What Is “Floating On” Nail Polish?
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Updated 2024.07.12. This page contains affiliate links and this site earns from qualifying purchases made through these sponsored links.
Floating on nail polish is a nail polish application technique used to apply sheer polishes that have a tendency to show streaks.
When floating on nail polish, you use as little pressure as possible when applying the formula and hold the brush parallel to the nail as you paint on your polish.
You “float” the brush over the nail as you apply it.
The goal of floating on nail polish is to eliminate the potential drag marks in your finished manicure, which can appear when too much pressure is added, or when polish is applied with too steep of a brush angle.
Photo of pink and blue clouds by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels
How To Float On Your Nail Polish:
Thoroughly shake or roll your bottle to mix the formula
Get an ample amount of polish on your brush
Hold the brush parallel to your nail bed
Using feather-light pressure, gently touch the brush to the nail bed
Dot a bead of polish at the top of the nail bed
Gently pull the bead of polish down the nail bed
Repeat on each side of the nail, dipping your brush back in your polish bottle as needed
Photo of pink and blue clouds by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels What Is “Floating On” Nail Polish?
To recap, the key points of the floating on technique are that:
Use pillow light pressure to apply your polish
Hold the brush like you are floating it over the nail to apply the polish
This technique is effective at reducing and even eliminating streaks in sheer polishes, even when performed on ridged nails.
The one caveat with the floating on technique is that it can sometimes apply a thicker coat of polish, so to prevent bubbling, give your nail polish a slightly longer time to dry between coats.
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