If you’re one of those people who begin to shake uncontrollably as soon as you sit down to paint your fingernails or toenails, take heart in the fact that you’re not alone. At-home manicures and pedicures are notorious for giving people the shakes in a way coffee could never achieve. But instead of worrying about keeping nail polish on your nails and off your skin, you can resort to a very simple nail trick to help keep your DIY polish sessions looking professional: Use Vaseline.
Yep, you read that right. All you have to do is take a Q-Tip and apply the petroleum jelly product onto your cuticles and surrounding skin to stop the polish from sticking to those areas. Just make sure that when you’re putting the Vaseline onto your fingers or toes that you avoid getting any on the nails themselves, as the nail polish won’t stick anywhere where the Vaseline has been applied. (If you do accidentally get some on your nails, don’t fret — just use a Q-Tip soaked in rubbing alcohol or polish remover to clean it off the nail).
After applying the Vaseline to your cuticles and surrounding skin, paint your nails as you normally would (which will most likely happen without the usual nerve-wraked shaking, you might notice). Wait for your polish to dry and then either wash the Vaseline from your nails with warm water or wipe them clean with a cloth. And voila: Perfectly polished nails that don’t look like a four-year-old painted them!