Why Are Your Nails Chipping with Top Coat? Causes & Solutions

Question
So, I absolutely love to paint my nails. I have every nail color imaginable lol. Anyway, I use a top coat everytime I do my nails and I've noticed that when I use a top coat it makes the nail polish chip more quicker that usual. Is this normal? And if it isn't do you have any tips on how to get my nails to stop chipping so quickly? (:

Answer
Hi Mariah

Sounds very frustrating for you, not being able to keep your polish on with out chipping.
After 16 years of being a nail specialist, I so know where you are coming from,polish normally lasts anywhere from 3 to 5 days.I am not sure why it is chipping when you wear top coat. Let me tell you some reasons that polish chips, the number one reason is an unclean surface,when getting ready to polish you need a completely clean surface, no soap residue, no oils, no old polish are examples. OPI has a great product called Chip Skip that you apply before base coat, 2 coats of color and top coat. Also when polishing you need to tip the nails and corners with each layer, this is the most common area of product break down. Also you can apply top coat everyday if you need to. Don't change your polish more then once a week as this will over dry the nail out and that also can cause product break down. To keep your nails healthy to accept polish you also need to use a cuticle oil daily to keep the nail supple. I am not sure if this applies, if your top coat is old or dis colored I would throw it out and get a new bottle. Professional product does tend to hold up better then your drug store brands. I know that this is a lot of info and no definitive answer. One last suggestion you can always go see a professional and take your products with you, have them polish you and see how they hold up for you. I wish you the best of luck with your polish. If you every decide that reg polish just isn't working, go and try the new gel polishes that last 10 days to 2 weeks.

http://www.opi.com/