Facts to Change Your Manicure
Posted on April 02 2019
As Helen Gilmore, Founder of SLIXIR® Hand & Polish Cream sat listening to yet another client tell her that she needed a break from nail polish she became more and frustrated. How has this myth gained so much traction? So, here at SLIXIR we know a thing or two about nail care and we’re here to bust some nail myths and share facts that will change your manicures forever!
NAIL FACT NO. 1
Nails don’t breathe.
The nail doesn’t actually require oxygen to thrive.
A natural nail is composed of dead keratin, sebaceous oils and 7 to 18% water.
This means coating the nail with polish won’t affect nail health as a flow of oxygen isn’t required.
Coating the nail will make it more resilient and help it to grow. Using SLIXIR®, which has the correct blend of oils, will improve the longevity of your polish further. If we look after our nail coating, our nails will look after themselves!
NAIL FACT NO. 2
Safe gel polish removal starts before it is even applied.
Sometimes home gel polish removal is necessary. Here’s what you need to know to do it safely.
Ask these vital questions at the salon whilst having your manicure done:
-
Is the gel polish that you have applied soakable or non-soak? This is hugely important; trying to remove a non-soak gel cannot be done at home and needs specialist attention.
-
How long should soak-off take? Gel nail coatings can take anywhere between two and twenty minutes to remove.
-
Do I need to buff the top shine off the polish or can I go directly into removal? Some brands require buffing and some do not.
- Can I buy a removal kit from you? A removal kit that is sold by the salon will be designed to work with your particular brand of polish. After removal apply SLIXIR® Hand & Polish Cream to bring back the natural shine to the nail.
NAIL FACT NO. 3
You don’t need a “nail break”.
It’s a popular belief; nail polish is the cause of nail dryness or damage or that by removing polish our nails will somehow improve. In reality, the only results you’ll get from a nail break are likely to be shorter, ungroomed nails.
Nail polish, rather than drying our nails out, actually helps to maintain the delicate water balance of the nail and seals in vital moisture.
Water evaporates through the nail naturally but when we factor in hand washing etc this level of loss can increase. In applying nail polish we create a barrier which can reduce this water loss.
Once nail polish is cured (dried) it forms an immediate protective barrier but to maintain its effectiveness it must be looked after. Applying SLIXIR® Hand & Polish Cream twice a day will help to increase its barrier capabilities and maintain optimal water balance of the nail.
NAIL FACT NO. 4
Your nail polish is full of tiny pores.
Put any nail polish under a microscope and it will look just like a sponge. All nail polishes are based on acrylic technology and are full of tiny pores.
Freshly applied polish is glossy and supple because it contains plasticisers. These are additives which push the molecules in the acrylic slightly further apart, weakening the forces between them and making the material softer and more flexible.
Once your nail polish is dried the plasticisers in the formula will start to slowly evaporate through the sponge-like pores. Plasticiser can be applied after curing and provided its molecules are of the right size, they will penetrate the nail polish and push the molecules apart once again, therefore keeping it supple and less likely to chip.
SLIXIR® acts as a plasticiser for all nail polish types.
For daily nail Inspiration and tips, follow our Instagram and Facebook @slixir
0 comments