Nail Polish

| November 26, 2011 |

I have had many clients sit in my chair for the first time and complain that their polish never stays. I listen to what they say, and address their issues as I do their service. I love when they come back to me and are amazed at how their manicure has lasted. With a little trial and error your manicures can last longer too.

Did you ever notice that different polishes have different consistencies? For example you may use a polish that is very liquid and runny, or the polish may be thick and hard to work with. The consistency, or viscosity , of a polish is very important in how that polish works. If a polish is too thin it may not last, too thick and it may chip quickly.

Let me get this out of the way before I forget. Don’t use old polish. Polish can, and does, go bad. If the polish has separated, smells funny, has thickened or just doesn’t look right DO NOT USE IT. Clients will notice as you polish if something is not right and your manicure will suffer for it. Old polish will also bubble a lot easier, and you will have to re-do your whole polish job. Don’t thin it out with nail polish remover either, that will give you even more bubbles. Save yourself the trouble and just throw out old polish. I try to go through my polishes once a month and get rid of any that look bad.

When choosing a polish, not only is the color important, but what you use as a base and top coat as well. In fact the base coat and top coat can make a huge difference. I will work on posts specifically addressing top coats and base coats, as usual I just have too much to say to confine it to one post.

When choosing color I do prefer nail polishes that are called lacquers. They are a little thicker in consistency and tend to stay a little better for most people. However if you are have problems with excessive chipping and switching to a different base coat is not helping, I suggest using a regular (thinner) polish. OPI, China Glaze, these (and others like them) are considered lacquer polishes. Polishes like Essie are not considered to be lacquers, although they have become a little thicker then they originally were.

Everyone has different nails so keep that in mind when trying to get polish to stay on an individual client. What works on one person might cause excessive chipping on another. I always make notes on my client cards so I know what product I have used at each service. This way I know what type of base coat, top coat and polish I have used together and can reproduce my results if they are good, or switch things around if there was a problem.