“My Nails Made It Through the Airport!”

Where do I start? …

I’ve never been very interested in fingernails. I like keeping my toenails painted, but never my fingernails.

I used to keep my nails pretty short because they were so brittle and broke easily, and I thought my fingernails looked funny with polish.

To be completely honest, I’d never heard of cuticle oil before Ana told me about it.

No Expectations

I don’t know that I really had any expectations when I first tried Pure Nail Oil™.

I do know that I did not expect to be completely blown away! I had no clue a nail oil could completely change my nails!

My Results

When I first applied the oil, I could feel a difference immediately! Who doesn’t like a little instant gratification?

Within a week my nails began to bend–NOT break–and my hangnails healed.

I was able to perform Herculean feats like button up my pants, bring in groceries and pack a suitcase and make it through the airport without breaking a single nail!

Even the fine lines in my skin all but disappeared.

I was shocked.

I know, it sounds like the hyped up promises on a makeup commercial made by hungry, 20-year-old airbrushed and photoshopped models who are feeling guilty for eating that last piece of celery.

But my results speak louder than words—without Photoshop.

A Good Problem

But don’t let that fool you. This oil isn’t perfect–there IS a problem with Pure™.

With consistent use, your nails are going to get too long!!! I’ve actually had to trim my nails because the got too long to type or text comfortably—they were delightfully obnoxious.

Never would have thought I’d have this problem!

Kid Friendly

My boys (5 and 7) ask me to oil their nails whenever I whip out my Pure™ oil pen.

They love the smell and will sniff their fingers with appreciative “Ahhhhh’s” when they exhale. (It’s a good thing this oil doesn’t have a bunch of icky chemicals I can’t pronounce!)

The Competition

When I ran out of my first order, I tried a couple of other cuticle oils with similar ingredients. They were okay, and my results were “meh.”

When I switched back to Pure, the contrast in the feel in my nails hooked me for life.

In Conclusion

In a nutshell, Pure Nail Oil™ has:

• Increased my nails’ flexibility
• Eliminated nail peeling
• Healed my ugly, owwie hangnails
• Made my hands look younger (this still blows me away)

I don’t know what magic goes into Pure™, but bottom line: THIS STUFF WORKS!!! Try it.

Pure™ is worth every penny and then some! 🙂  ~Kirsten

The post My Nails Made It Through the Airport – Kirsten’s Pure Nail Oil™ Challenge first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.

ASK ANA

“Ana what is your take on the Essie base coat ‘Fill the Gap’? It says it’s a treatment, like it’s gunna fix problem nails? Is this true?” ~Sara

ANSWER

Quick answer? Essie’s ‘Fill the Gap’ is a ridge filling base coat. Here’s Essie’s description…

Marketing

“Fill the Gap! Ridge Smoothing Base Coat by Essie hydrates aging nails and smoothes unsightly deep ridges while preventing brittleness and breakage. Replenishes and levels the nail plate with a special blend of strengtheners, conditioners, micro-fibers and natural fillers. Mica boasts natural reflective properties that help fill in extremely deep ridges and conceal imperfections. Yucca, the natural plant extract helps moisturize and reduce inflammation. Creates an ultra-smooth base allowing for maximum adhesion of nail polish.” ~Essie

Long answer? Let’s look at the words chosen to describe this product, especially with the knowledge that healthy, moisturized nails are a perfect blend of 18% water and 5% sebum (body oil).

HYDRATES AGING NAILS: Nope. It’s not water or sebum.

SMOOTHS DEEP RIDGES: I guarantee that this product will probably do a darn fine job!

PREVENTING BRITTLENESS AND BREAKAGE: Only by adding temporary strength like any other brand of base coat. But nails will dry out as soon as you use acetone to remove it. You’ll want to rehydrate them with a tiny bit of water and a jojoba wax ester based nail oil. I have hydration instructions here.

REPLENISHES: Nope

LEVELS THE NAIL PLATE: Yep.

SPECIAL BLEND OF STRENGTHENERS, CONDITIONERS, MICRO-FIBERS AND NATURAL FILLERS: Yep, those are all properties of the polish, not your nails. They’re all necessary to fill in the ridges.

MICA BOASTS NATURAL REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES: It fills space in the low areas of the nail plate and might have a shimmer so your nails look nice with just the base coat.

CONCEAL IMPERFECTIONS: Yep. It will do this very well, like other quality ridge filling base coats.

YUCCA…HELPS MOISTURIZE AND REDUCE INFLAMMATION: Huhhhhh??????

It can’t moisturize your nails. …And reduce inflammation of what? Your nail plates? In all my research, I’ve actually never heard of this. It’s certainly not going to reduce inflammation of your skin since you won’t be applying it on your skin. Right?

ULTRA SMOOTH BASE: Yep, it will do this very well.

MAXIMUM ADHESION OF NAIL POLISH: Yep, all good base coats are formulated to bond to the natural nail plate. Color polishes are formulated to bond to base coat, NOT the natural nail.

The Perfect Mix

What are all those big words in the ingredient list and what do they do?

Polish manufacturers work very hard to combine the perfect ingredients to create the product they want. I’ve often found that the ingredient list doesn’t jive with the marketing claims.

Polish performance has nothing to do with what the product is called; varnish, polish, lacquer, or enamel. The formulation determines the performance, not the name.

For example, formulations with too little plasticizer or too much nitrocellulose will be brittle. Poor coverage usually means the formulation contains too much solvent or doesn’t contain enough titanium dioxide or pigment.

Polish that bubbles easily or has an uneven surface after drying usually contains solvents that evaporate too quickly. Usually bubbling issues are magnified during periods of high temperatures and humidity.

If the polish seems to quickly thicken in the bottle before it is half used, then the formula contains too little solvent. ~Doug Schoon, Nail Structure and Product Chemistry

Essie Base Coat Ingredients

Ethyl Acetate = a solvent, used to improve application and smooth product flow
Butyl Acetate = a solvent, used to improve application and smooth product flow
Nitrocellulose = a film former to make the product hard and shiny when it dries
Acetyl Tributyl Citrate = a biodegradable plasticizer of low toxicity, found in nail polish and other cosmetics.

Phthalic Anhydride/Trimellitic Anhydride/Glycols Copolymer = Film Former; Viscosity Increasing Agent (ewg.org)

Isopropyl Alcohol = a solvent, used to improve application and smooth product flow

Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer = a film former, increases viscosity (TruthInAging.com)

Stearalkonium Hectorite = suspension agent, makes the product easier to use. Keeps the product thick in the bottle but thinner when brushed on.

Adipic Acid/Fumaric Acid/Phthalic Acid/Tricyclodecane Dimethanol Copolymer = blend of resins and plasticizers

Mica = mineral that when combined with titanium dioxide or other colorants create beautiful iridescent shades

Polyethylene = a plasticizer to prevent chips and cracks and increase the flexibility of the polish

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil = Sunflower Seed Oil

CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide = pigment to make the product whiter to improve coverage or produce pastel colors

Synthetic Wax = usually used in car wax products

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) =  a thermoplastic polymer that has numerous applications. The best known brand name of PTFE is Teflon byDuPont Co. (Wikipedia)

Citric Acid = The dominant use of citric acid is as a flavoring and preservative in food and beverages, especially soft drinks.  The buffering properties of citrates are used to control pH in household cleaners and pharmaceuticals. (Wikipedia)

Yucca Filamentosa / Yucca Filamentosa Extract = an ornamental flowering plant

CI 77491 / Iron Oxides = cosmetic colorant  (Ewg.org)

Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract / Rosemary Leaf Extract = a decorative plant in gardens and has many culinary and medical uses.

CI 19140 / Yellow 5 Lake = cosmetic colorant

Talc = Causes matte finish

Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer (D47300/1) = film former

Polyester Resin = a resin, to make the polish tough and resilient

Hydrated Silica = used to increase the viscosity, or thickness. Usually included in toothpaste formulations. Most likely used to help fill in ridges.

Camphor = a plasticizer to prevent chips and cracks and increase the flexibility of the polish

Stearalkonium = suspension agent, helps reduce product separation

Hectorite = suspension agent, makes the product easier to use. Keeps the product thick in the bottle but thinner when brushed on.

Benzophenone = a UV stabilizer, used to prevent color fading

Titanium Dioxide = pigment to make the product whiter to improve coverage or produce pastel colors

Hydrolyzed Collegen = the fancy word for gelatin. It’s typically used in topical creams, acting as a product texture conditioner, and moisturizer.

In Conclusion

I couldn’t find any reason to use Yucca—especially if it’s supposed to moisturize and reduce inflammation of the nail plate. LOL!!!

Several reviewers like this Essie base coat. One reviewer even said the product smelled good after it was dry!

I’m sure the Essie ‘Fill the Gap’ is an excellent ridge filling base coat, just like many other high quality ridge filling base coats. Just don’t fall for the other marketing lingo. If you’re ever unsure and have a question—just feel free to ask me.

The post Essie Base Coat – Are the Claims True? first appeared on Nail Care Headquarters.