Don't put the sticky part on your toenail. That is why I criss-cross them with the cotton part on the nail. Put one bandaid over the top of your nail and one around the nail to really hold it in place.

OP here. Thanks for the tips! Yeah, the bandaid sounds like an obvious thing, I guess I thought that the adhesive would dull or chip the polish but I'll give it a try. I do bring my own color about half the time, but I only have a handful of colors at home and I like to experiment with new colors, so I do use the salon bottles too a bit. They usually put bottom coat, two coats of color and top coat, and finishing spray. My pedis easily last a month when I only wear sandals, but the closed-toes are killing it every time. Thanks for the tips, girls! Will try them and report back!

The polish on my big toes does rub off when I wear certain flats. I just put 2 band-aids (criss-cross) on my big toe when I wear them. Its really not rocket science ...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a bit rough on my pedicures (not from closed-toe shoes though), and what has helped me recently is using the sally hansen quick-dry polishes. Those things stay on, even when you try to take them off, they stay on. Unfortunately I am hard on my feet, but I can get that color to last almost 2 weeks, which is roughly 1.6 weeks better than when I use other polish.

Is it a Sally Hansen topcoat, or color polish, that works?

I use one layer of a color polish (2 if I did a crappy job with the first layer, but 1 works better). I'm sure there are some horrid chemicals in it, but it stays like nothing else.

Bring your own polish. Not only will you be guaranteed of its quality but you will have some on hand for touch ups.

put cuticle oil on the nail. not allow but it will allow for the nail not to smudge or chip. see if it works

I had this happen once, and a friend told me that some nail salons put thinner in old bottles of nail polish to make them last longer, and that's what makes the polish rub off, even long after it should be dry. Now, when I pick out my polish color, I make sure to choose a bottle that looks new. Hasn't happened since.

What I use is Dr Scholls moleskin. It is adhesive on one side, soft on the other.

I cut a piece and attach it to the inside of my shoe - this makes it so that my toenails now rub against the soft surface, not the inside of my shoe.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a bit rough on my pedicures (not from closed-toe shoes though), and what has helped me recently is using the sally hansen quick-dry polishes. Those things stay on, even when you try to take them off, they stay on. Unfortunately I am hard on my feet, but I can get that color to last almost 2 weeks, which is roughly 1.6 weeks better than when I use other polish.

Is it a Sally Hansen topcoat, or color polish, that works?

I'm a bit rough on my pedicures (not from closed-toe shoes though), and what has helped me recently is using the sally hansen quick-dry polishes. Those things stay on, even when you try to take them off, they stay on. Unfortunately I am hard on my feet, but I can get that color to last almost 2 weeks, which is roughly 1.6 weeks better than when I use other polish.

I am the PP, I wanted to add that wearing a light shade on my toes has helped as it is less noticeable and/or having the color on hand at home to do touch-ups.

OP, this happens to be ALL the time! So annoying. I don't have a solution, but am interested in any advice others may give on the topic. I thought about this in my own case, and I think it has to do with the way I lift my toes when I walk. I lift them and then it rubs on the top of my shoe and therefore takes off some of the polish.

It's never happened to me, either. My pedi's can last a month no matter what shoes I wear. Are they cleaning your nails off with alcohol before applying polish? I know that once they didn't do a good job of that on mine, and one whole nail lost its polish a day or two later.

What exactly happens to the polish - does it chip? I've never had this problem. Maybe an extra layer of topcoat or two might help?

How do you maintain your pedi when wearing closed-toe shoes? I like wearing cute ballet flats in the summer occasionally, but they always, ALWAYS ruin my pedicure. Even just one day in a closed-toe shoe without hose (who the hell wears hose in the summer anyway), and the pedi is gone. Very frustrating. What do you do? Any tricks?