes and chemicals are notorious for staining so if you can avoid those, your nails are far less likely to stain. Ingredients like 5 Lake, along with D&C Red No. 6, 7, and 34 are common offenders when it comes to nail staining.

Limit how often you use nail hardeners. Nail hardeners definitely have their benefits, but they have some chemicals that make your nails look stained. If your fingernails are naturally weak, try strengthening them naturally or switching periodically to a base coat that doesn’t have any hardener in it. Hardening products tend to have formalin, glyoxal, and dimethyl urea.

Opt for lighter nail polishes instead of dark shades. Keep in mind that darker polishes, like brown, purple, and dark red, are more likely to cause staining. The polish is also a lot more obvious and messy if it gets on your fingertips while you’re removing it. Instead, paint your nails with a lighter shade, like white or pastel pink. When you're painting your nails, keep a nail art brush near by, along with some acetone or alcohol. If any of the polish gets onto the skin around your nail, quickly use the brush to clean up the color.

Removing Polish Effectively

Spread cuticle oil on your fingers to avoid polish stains. Dip your fingers in cuticle oil so the nail polish won’t leak and stain your skin as you remove it. Taking a few minutes to apply cuticle oil may save you some extra trouble in the long run! Cuticle oil is a great moisturizer, as well.

Place a soaked cotton ball on your nail for 30 seconds. Dip a cotton ball in some nail polish remover so it’s completely soaked through. Position the cotton ball directly on top of your nail to weaken the polish. Any kind of nail polish remover can work for this.

Slide the cotton ball down the nail to remove the polish. Grip the cotton ball and slide it down towards your fingertip. Remove it completely from your nail—at this point, your nail polish will hopefully be gone. If there’s any leftover, repeat the process with a new cotton ball. Try running a buffer over your nail beds if the pesky stains remain.