DIP POWDER NAILS: 5 Tips for healthy nails

Dip powder manicures can be tough on your nails.

How to safely get dip powdered nails:

  1. Leave your cuticles alone.
    When you or your nail technician cuts (or pushes back) your cuticles, this can lead to a serious infection.
  2. Skip the “double dip.”
    When you get dip powder nails, you usually place each finger into various containers of powder. When you dip your nails into a container that other people have dipped their fingers into, you are double dipping. If someone who had a nail infection or wart already dipped their fingers into these containers, you can pick up these germs.

Make sure your technician does one of the following to keep healthy nails:

  • Pours each powder from its original container into a disposable container and then throws away any unused powder.
  • Sprinkles the powder from the original containers onto your nails.
  1. Get one dip nail your first time to test for any allergic reactions.
    Some people develop an allergic reaction to the dip nail products. An allergic reaction may occur hours to days after your manicure. You can get regular nail polish on the rest of your nails. Then wait a week.

Look for:

Swelling, itching, or discolored skin around the nail

Fluid-filled bumps on the skin around the nail

Nail lifts up

4. Give your nails time to recover after each dip powder manicure.
It’s not dangerous to apply a dip powder every month. However, to remove these manicures, you need to soak your nails in 100% acetone, which can damage your nails.

The acetone removes more than the nail color. It peels off layers of nail and thins the nails over time. The acetone can also irritate the surrounding skin. So skip a month for optimal nail health and use regular polish that month.

5. Look at your bare nails between manicures.
If you like having color on your nails most of (or all) the time, that’s okay. Just be sure to check your nails for changes each time the color comes off.

While your nails are bare, look for the following:

Nail lifting up

Skin around one or more nails looks swollen or discolored

Thickening nail

Discolored nail

Any change to the skin around a nail, to the nail, or the skin under a nail

If you see any issues:

  • Remove all nail color and leave your nails bare for 2 to 4 weeks. Many nail problems clear up or begin to grow out within this time.
  • If you still have a nail problem after 4 weeks, see a board-certified dermatologist. Board-certified dermatologists specialize in diagnosing and treating conditions that affect the skin, hair, and nails. They have the expertise to tell you what’s happening to your nail and what can help.

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