Here’s How to Save Your Nail Polish Collection from the Heat

Forget frizzy, sweaty hair; the heat and humidity can also wreak havoc on your nail polish collection and DIY at-home manicures. A thinner, soup-like consistency, color changes, and a bubbly, uneven, final finish, are a few of the major polish struggles that summer can bring if you aren't taking care of your polishes

To keep you from having to replace all of your favorite shades at the end of summer, we turned to Sarah Gibson Tuttle, founder of L.A.'s cult-favorite nail salon Olive & June, for her tips on how to preserve all of your polishes in the heat.

First things first: you're not imagining it, your go-to polish shade really has changed color now that the weather is hot and steamy. "Hot weather can cause lifting or color change depending on the heat and humidity (think Palm Springs type heat or east coast humidity in August)," explains Tuttle. "In addition, the condition of your nails will dictate how well your polish stays."

When your favorite polish has separated and looks thinner in the bottle, don't toss it just yet. Tuttle says fixing it might be a simple as giving it a good shake. But, if the polish still doesn't look right after its settled back down, she says it's time to replace it. "The cleaner the polish [formula], the more it separates, so separation is not necessarily a bad thing! But, if a polish won't go back to a consistent-paint like texture, it's time for a new bottle," she says.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there may be a quick-fix for the nail polishes in your collection that have dried up. Tuttle suggests adding a little acetone or nail polish thinner to the bottle as a last resort before throwing it away.