How Long Do Buffed Nails Stay Shiny? Make The Buff Last Longer!

Do you want to make your nails look better? Whether you have acrylic, gel nails, or natural nails, they can look better with some added shine. 

To do that, you simply need to buff your nails. But how long do buffed nails stay shiny?

The length of time buffed nails stay shiny depends on the environment you expose your nails to. Depending on your work and daily tasks, you might accidentally scratch or damage them, which could affect their shine. 

You could also produce oils on your nails. Dust and debris could likely stick to the oils, making your nails a little less shiny than they were right after buffing. 

Let’s talk more about buffing your nails the right way so that it becomes shiny and stays shiny for as long as possible. 

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Why Buff Your Nails At All? What Is Buffing Nails All About?

There are so many products meant to improve the way your nails look. One of the basic things you do with your nails is to clean them. But after cleaning your nails what do you do next?

Do you apply a regular nail lacquer, gel polish, gel nails, dip powder nails, or acrylic nails? There are so many types of nails out there!

No matter what you choose, one of the things that you might want to do is to make your nails shiny. 

When you use dip powder, gel nails, or acrylics, there could be top coats that you can use to make your nails shiny. You can also use clear nail polish over your natural nails just to make them look shiny. 

However, there is another thing that you can do and that is to buff your nails. Buffing your nails involve using a buffer that you rub against your nails to make them look shiny. 

When buffing your nails, you can smooth out the jagged edges and smoothen the surface of the natural nail or artificial nail. This will help prevent snags and possibly nail breakage.

The buffing process can also help remove any superficial stains plus it makes them shiny. 

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How Long Do Buffed Nails Stay Shiny?

Buffing the nails is a great way to add shine to the nails without doing too much work. You can simply clean your nails, trim them and then buff them for additional shine. That is a quick way to make them look well-kept. 

The added shine makes your nails look like there is a clear polish over them even if there isn’t. However, that shine will not last forever. How long your nails remain shiny after buffing them will depend on what you expose your nails to. 

The reason your nails look shiny after it has been buffed is that the surface is very smooth after buffing. The debris on top of your nails is removed and all that is left is a shiny, smooth surface. 

The reason your nails look shiny after it has been buffed is that the surface is very smooth after buffing. The debris on top of your nails is removed and all that is left is a shiny, smooth surface. 

How long that surface stays smooth will depend on what you do. Sometimes, your daily activities could cause tiny scratches on the nails. There could also be unevenness because of what you expose your nails to. 

Nevertheless, you can still use the buffer again on your nails. Most will suggest that buffing your nails once a month is enough, but some prefer to do it weekly as part of their nail upkeep and cuticle care regime.

Most will suggest that buffing your nails once a month is enough, but some prefer to do it weekly as part of their nail upkeep and cuticle care regime. 

No matter how much time you let pass before buffing your nails, make sure that you are careful. It is possible to harm your nails and the surrounding tissues if it is not properly done.

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The Proper Way To Buff Your Nails

When buffing your nails, you have to remember to use a nail buffer and not a nail file. Nail files are too coarse to buff the nails especially if you are buffing your natural nails. Using a nail file in this way will ruin your nails. 

There are many different nail buffers  available in the market. Usually, when you touch the surface of the buffers, they will feel smoother than nail files.

After obtaining a suitable nail buffer, here’s what you should do. 

Step 1: Trim And Shape The Nails

The first step that you should do is to trim your nails to the length that you prefer. Next is to use your nail file to shape it into the shape that you’d like. Nail files are more efficient in shaping nails, but you shouldn’t buff with them. 

Step 2: Use The Coarse Side Of The Buffer First

Usually, buffers have multiple grain levels on the various sides. The first side you should use on your nails is the one with a coarser surface. This will easily remove the rough or loose nail bits. 

Additionally, the coarse side of the buffer can also help smooth the ridges on your nails if you have them. 

When using your buffer, make sure that you do not buff your cuticles. Buffing the cuticles can damage them and can cause your nails to grow incorrectly. If there are tiny cuts in the cuticles due to the buffer, it could cause an infection. 

Buffing the cuticles can damage them and can cause your nails to grow incorrectly.

Step 3: Use The Smooth Side Of Your Buffer

Finally, after shaping your nails and removing the rough bits, you can now use the smooth side of your nail buffer. This is where the shine comes from. 

When using this buffing side, you can add a little more pressure than you did with the coarse side. That’s because it is less likely to damage your nails. Additionally, putting pressure while buffing with the smoothest part will make your nails shinier. 

As above, you should also avoid your cuticles even if you are using the smoothest part of the buffer. Take a look at your finished nail and compare it with the rest, you’ll notice that it is shinier and smoother. 

It takes practice to buff the nails and to properly position the buffer to reach all areas without buffing the cuticles. Take your time to do this, particularly if you’re new to the process.