Easy At-Home Ways To Get A Matte Manicure
Perfectly manicured nails are a way to instantly upgrade your style and make you look your best. While the salon is a great option, it takes time and money, which is why we love a good at-home manicure. It is a more affordable, but highly effective way to get your nails looking fabulous in no time.
Once normal to just get a simple manicure, with Instagram and Pinterest now at our fingertips, we are making the most of our manicures. From Hailey Bieber's glazed donut nails to gold accents, we love a unique manicure. One of the most popular manicure looks is a matte finish, no matter the color or design. In fact, nail artist Laura Malarkey tells Who What Wear that matte polish "really elevates any nail look and brings that sweater-weather vibe to the fingertips."
Most of the shades we buy at the drugstore and keep in our cabinets have a high-shine finish, which is unfortunate if you're looking for a more muted and matte look. Luckily, there are a few simple ways to get a matte manicure at home.
Steam your nails
This option is very effective but requires extreme caution as hot steam is involved. Instead of letting your nails dry as usual, you instead steam them with a facial steamer for 20 to 30 seconds immediately after painting (via YouTube). Be sure to make sure the sides of your nails get steamed, but don't leave your nails over the steam for too long in order to avoid condensation build-up or burns. Steaming your nails while they are still wet reduces the polish's shine and instead leaves them with a matte finish.
Add cornstarch
Powder, such as cornstarch, removes the shine from nail polish and leaves it with a matte appearance. Mix a small amount of cornstarch in a bowl with your polish before applying it to your nails. "I suggest mixing it in small amounts in a separate container instead of mixing it in your full bottle of polish," celebrity manicurist Sarah Bland tells Byrdie. This will give you the option to still have high-shine polish in case you want it later. You can also use a separate nail brush other than the one you put back in your polish bottle to avoid any chance of transforming the entire bottle.
Buff off the surface
A quick and easy hack to remove the shine from your manicure is to simply buff off the surface. Wait for your nails to completely dry, and then gently begin buffing with a buffer block (via YouTube). Avoid over-buffing as this may take off more than just the top layer. In general, this is a great way to not only get matte nails but also give your at-home manicure an overall more professional look, as it will make your polish more even.
Use a powdered blush
Powder is a great way to get matte nails, and blush can do the trick particularly well. Blush holds pigment that can be transferred into clear or white polish to create the perfect shade of nail polish for you. Whether you really want your nails to match your cheeks or you just really love the pink of your blush, this trick is simple. Just mix white or clear nail polish with small amounts of blush until you finally achieve your desired shade (via YouTube). Then, apply as normal. This will leave you with beautiful matte nails in your own unique shade.
Use a matte top coat
If you are at the drugstore or a beauty supply store anytime soon, consider picking up a matte top coat. It may sound obvious, but it truly is the easiest way to get a matte manicure at home as it requires no extra work. Just switch out your normal top coat for a matte version. Nail artists such as Winnie Huang still swear this is the best way to go (via Byrdie). Although other hacks work in a pinch, a matte top coat will leave you with a great finish and nail protection so your manicure lasts for weeks.