This TikTok-Viral "Shower Toe Polish" Hack Is Utter Chaos — & It Works

In an ideal world, you’d give yourself a salon-quality pedicure every time you painted your nails at home — complete with trimming your cuticles, putting separators between your toes, and delicately applying polish with an expert’s touch.

While these are the steps involved in a salon-worthy pedi, they can be tedious. All that bending and stretching? It can honestly feel like a workout — plus it takes so much time. It’s why creators on TikTok are raving about the “shower toe polish rule,” a technique that makes DIY pedicures so much easier.

Instead of painting each nail with laser precision, the idea is to glob on color like a kid with a crayon. No need to worry about the polish getting on your skin or bleeding onto your cuticles. That’s because, as creator @allyydeell said in a now-viral video, “All baddies [are] painting their toenails [like this] because they know the extra washes off in the shower.”

In another clip, creator @themichelleyu showed her messy application technique for red polish, followed by a shot of what her toenails looked like after a shower. (Hint: they looked perfect.) In her comments, one person said, “Yep, I figured this out by accident 20 years ago. Best hack.” Another wrote, “Wtf, how? It looks professionally done!” Here’s what to know about the game-changing pedicure tip.

The “Shower Toe Polish Rule”

The “shower rule” is all about letting go — and embracing a little chaos — while painting your toenails. Instead of worrying about coloring outside the lines, all you have to do is slap some polish onto your toes, let them dry, and move on with your day.

This technique seems messy at first, but once you take a shower, the extra polish washes right off. Et voila: you have a flawless pedi. If you’re lucky, the dried paint might even peel off your skin on its own, leaving behind a pedicure that looks like it took an hour to do.

This technique saves you time, and it also allows you to change your color quickly. Creator @allyydeell said she paints right over her old color as a way to save time. In her comments, someone said, “I do this, too. It’s a ‘trust the process’ moment.” Another said, “Putting a new color over the old one is so real.”

This hack is perfect if you’re in a rush, don’t want to get out your special tools, or hate twisting yourself into a pretzel just to repaint your toes.

How To Try It

The next time you’re in the mood to paint your toenails, but not in the mood to be precious about it, simply grab a regular nail polish — skip gel formulas, which can irritate the skin — and paint away.

Some people vaguely attempt to keep the polish on their nail, while others paint with abandon — like @nailboo, who practically polished her entire big toe.

Once the polish is on, let it dry fully. From there, you can go about your day, sleep on it, or hop in the shower. The excess should rinse away on its own. If not, a quick rub with a loofah or washcloth should do the trick.

If you’re feeling brave, you can also try the shower rule with your manicure, like creator @dorocubillo. She freehands her polish, lets it dry, and then washes her hands. The excess slides off, leaving behind a shockingly clean manicure.